The Go-getter Guitar Guys

Ever wondered what it took for ordinary men with extraordinary music sense to reach the pinnacle of stardom. The world has witnessed the rise of many guitar players who have paved their way and reached the ultimate glory. So, what was the star material that made them the legends that they are? Of course, it must have taken the rare combination of unmatched musical genius, immeasurable dedication and quality hard-work. They must have been through endless jamming sessions and long practice hours. After all, it’s not a joke to master this splendid skill. It’s pleasing the way, these men rose from their plain conditions and became eternal in history of musicians. The all time great guitar stars are hard to list down; there will always be indifference for the top spots among the guitar lovers. It’s their immense amount of love and loyalty for the legends that would lead to the controversy. But there are a few names that have equal amount of following and respect among all guitar players. Take the all time great Jimi Hendrix for instance, the kind of genius that he would demonstrate not only in his recording and films alone, but also his stage performances would create a spell-bounding effect on the audiences. Hendrix teared apart the basics of guitar playing, dazzling the listeners with a fresh approach to sound and space innovations like the use of Univibe and Octavia effect. Few people know about the hard time that he had to go through as a child and the effort to reach perfection in his initial years. He had learned by practising almost persistently watching others play through his tips from more experienced players, and by listening to records. Hendrix started playing from the music class to the local bands and ultimately reached the point of fame. Hendrix had started with humble beginnings and had to face lots of barriers to establish his talent and success came in only after much of frustrated experiences on the ground level. Some believe that these men did not have to do a lot of hard work, but their success was accountable to something they had a flair for. It’s easier said than done, it’s true that they did had a rare gift of musical genius but it requires a lot more than that, to be what they are. Same could be said for B.B King, who had a revolutionary yet sophisticated style of soloing that would practically influence every electric blues guitarist that followed. Kings too had to face lots of difficulties and hardships and which had forced him to go back. But the maestro returned with preparation and started working with the local bands. He soon realised that he had, what it takes to be a musical wizard and he then formed his own band. The kind of supreme conviction for his goals is something to admire. For over 50 years King has played in thousands of performances and was conferred the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. With his matchless style, King had gained visibility with the rock audiences and continued to be cherished by his numerous fans. Another big name that comes to mind is that of Eric Clapton. It first appeared on the walls of London in1965, “Clapton is God”. Clapton started with a bang only at the age of twenty and was playing only since he was fifteen. But Clapton had already soloing with improvisational spirit that has astounded his fans and peers for forty years. He had made enormous contribution to genres such as psychadelic, blues rock and heavy metal. Another name that’s hard to forget is that of Duane Allman. The legend’s contribution to the albums went on to become a part of rock history. Duane was motivated to guitar by his brother’s guitar playing and also by attending the concert of B.B. King whose music had promptly created a spell on him. Allman had been a cheery light-spirited hippie all his childhood and his adult life. All these men have much in common; they have all strived hard to get to the top and had absolute conviction going all the way through exigent conditions. They not only showed their striking music brilliance they did it so effortlessly that it seemed incredibly easy.

These guitarists had an astonishing ability to express, bond with the listeners and tell rich musical tales through playing. There vibrant guitar sound integrated melody and warp and singlehandedly altered the visage of popular music. But one has to bear in mind that, the kind of power that these stars were able to exhibit was not just a matter of a few practice sessions, but it was tons of hard-work, after which success followed. Once they had achieved success it was equally demanding to maintain their places and do justice to the kind of expectations of their followers and the music community.