response to Rolling Stone's top 100 (NTC)

[Cooper]

found this on the D'addario string board. thought some might find it interesting.



In response to their list of 100 guitar palyers:

Rolling Stone Magazine
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10104
(via fax)

To the Editor:


Let me see if I have this straight: Chet Atkins, Charlie Christian,
Django Reinhart, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Leo Kottke and Alvin Lee all
are missing from your list. Yet, 3-chord wonders Kurt Cobain and Jack White
rank 12 and 17, respectively, ahead of George Harrison (#21) who, more than any
other guitarist, inspired millions to pick up a guitar. Harrison, according to
Guitar Player Magazine, was “Rock’s Most Influential Guitarist” (but what
does Guitar Player know about guitarists compared to the wizards at Rolling
Stone?) Your two token females are Joan Jett (#87) and Joni Mitchell (#72).
But slide guitar pioneer Bonnie Raitt fails to make your list. Ironically, the
fallacy in your shallow analysis is nowhere more evident than your choice of
Ms. Mitchell’s “essential recording”: “All I Want” from 1971’s
“Blue”, on which Joni plays dulcimer, not guitar. The guitar on that
track, according to the liner notes, was played by James Taylor, yet another
notable guitarist missing from your list. Obviously, not only do you guys not
know your asses from your elbows, but you don’t know a guitar from a
dulcimer.

[maxwidmer]

answer

[genelovesjez]

That letter is a good reminder of how infantile those type of discussions are in the first place. Sad.

[Dave W]

Originally Posted by genelovesjez

That letter is a good reminder of how infantile those type of discussions are in the first place. Sad.

Agreed.

And it's Rolling Stone, for pity's sake. For the last 30 years, RS has been a magazine for people who don't actually like music or listen to it much but want to read about it. It's written by trendoids for other trendoids. Musicians and people who love music are not its intended audience.

[Strat82]

i'm not disagreeing with your letter to rolling stone or those guitar players that you mentioned...they are GREAT players. however, i just want you to look at the list from a different perspective.

it seems that you are basically looking at the word "greatest" in terms of technical proficiency, but that is obviously not what rolling stone was looking at, and if that was their sole criterion, not many people in every day life would be interested in buying the magazine.

rolling stone was looking not just at proficiency, but of overall impact...i'm 21 now, but when kurt cobain came into the spotlight 10 years ago, every kid in my middle school wanted to play guitar! also, just because guitar players like the edge, cobain, joan jett and other guitar players don't or maybe can't play 1,000 notes per measure, it doesn't mean that they were not as good. they can move people with a few chords, and move people they have.

while i'm not meaning to say you're wrong, i'm just saying that when talking about the greatest guitar players, we need to look outside the box for the criteria.

[Pedalworld]

Joan Jett but no Bonnie Raitt?

LOL they blow........
they should change the name of that rag from
"Rolling Stone" to "Cool clothes and Rock hairstyles"

[chipl]

Those are good points. We had a discussion about this at yesterday's TDPRI Hudson Valley Jam at the home of the ever-gracious and generous Mike and Amy Rice in beautiful Hurley, NY.

We at least were glad they got it right with some of our Tele heroes--Clarence, Cropper, Mike Bloomfield, Danny Gatton, Roy B, James B, and the likes of Freddie & BB King, (Where's Albert?), Ry Cooder, Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker (surely underrated in terms of blues rock influence)...and my favorite living American poet --Chuck Berry. (I was particularly glad to see Bert Jansch although I was always partial to his Pentangle partner John Renbourn.)

Let's face it, Chet Atkins and Charlie Christian are conspicuous in their absences, (Am I going blind and not seeing Carl Perkins' name? I missed Twangster Duane Eddy, and think either Albert Lee or Bonnie Raiitt (or Bill Kirchen for that matter) could smoke Joan Jett on any night of the week on any tune including I Love Rock and Roll no offense Joan...) But Rolling Stone like so many of its current magazine competitors has to pander to a variety of constituents...and they're trying to appeal to the ever-dominant 18-34 demographic...(My son now reads it just as I did way back when. So they've got to pick hip guitar icons for all of their readers...and the rest of us can argue influence and issues till the cows come home.)

BUT Let's remember this is a magazine whose recent cover subjects included Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera,and Mary Kate and Ashley Olson (Hey Fender...how 'bout a cool blonde Mary Kate Strat?)...so maybe we shouldn't take it the list all that seriously.

At the risk of opening up a previously contentious subject--Bruce Springsteen--I saw his recent Sept. 16 show at the new U-Conn Huskies stadium in Hartford CT and it was a great show...I'd seen him in the intimate and cozy venue of Giant Stadium in June and he played guitar like he always does...as a bandleader might, not as a flashy lead guitarist--after all he has Nils Lofgren and Little Stevie to fill in the leads...BUT he played like a banshee last week, taking more solos than usual, really ripping it up on the Teles, Esquire including some cranking Bigsby moves. A good demonstration how to fill up a stadium with loud, overdriven delay-enhanced guitar sounds. (I daresay there is no one who uses a Tele as a better stage prop than Bruce...twisting it, using it to conduct the music and lead the band, swinging it isoul rhythm revue style, holding it up like the icon it is, or tossing it to a roadie...Let's face it, think about Bruce and guitars, and you think Teles.)

Anyway I had this thought as I watched Bruce work out with his Teles...I wondered if had read the article, too, and said, "Hey, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk..." (And he did) There are those who might put him on such a list--so let's not go there on my account. But whether you get him or not, he sure can play that thing, otherwise he wouldn't be where he is.)

I guess my point is that any such list in a "popular" magazine, even a "hip" one like RS, is bound to leave off someone...the studio cats, the semi-obscure but still influential players, the local legends, etc. How do you really discriminate between the 100th best guitarist and 101st?

I'm just a small part of Rolling Stone's demographic...a sucker for a cool Hendrix cover shot!

[Oskar]

I alone with others expressed disdain for the RS list, and I agree that the mag lost its real sense of direction about 25 years ago. But, if you look at the "guitarists" on the list they are notable for the way they influenced music, not necessarily for their playing ability. Cobain, sure, I'm no fan, but I won't argue that he and Nirvana had a great influence on the direction of music, Jack White, weeeellllllll, not my cup 'o tea, but the White Stripes, whether we like it or not, are currently considered to be setting certain trends in music. Having Hendrix on top, however, in many ways combines both aspects of superb musicianship and brilliant innovation. The list that comprises those two qualities would indeed be short.

[genelovesjez]

Originally Posted by chipl

even a "hip" one like RS

Whaaaa?

I've heard RS called a lot of things, but I don't think it's been considered hip by anyone since some time in the 70s.

[Andy B]

I said it before & will say it again: How can Rolling Stone, which is named after a Muddy Waters' song, leave out Muddy Waters. The man who defined Chicago electric blues!

[chipl]

Originally Posted by genelovesjez

Whaaaa?

I've heard RS called a lot of things, but I don't think it's been considered hip by anyone since some time in the 70s.

That's why I put quotes around the word "hip." It's Internet slang for ironic. Rolling Stone would position itself as and purport to be a "hip" magazine in today's market. It may not be hip to you or me, but ...

Ironically yours,

Chip

[Dave W]

RS needs a hip replacement. :)

[Telecaster]

The title of the article says "Greatest" not "Most Influential" R.S. blew it in my opinion. Joan Jett? Yeah OK!

[Raymond]

but I don't care anymore....

Few years ago, when I was young and naive, I would've written that letter for sure. As I've gotten older, I've just accepted the fact that magazines are business in which they have to sell magazines to make a tone of money for their shareholders. That's it, very simple. Therefore, every time I see some rank I just don't care.
In this case, RS sells magazines mainly to HS and college kids so the "list" must reflect that. In fact, I can tell you that the companies that advertise in the magazine heavily influenced the outcome of that list according to their product. That's just the way it is, and no one would ever change that.
Actually, I was surprised to see Gatton and Buchanan there, because those kids probably think that the guys from Green Day are way better that them and they're probably pissed like us because their "heroes" aren't there...(well, I don't know their names, but I don't think they're there...)
My youngest brother used to be the director of a weekly newspaper aimed to teenagers. Some weeks he would tell me "this week we didn't do that well, we'd need a pic and a gossip story of Britney Spears in the cover or I'd be in trouble".
That's why I don't buy magazines, no even GP or GW, the advertisement decides what's gonna be in there according to their requirement....
Face it fellows, the good days in which magazines like RS, GP, and GW, would publish real stuff are way way gone....
So, don't throw your money away buying crap.

[KBR]

Hey If you had a Concert with the TOP 10 on the List and invited Albert King (WHO IS NOT ON THE LIST)
& Albert Collins

These 2, I mentioned, AK & AC would burn them all, and The Guitarists at the Gig would be talkin' bout them for days.
I mean Jimi used to take pix of Albert Kings playing.

KBR
IMHO

[Tony]

IMHO the gravest omission was Muddy. How? :?

[genelovesjez]

Originally Posted by KBR

These 2, I mentioned, AK & AC would burn them all

What does that even mean? Burn them all? These type of discussions take me right back to my high school cafeteria. The whole idea of ranking guitarists is at best a silly diversion. I'm sure RS and other magazines that make these lists take a great deal of glee in upsetting people who are bored enough to take it seriously.

[stantheman]

Ya took the words right outta stan's mouth...Now if "Living Blues" or "Down Beat" did one that would be
REAL. Just so you guys know I'm not re-uppin' with
"Guitar Player" after being a devotee since Elvin Bishop's
"cover" in 1976. Something about the magazine has become "too formula". Frankly I'd much rather read The TDPRI heck of a lot more interesting and it comes out on the hour every hour well, just about. I am gonna go for
"Downbeat", more cerebral....What happened to all the really good writers that used to work at GP?.....guys like
Don Menn and Dan Forte and Teisco Del Ray those cats were tremendous writers....they were entertaining the
readership. I guess they're long gone and so's stan!

[PJ]

....I agree. Django, Chet, Charlie, even Albert Lee, if you don't have to be dead to make the list, should be there.
Even James Burton has a mentionable place in rock history, at least equal to many of the players listed. And,
you're right, without Bonnie Raitt in place of Joan Jett, the list was embarrassing. Still, though, as Rolling Stone
issues go, it was their best, to date. But, a shallow effort,
that could have been better.

PJ

[Jerry J]

...Viagra!

I think we're pretty much on the same page, RS and more sadly Playboy, are no longer relevant. So who cares?

However, Playboy still has some great articles, don't they?

[stantheman]

PB too....by "the formula" dull,lifeless. In fact a lotta their
great writers have vanished or died. Whatever happened to the great Jean Shepard "Wanda Hickey's Night Of Golden Memories" ; perhaps the greatest story ever written about "The Prom"...ah memories. enough. time for some Ramones!!!!!!!!!

[Dave W]

Whatever happened to the great Jean Shepard "Wanda Hickey's Night Of Golden Memories" ; perhaps the greatest story ever written about "The Prom"...ah memories

Alas, Shep died in 1999. But his work is alive and well: http://www.keyflux.com/shep/

[Brutalblues]

100 Guitar Players list...? I was thinking about switching brands, but Rolling Stones Mags' list isn't worthy to use for the job!!!!

[bobbyg]

I just read my son's copy of RS and couldn't help but notice a picture of John Fogerty with a Telecaster along side his top ten list which contained a lot of Tele players and the number ten player on his list was " all the rest".

[stantheman]

A true American Original and "in my humble opinion"
a major, make that MAJOR influence on the folks at
Prarie Home Companion. You got me on a "Shepkick"
and "the only cure is more cowbell!"C.W. (thanks Dave, seriously).