When Guitar Gods Ruled!

Once upon a time, our world was ruled by the Guitar Gods. The beautiful sounds of Fender Stratocasters and Gibson Les Pauls plugged into Marshall amps ruled the airwaves. The whammy dives and feedback were music to our ears. When we heard these beautiful sounds, all of our troubles seemed to fade away.

The Guitar Gods started their domination of the Earth during the late 1960's. the guy to the left started the Guitar God's Dynasty.

Jimi Hendrix came onto the music scene during the late 1960's thus declaring himself King of the Earth. His whammy dives and feed back were unheard of before his time. He was perhaps the first guitarist to combine Blues with Hard Rock. He was and is the ultimate Guitar God. Even though he passed away in 1970, King Jimi still rests upon the Guitar God throne.

 Then came Prince Eric Clapton. Just as King Jimi did, Prince Eric brought a Blues feel to the Hard Rock scene. His best guitar work was whe he was a member of Cream. His cover of Robert Johnson's song " Cross Roads " was perhaps his best guitar work ever.

 Then came Prince Jimmy Page. Another Hard Rock guitarist who brought a Blues feel along with him. His work with the Yardbirds and Led Zepplin was legendary.

 Then came Prince Ritchie Blakmore of Deep Purple fame. Being the first of the shreaders, he would later influence a new generation of Guitar Princes during the 1980's

Then came the 1970's and a new generation of Guitar Princes was born. The Aussie Prince Angus Young was one of the first on the scene along with Prince Billy Gibbons of Texas. Both Prince Angus and Prince Billy continued to blend American Blues with Hard Rock. They along with all of the guitarists listed above still report to King Jimi.

  Then in the late 1970's came Prince Eddie Van Halen. Influenced by both King Jimi and Prince Ritchie Blackmore, Prince Eddie took guitar playing to a lever unheard of before. His harmonic tapping coupled with whammy dives would re-define guitar playing forever.

As great as he is, he still reports to King Jimi.

 Then came the 1980's. Guitarists such as Eddie, Billy and Angus still ruled. However then came Prince Steve Vai. Another one of those excellent shreaders influenced by Prince Ritchie Blackmore. Prince Steve also had a great Blues feel as you can hear on the soundtrack of the movie ' Crossroads '

As great as he is, he still continues to report to King Jimi.

How could we forget Randy Rhoades?  He wasn't the Prince of anything. Perhaps he was a God from another planet. I always suspected that he was an alein. His shreading coupled with his classical  influence was unheard of before his time.

Was he a God? Was he an alien from another planet?

Perhaps both. I doubt that he reports to anyone.

 You can't forget about the Texas Tornado. Deemed the Prince of Texas, Prince Stevie  Ray Vaughan took American Blues to a new level, thus raising the bar for future Blues players. He would later influence Blues players during the 1990's.

He would later be promoted to ' King of the Blues '

All future Blues players would be required to report to him.

Later in the 1980's, Prince Slash rocked onto the Hard Rock / Blues scene with Guns ' n ' Roses.

Prince Slash brought a much needed basic Hard Rock / Blues edge to the ' Hair Band ' erea of the late 1980's.

Even though Slash is a Prince, I seriously doubt that he reports to any Guitar God. Actually I believe that he and King Jimi were brothers in another life.

 During the early 1990's, guitarists such as Slash, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai and Angus Young were still amoungst the most popular guitarists of the time. However a new generation of Princes were more than willing to take over.

Grundge had taken over MTV and gutarists such as Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains ( pictured to the left ) were among the new Princes. Prince Jerry incorporated a basic Blues feel into the Grundge scene.

Influenced by King Jimi and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Prince Kenny Wayne Sheperd stormed onto the Blues scene during the 1990's.

 And so did Chicago Blues influenced Prince Johny Lang.

So what has happened to the days of the Guitar Gods? Nowadays, if a guitarist is able to chunk out a few power chords, he is considered to be a great guitarist. The days of screaming solos combined with whammy dives and feed back are things of the past.

The rule of the Guitar Gods, Princes and Kings seems to be gone.

However beware...King Jimi is still on his throne!