The most Broadly Influential Players In History

[Peegoo]

Depends on when ye grew up, I think.

Chuck Berry and Les Paul. Then Don Wilson, Nokie Edwards, Bob Bogle, and Gerry McGee. Then The Beatles. Later it was Johnny Ramone and Steve Jones.

 

[Cheap Trills]

I was thinking about how some guitar players are "Musically" Influential like Eddie Van Halen and others or "Culturally" influential like Kurt Cobain but few players influence Playing, Culture and Fashion the way Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn do. I see young players dressing and playing just like them after all these years.

What are some other players that have had this level of impact on playing and culture?

EVH was as culturally influential as Jimi and SRV, if not more... and fashion as well... what exactly is SRV's fashion influence?

Regardless if I'm a fan of not, hard to deny John Mayer's influence on the current generation even musically.

 

[northernguitar]

Any list without Tony Iommi is just not serious. The man created a guitar sound that grew a popular genre of music. \m/

 

[Engine Swap]

You could rank them by the number of imitators they spawn.

+1 on Johnny Ramone @Peegoo

 

[ClashCityTele]

Any list without Tony Iommi is just not serious. The man created a guitar sound that grew a popular genre of music. \m/

You beat me to it. Not a huge Sabbath fan but they invented heavy metal ffs.

And as for SRV (may he rest in peace). Unfortunately the vast majority of people wouldn't have a clue who he was.
They're more likely to know Hendrix, Bob Marley and Brian May.

 

[ClashCityTele]

Playing, Culture & Fashion. Johnny Thunders!
Steve Jones played like him, half the UK punk guitarists had LP Jr's in '77, and he certainly spent more money on clothes than he did on guitars.

 

[kctelegas]

These lists are always funny and deliberately contentious.
I just watched these recently--one guy's critique of two lists compiled by Rolling Stone some 17 years apart.
Plenty to agree and disagree with and lots of glaring omissions.

 

[Gaylord Amsterdam]

You could rank them by the number of imitators they spawn.

+1 on Johnny Ramone @Peegoo

Good call, Johnny definitely influenced moee than just guitar players, he made leather jackets cool again.

 

[buster poser]

Merle Travis cast a pretty wide shadow

 

[Dismalhead]

Suburban garage band hack here; the big influences I remember would be Jimmy Page, EVH, Malmsteen, Satriani, and then SRV.

Those are the guys I remember causing changes in what people were playing - you'd go into music stores and people are shredding like Yngvie. Since then I don't remember anyone causing everyone to change what they were playing like those guys did.

 

[buster poser]

Good call, Johnny definitely influenced moee than just guitar players, he made leather jackets cool again.

+ that stance.

 

[Gaylord Amsterdam]

+ that stance.

Yes!

 

[buster poser]

Suburban garage band hack here; the big influences I remember would be Jimmy Page, EVH, Malmsteen, Satriani, and then SRV.

Those are the guys I remember causing changes in what people were playing - you'd go into music stores and people are shredding like Yngvie. Since then I don't remember anyone causing everyone to change what they were playing like those guys did.

Good call here, we grew up in the same era. Let’s throw Lifeson in there, I spent hours learning 1974-80 era Rush riffs and I don’t think I was alone.

Hetfield/Mustaine for rhythm if I carry it through to metal, whole lot of which doesn’t exist without a style they perfected (imo).

 

[aging_rocker]

You think SRV influenced culture and fashion?

Most of the world is still struggling with the idea that wearing cowboy hats is still a thing in the US, never mind the idea that anyone actually dressed like SRV

nirvana made the flannel shirts ok to wear.

Cobain was late to that party - Rory Gallagher made flannel shirts 'fashionable' so long ago that they were in black & white.

 

[hekawi]

 

[Blackmore Fan]

Paul McCartney had a bigger influence than we sometimes acknowledge.

 

[Vocalion]

No Curtis Mayfield and Albert King, no Jimi Hendrix or Stevie Ray Vaughan. The influence pours forth from there. Just sayin’.

 

[colchar]

I do, I see young players on Tik Tok, dressing like him and playing like him.

I don't bother with stupid social media like Tik Tok so wouldn't know, but I don't think a small handful of guitar players on some social media site equals influencing culture and fashion - it equals influencing some guitar players. Culture and fashion are much more far reaching than that.

 

[colchar]

You haven’t ever been to Texas, have you?

Both he and his brother influenced fashion beyond music, at least in these parts.

Jimmie’s cowboy/greaser look in the 80’s became a uniform amongst Texas Blues musicians and enthusiasts alike, down to this day.

Stevie’s Gypsy look did likewise.

Influencing some musicians is not the same as influencing culture and fashion. The Fonz influenced culture and fashion, SRV just influenced some musicians.

I loved the guy, and count myself lucky to have seen him live, but don't think you should be making the mistake of thinking some limited influence was any more than that, because it wasn't.

 

[colchar]

Oh ok. I didn't think about that in the most popular way. I was too young in the 90's to notice it, but now that i think about it, nirvana made the flannel shirts ok to wear. Though they were there before and cheap. There is a probably PHD to write on that one. Interesting subject.

Flannel shirts were OK long before that band hit the scene.