He got the nod from Hendrix, Prince used his solos to audition for gigs, and yet stupid guitar lists never show the respect it's deserved, the fact a magazine on music even thinks Kurt contain, Lennon, Neil young even Santana sorry folks could hold a candle to this man, sorry there is no debate he was and still is the best ever and that's not even taking into account his freaking soulful singing.

https://youtu.be/7uAUoz7jimg

as a longtime diehard fan of Chicago,I am well aware of Terry Kath and his amazing guitar-playing.Some fans say that Chicago was never the same after Terry's death and it's hard to argue otherwise.Even Jimi Hendrix praised Terry's guitar-playing.

Stanley Jordan can play 2 guitars at the same time though.

at the time of his death in 1978,Terry was actually planning to leave Chicago and embark on a solo career.With his soulful vocals and impressive guitar skills,he would have easily became a solo superstar.

As much as I love and respect Prince and Hendrix though I feel Santana is a better all around player than both, Kath could just go on for days and do blues and rock and sing too, ballads and rock and blues. This is not slighting any of them or any others but Kath is Never on any list and sorry he just plays circles around them, I see some prince solos and it's not Hendrix influenced it's Kath

MickyDolenz said:

Stanley Jordan can play 2 guitars at the same time though.

so can the dude in cheap trick and he's good but Kath plays circles around them

SolaceAHA said:

https://youtu.be/7uAUoz7jimg

I have this entire Tanglewood performance on DVD and it is absolutely amazing!

SoulAlive said:

SolaceAHA said:

https://youtu.be/7uAUoz7jimg

I have this entire Tanglewood performance on DVD and it is absolutely amazing!

he is unreal, it's really a shame that it took chicago eons to get respect and probably they are still not getting it overall thought this new record is one of the best albums of the year easily but that time with Kath put Chicago in a class of legends and should have been in the same convos as the stones or The Who kinks Beatles etc...

SolaceAHA said:

so can the dude in cheap trick and he's good but Kath plays circles around them

He's rock, Stanley is jazz. Does Rick Nielsen play flamenco? Roy Clark, José Feliciano, & Charo can.

MickyDolenz said:

SolaceAHA said:

so can the dude in cheap trick and he's good but Kath plays circles around them

He's rock, Stanley is jazz. Does Rick Nielsen play flamenco? Roy Clark, José Feliciano, & Charo can.

and ? Stanley is never playing "I'm a man" Kath played many genres, those others are great but please Roy Clark Jose are not in the park of Kath sorry. I'm a man had elements of many genres and Chicago when they began was a jazz band playing rock with trumpets and classical who else did that? Who else had triple live albums to start their career? Not prince not Hendrix case closed

SolaceAHA said:

Chicago when they began was a jazz band playing rock with trumpets and classical who else did that?

Late 1960s to early 1970s Miles Davis, Blood Sweat & Tears

MickyDolenz said:

SolaceAHA said:

Not touching math sorry people were saying it then because he died young was the reason he was ignored as with cobain and Lennon who were not good guitarists they were elevated in their tragic young deaths

What does that have to do with you saying Chicago is the only act to do jazz rock? That isn't the case, there was an entire genre for that in the 1970s called "fusion". Some southern rock bands like Marshall Tucker Band & Charlie Daniels had jazz in their music too.

Not even close. Greatest ever was Allan Holdsworth

MickyDolenz said:

SolaceAHA said:

Not touching math sorry people were saying it then because he died young was the reason he was ignored as with cobain and Lennon who were not good guitarists they were elevated in their tragic young deaths

What does that have to do with you saying Chicago is the only act to do jazz rock? That isn't the case, there was an entire genre for that in the 1970s called "fusion". Some southern rock bands like Marshall Tucker Band & Charlie Daniels had jazz in their music too.

yes fusion was going on that's where Journey began and others. But Chicago was doing jazz rock classical movements set in the middle of almost metal sounding guitar solos, trumpets blaring, drum solos and more. No they didn't invent any of these types of music but they were the best and only bringing it all under the same umbrella. And getting it on to radio, selling tons of albums even while they had no hits early on because of these long songs, it's not till a radio station plucked a song out of longer movement they had done did they get a hit single.

Kath was great. The recent documentary on him was well put together.

Kath was superb but I remain a Hendrix man.

Prince still the GOAT...His sound is what matters.

2freaky said:

Prince still the GOAT...His sound is what matters.

Like Hendix, Prince also based a lot of his playing on KATH's solos, the solo on "I'm A Man" Prince was trying to play that to get gigs in HS

SPYZFAN1 said:

Kath was great. The recent documentary on him was well put together.

it is very good

^^Yes. Learned a lot about him.

Fender guitars recently released a signature model of his "sticker" Telecaster.

I'm rolling w Prince.

Why does someone have to the best at an instrument? Comparison is pointless.

While I agree that Terry Kath is on the Mt Rushmore of guitarists, it's compleltely subjective to what that means to you.

[Edited 8/1/22 15:53pm]

S2DG said:

Why does someone have to the best at an instrument? Comparison is pointless.

While I agree that Terry Kath is on the Mt Rushmore of guitarists, it's compleltely subjective to what that means to you.

[Edited 8/1/22 15:53pm]

Well as true as that may be we can at least all agree and I hope that the fact that this man almost never turns up on best guitarists lists shows that people are missing things big time. I think people hear CHICAGO and they think "oh the ballad band from the 80's" , but what people dont realize was that first part of their history, even if you take away the success they had from 1982-1986, they were the biggest band of their time. What artist has the "balls" to release as their first three albums all double albums every year, and then follow it with a giant multi live album, they released a studio album every year from 1969-1980, this coupled with tours and the death of Kath in 1978, to me that run of their 70's output is on par or even ahead of others in that time, like Elton and Stevie and Bowie etc...not saying they were better than them, but the fact they never come up in conversations is insane. And the fact I see a Rolling Stone top guitarists of all time and I see Kurt Cobain and others ahead of Kath? I mean yes its subjective, but they obviously never saw the man play.

SolaceAHA said:

S2DG said:

Why does someone have to the best at an instrument? Comparison is pointless.

While I agree that Terry Kath is on the Mt Rushmore of guitarists, it's compleltely subjective to what that means to you.

[Edited 8/1/22 15:53pm]

Well as true as that may be we can at least all agree and I hope that the fact that this man almost never turns up on best guitarists lists shows that people are missing things big time.

I think people hear CHICAGO and they think "oh the ballad band from the 80's" , but what people dont realize was that first part of their history, even if you take away the success they had from 1982-1986, they were the biggest band of their time.

What artist has the "balls" to release as their first three albums all double albums every year, and then follow it with a giant multi live album, they released a studio album every year from 1969-1980, this coupled with tours and the death of Kath in 1978, to me that run of their 70's output is on par or even ahead of others in that time, like Elton and Stevie and Bowie etc...not saying they were better than them, but the fact they never come up in conversations is insane.

And the fact I see a Rolling Stone top guitarists of all time and I see Kurt Cobain and others ahead of Kath? I mean yes its subjective, but they obviously never saw the man play.

I feel you and agree that Chicago's early music was amazing (that Tanglewood show is one that I send people if they think Chicago was a ballad band from the 80s.) but comparing creative output from one artist to another is apples and oranges. Both are great for their own reason and I like fruit.

Who gives a fuck what Rolling Stone thinks? Their lists are marketing tools and have little to do with music. Who gives a fuck what anybody thinks in regards to their taste in music. If people feel it and support it, that's all that matters.

It's what we share in regards to taste in music that matters. This web site is a good example of a group of people that all feel Prince's work.

Be a music teacher and educate the young on music, it's needed now more than ever. Teach them an instrument to because it's not in schools anymore and it's proven to help in other areas of education.

[Edited 8/3/22 14:27pm]

RJOrion said:

No such thing as "best guitarist ever"...different people enjoy different guitarists from different genres for different reasons...

True........and I'm still rolling w Prince.