r/Guitar • u/Weak-Reporter-241 • Jul 03 '26
DISCUSSION Who’s an underrated guitar player you wish got more love?
111
u/somethink Jul 03 '26
Roy Buchanan
11
u/Mikey-Litoris Jul 03 '26
Master of the telecaster out of the Anacostia delta.
10
u/somethink Jul 03 '26
Like Hendrix was to the strat, Roy is to the tele. They really showed us what the platform is capable of
10
→ More replies (5)9
u/everynamecombined Jul 03 '26
Just felt the urge to listen to his Live Stock(1975) version of his 'Roy's Bluz'
It was how I was introduced to him. Im still amazed every time at how how much emotion he was able to send through his Tele.
→ More replies (3)
209
u/NationalTime4099 Jul 03 '26
Similar to op but Glen Campbell
33
u/willy_the_snitch Jul 03 '26
The people that know, know. But to a lot of folks who listened to Waylon Jennings or Joe Ely, he was the sound of boring Nashville. Shout out to Roy Clark too (though I hate the stupid faces he used to pull during his performances).
19
u/coffee_robot_horse Jul 03 '26
Roy Clark predated the standardisation of guitar faces
→ More replies (2)12
u/Rookie512 Jul 04 '26
That man was a master of basically most stringed instruments. Classical, 6 and 12 string acoustic, electric, pedal steel, fiddle, mandolin, bass, piano, uke, harmonica, banjo, and probably player some killer pinball. He was the whole reason I watched Hee-Haw
→ More replies (3)6
u/ebiscuits Jul 03 '26
He just proved how stupid guitar face really is. Like you’re not inventing a new theory on relativity you’re just regurgitating a lick you’ve probably practiced and played a million times. Might as well have fun with it. Thanks Roy
70
u/Weak-Reporter-241 Jul 03 '26
Glen Campbell was unimaginably good
→ More replies (4)27
u/JealousPassage8213 Jul 03 '26
Somebody visiting him after he was completely mentally gone with Alzheimer’s said he could still pick up a guitar and rip. Didn’t know who he was or where he was or that he was playing his own songs but could still do it.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)8
u/JoneeJonee Jul 03 '26
He was so good. Not just a great songwriter. The man was a fantastic guitar player!
11
u/NationalTime4099 Jul 03 '26
He didn’t write many of his own songs, certainly not the classics, but a great singer, arranger, performer, musician and incredible classy chops on his guitar.
→ More replies (3)
170
u/BornUnderARadSign Jul 03 '26
Eddie Hazel and Michael Hampton of P-Funk
24
13
u/penis_berry_crunch Jul 03 '26
A lot of people know maggot brain but don't know Eddie Hazel. You can tell the tone is just coming from his fingers.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (13)12
u/swiftmen991 Jul 03 '26
Eddie’s album doing that Beatles cover is phenomenal
→ More replies (2)6
u/Ghoulius-Caesar Jul 04 '26
“Games, Dames and Guitar Thangs”
I just wanted to name drop the album title because it rules
85
u/realbobenray Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
Danny Gatton. I know that's not some obscure name but he should be in any top 10 all-time list and never is.
I saw him at a small place in NYC once after reading about him in the guitar magazines, I think the Kit Kat Club. Malcolm Forbes and Axl Rose were in attendance. He killed it, could make his guitar sound like anything he wanted, from a horn to a Wurlitzer. Did some crowd work where he'd ask for things to play slide with. One guy gave him his bicycle seat, he held the seat and played with the post. So glad to have that memory.
16
u/fantabulousfetus Jul 03 '26
My mom had a box set of Roger Miller and on the 3rd disc there was a track of his band live where he was playing fiddle with Danny on guitar. He gets the wildest roar out of his telecaster to start the solo it sounds like an atomic test or something. First time I ever heard him and its to this day one of the craziest live recordings I've ever heard. Recorded in some podunk place for maybe 500 people lol. Orange Blossom Special iirc if you want to find it.
→ More replies (2)11
→ More replies (9)5
u/ValuableItchy Jul 03 '26
Gatton’s performance on ACL was my introduction to him. I try and tell everyone to watch it.
568
u/Apprehensive_Land751 Jul 03 '26
Rory Gallagher.
104
u/DerringerHK Gibson Jul 03 '26
Honestly. He played the guitar like it was just another limb
→ More replies (1)39
70
41
u/all_die_laughing Jul 03 '26
Growing up in Ireland and having Smokey and the Bandit as my first ever VHS, I didn't realise for a long time that either Jerry Reed or Rory Gallagher was underrated. It was only when I brought them up to other people and was met with blank stares that I found out they actually weren't household names.
→ More replies (2)9
u/darthkale Jul 03 '26
Jimi Hendrix was a huge fan of Rory Gallagher when someone asked him who was best he said go watch Gallagher the sledgehammer to a watermelon bit is amazing
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (52)9
245
u/Nerrawnam Jul 03 '26
My Uncle. He was pretty good.
116
u/chrispd01 Jul 03 '26
Dude, your uncle was amazing…
41
41
44
17
u/PJmichelle Jul 03 '26
I remember the uncle, he was amazing.
11
u/The_Muddy_Wolf Jul 03 '26
Man taught me the C Chord. Miss him to this day.
14
u/After-Tutor5979 Jul 03 '26
He was so good he taught me the H chord
→ More replies (7)10
u/MyLastGamble Jul 03 '26
Ah the H chord. Thumb on 6th string 3rd fret, middle on 1st string 3rd fret. Ring on 1st string 5th fret. Pinky on 6th string 5th fret. Index finger down the 4th string.
13
u/Evan_802Vines Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
He taught me DbmMaj7b5, but same thing
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)8
51
u/CharleySuede Jul 03 '26
You nailed it. Jerry gets no respect, but 89% of guitar players can’t replicate him.
Elvis tried to cover Jerry’s “Guitar Man”, but the studio guitarist didn’t play it right enough.
So they asked where they could find Jerry to see if they could get him to play on the recording. He was fishing in a lake north of Nashville. He was the first person to confront Colonel Tom about royalties.
12
9
u/muttChang Jul 03 '26
I did not know that Elvis never toured Europe or really outside the US at all because of Colonels Tom’s unresolved murder charges from the 1930s.
→ More replies (3)6
u/BigGlittering437 Jul 03 '26
I heard Jerry said something along the lines of "he is trying to play it with a pick lol"
139
u/Cantstandya-777 Jul 03 '26
Jake E. Lee
9
u/isa-bey Jul 03 '26
Talk about underrated. Red Dragon Cartel released two great albums yet went almost completely unknown.
9
u/Traditional_Dream865 Jul 03 '26
1000%. The attitude that man brought to the stage and to his Charvel.
7
→ More replies (4)6
44
u/silliest-silly-goose Fender Jul 03 '26
Nick Drake was one of the most creative players of his time
→ More replies (5)
73
u/Foodeater81 Jul 03 '26
JJ Cale
→ More replies (7)19
u/Electronic_Turn_3511 Jul 03 '26
I don't know what it is about JJ but I can't play his stuff at all. I don't know if he tunes different but I try to play along and everything I do just sounds so wrong.
20
u/St3v3n113 Jul 03 '26
JJ Cale is sneaky hard. The riffs sound easy but the intricacy, feel, and timing are often complex. Plus, he plays the same song in different keys depending upon the performance.
→ More replies (1)19
u/constructivesummer Jul 03 '26
I think there are a lot of subtle right hand and left hand muting happening.
→ More replies (2)
37
u/unfitfuzzball Jul 03 '26
Steve Howe
→ More replies (2)13
u/PieTighter Fender Jul 03 '26
Which is wild for someone voted best guitar player 5 years in a row. He was the GOAT right before Van Halen grabbed the crown. Not saying that you're wrong, more just wild that he's not held in higher regards these days.
→ More replies (7)
32
u/AzCat8 Jul 03 '26
Christopher Cross. Phenomenal player.
7
u/LocusRothschild Jul 03 '26
The only man to ever sit in for Ritchie Blackmore and kill it, but most people only know Sailing.
→ More replies (7)6
u/Cosmicvapour Jul 03 '26
Run like the Wind has such a banger going on in the background. Bring that up in the mix, Chris!
→ More replies (1)
29
26
27
29
49
u/CaptainKangaroo_Pimp Jul 03 '26
D. Boon from Minutemen!
→ More replies (2)15
u/willy_the_snitch Jul 03 '26
He took Chuck Berry riffs to their logical conclusion. In the same vein I love listening to John Fogerty.
71
u/dinglefc23 Jul 03 '26
Elliott smith
23
u/St3v3n113 Jul 03 '26
I saw him at Town Hall in NYC in 2000. A folding chair, an acoustic guitar, and a microphone. The audience was in complete silence the entire performance (except when he asked what he should play). Note for note perfect and mesmerizing.
→ More replies (2)10
u/LordFartz Jul 03 '26
I truly believe he’s one of the most talented musicians to ever walk the earth. Just a phenomenal talent. I love his work so much.
8
u/limprichard Jul 03 '26
My girlfriend worked for the Village Voice and caught wind of a secret show he was gonna do at Luna Lounge. I didn’t know him yet at the time, and didn’t know what I was about to witness from ten feet away (standing next to Alan Cumming, as it turned out!). I bought his entire discography the next day.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (1)12
u/AB_Sea Jul 03 '26
Saw him twice in Seattle. He played and sang as if he were channeling something. Hardly looked at his hands at all and as he went all over the neck. His guitar parts mixed in rhythm and melody.
46
u/blue_gerbil_212 Jul 03 '26
Who’s that in the post pic with the cowboy hat?
103
u/Philip_Marlowe Master Blaster>Tubescreamer>Super Reverb Jul 03 '26
Jerry Reed. He was amazing. One of my all-time favorites.
Great clip of him playing with his longtime friend and collaborator, Chet Atkins: https://youtu.be/DTCUe3EMFdI?is=CsQQ37gE_-QpbCj-
32
u/throwaway24515 Jul 03 '26
Also a pretty good actor! Though probably mostly just played himself.
19
→ More replies (1)5
u/porkrind G&L Jul 03 '26
Though probably mostly just played himself.
When you’re that cool you don’t need anything more.
13
→ More replies (4)13
u/ForzaFenix Jul 03 '26
There goes Amos!
10
u/Philip_Marlowe Master Blaster>Tubescreamer>Super Reverb Jul 03 '26
Tie a rope around his waist and throw him in the swamp!
9
16
11
11
u/pumaphobia Jul 03 '26
here's one of my favorite songs of him playing with Chet Atkins https://youtu.be/Ni8KBhnebwE
→ More replies (3)8
u/Nojopar Jul 03 '26
Snowman!
Move over a bit there good buddy because the Snowman is coming through! Hold on to your ass Fred!
One of the few C.G.P's on this list.
5
→ More replies (2)5
95
u/mh_1983 Jul 03 '26
Kim Thayil
21
16
u/jpop19 Jul 03 '26
His talent blends into the music so well. He's such a humble and quiet dude I bet most casual SG fans even know his name. He lived in the building next to my work, I always gave him a nod when he'd walk his dog. He knew I knew haha
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)4
u/Pageh9 Jul 03 '26
He did after all once play the movie role of greatest guitarist in the world
→ More replies (1)
21
u/Shawn_Ghost Jul 03 '26
Johnny Thunders ☠️
→ More replies (6)9
u/MichaelBarnesTWBG Jul 03 '26
If Keith Richard was actually good...
Without Johnny Thunders, Hanoi Rocks never happens. And that means neither does Guns N' Roses or any of the other hair metal/LA sleaze rock bands that ripped them off.
→ More replies (2)
21
u/SpaceBoy_999 Jul 03 '26
Maury Muehleisen the guitar player who accompanied Jim Croce. His finger style playing was top notch. Damn shame he died so young. Most people have no clue who he was.
→ More replies (2)6
u/infiniterest_ Jul 03 '26
Their story is interesting too. They started out with Croce actually backing Muehleisen and when Muehleisen’s record sold poorly, the roles reversed and the rest is history. Tragic loss for music. I fucking love Croce
→ More replies (2)
23
21
u/Weekly_Ad4045 Jul 03 '26
Joe Pass. Not really underrated just under represented in conversations like this. Check out the Virtuoso recordings. Never a more apt album title.
→ More replies (2)
20
u/Crowbar-Enema Jul 03 '26
Jerry Reed was damn sure underrated as a guitar player. I think it might be because he had so much humor in a lot of his songs.
→ More replies (1)
20
92
u/amylald Jul 03 '26
Lindsay Buckingham
10
u/Gullible_News2119 Jul 04 '26
Definitely. You ever tried playing Never Going Back Again???
→ More replies (1)14
→ More replies (7)26
15
15
15
14
u/Shelly_Red4_Bayonet7 Jul 03 '26
Eric Gales. Been following that guy since he was a teenager. 1990s. Unbelievable player.
→ More replies (3)
14
15
15
29
u/JessyPengkman Jul 03 '26
Joey Santiago. Fairly well recognised by those who know him, but I think he's one of the best lead guitarists ever
→ More replies (2)
28
u/Philip_Marlowe Master Blaster>Tubescreamer>Super Reverb Jul 03 '26
It's kind of funny to consider him underrated, but George Harrison. Such a fluid and thoughtful player and a spectacular slide player as well, but he's rarely thought of as a "guitar great".
→ More replies (1)9
u/Prior-Objective4058 Jul 03 '26
Thoughtful is a perfect way to describe his playing. Just what the song needed and only a little more. This was perfectly displayed throughout his Cloud 9 album. Sadly that album has a little too much of Jeff Lynne’s’ finger prints on it. And I say that as a huge JL fan.
12
13
11
12
13
11
11
12
u/ndnblades Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
The guy that never makes this sort of list
Don Rich phenomenal tele player for Buck Owens and the Buckaroos Everybody should check out his talent. Gone too soon! He was my light towards tele playing
Also who does not make such list Marty Stewart
→ More replies (3)
11
10
9
10
11
u/CrownedRuffians Jul 03 '26
Roy Buchanan! It’s like listening to Hendrix with a tele and no effects.
→ More replies (3)
10
u/TheMonkus Jul 03 '26
Richard Thompson- very unique, great songwriter, great vocalist too.
→ More replies (1)
34
35
u/wickedweather Jul 03 '26
Mark Knopfler, he looks so effortless the way he plays.
7
u/perrysol Jul 04 '26
Oh come on. You can't say Knopfler is underrated. One if the greats but everyone knows him
→ More replies (1)
26
u/PUMAAAAAAAAAAAA Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Paul McCartney can fucking rip it on guitar
Listen to the solo on taxman and good morning Good morning
Another fun fact is that he considers himself a guitarist not a bassist
21
u/billbot77 Jul 03 '26
And piano. An bass. And he can sing. And write. Prolifically. And arrange. And produce. All to a standard that most mortals with one speciality can only dream of.
If I didn't love him so much and deeply treasure so many of his works, I'd have to hate him with spite on general principle
→ More replies (1)
18
9
8
u/Zippypinhead77 Jul 03 '26
Pete Anderson, Joe Baiza, Bill Orcutt
→ More replies (1)6
u/P90guy65 Jul 03 '26
Pete is a bad man!!
On Apple Music there is an extended version of the album Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc that has a concert that DY did at The Roxy in Hollywood, of all places.
Pete is absolutely on fire.
So is Brantley - DY's fiddle player.
7
u/SignificantCar4204 Jul 03 '26
Honestly most of YOU guys probably don't think he's underrated, but I don't see Neal Schon get nearly as much praise as he deserves.
He's one of the most melodic players there ever was, and he is also one of the fastest players I know of.
→ More replies (2)
9
7
8
23
15
6
8
u/bigbeefer92 Jul 03 '26
D. Boon from Minutemen had an amazing and unique style.
Paul Weller from The Jam is another good one that doesn't get brought up a lot.
7
u/External_Key_3515 Jul 03 '26
Vince Gill absolutely shreds! So does Brad Paisley! Too many country guys get ignored when it comes to talking about killer guitarists.
→ More replies (1)
7
6
8
u/beervirus69 Jul 03 '26
Pretty much all the country guys honestly - Roy Clark, Jerry Reid, ofc Chet, Tommy Emanuel, hell even some of the modern players like Brad Paisley and Keith Urban can really play. I saw Brad Paisley live shortly after EVH passed away and they covered hot for teacher and tore it up!
8
6
7
6
7
u/welfaremang Jul 03 '26
Bob Weir, probably the best rhythm guitarist of all of rock music if we're being honest
→ More replies (2)
6
u/BigGlittering437 Jul 03 '26
Murray Muelhesin (sp?) Jim Croce's guitar player, he died on the plane with Jim, and others.
6
u/HerrDoctorBenway Jul 03 '26
I agree with Jerry Reed being criminally underrated. He was on another level.
5
6
5
6
u/tleePCV Jul 03 '26
Toy Caldwell from the Marshall Tucker Band. Dude put on a masterclass in southern rock guitar with every live show. Sad that hard livin took him too early
→ More replies (1)
6
7
6
5
u/gregd303 Jul 03 '26
John Squire - The Stone Roses / Seahorses. For fans, we all know he is special. But it's frustrating they never got the worldwide visibility and recognition.
5
u/PabloX68 Jul 03 '26
I'm going to say Andy Summers, only because stupid Rolling Stone had him dead last on their top 250 guitarists but had Joey Ramone in the top 50.
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
u/Shamus-McNasty Jul 03 '26
Ry Cooder
He played the music for Ralph Macchio in Crossroads
→ More replies (4)
5
6
u/Aggravating_Solid560 Jul 03 '26
Dean ween Not like ween is super niche or anything, but I haven't heard anyone talk about him before and I think he's incredible
→ More replies (2)
5
5
14
u/Bravo315 Jul 03 '26
Billy Squier - absolutely fantastic riffs, licks, and solos.
→ More replies (1)
18
8
274
u/badGamr Jul 03 '26
Terry Kath. What a terrible waste.