The 100 Wildest Guitarists Ever

[yoda]

OH nothin...
Just that I never get tired of lookin at my favorite rock and roller...
You??
Shall I ditto for ya??

Oh, I can ditto for myself..
And that pic from Cole can bring a smile to my face ANYTIME..

 

[BlueStangGT]

Blah, blah, blah...

Wildest guitarist? How the heck do you define something like that? Seems to me like this is a waste of time but I just couldn't help looking in on it anyway... kinda like driving by a car wreck I guess.

Kudos to whomever it was for bringing Jennifer Batten's name into the discussion. I saw her with Jeff Beck a few years ago in St. Louis and was absolutely blown away!

Was Jr. Brown on that list? How about Bugs Henderson? There's a couple of wild ones for ya!

Steve Lukather
Michael Landau
Andy Timmons
Tommy Emmanuel
Scott Henderson
Frank Gambale
Adrian Legg
Robert Fripp

I can come up with dozens of great players that aren't on that list but I just don't get the writer's parameters for qualification.

 

[Von Halen]

I'd like to know their definition of wild.

I'm 43, and I like Pantera too!

You guys have listed some killer guitarists that aren't on that list.

No Gary Moore? No Eric Johnson?

And Kurt Cobain at 10? Why, because he was so wild, that he blew his brains out? Maybe he should have been number 1!

 

[Gordon]

Yeah, Chris Wilt hit the nail on the head... Lots of good and even great guitarists on that list, but then again there are a lot missing too. Impossible to define "Wild" as has been pointed out.

As a side note and completely unimportant - Zakk Wylde & I graduated from high school together (I could even tell you his real name, if ya cared). In fact, we went to the same schools from sixth grade on... My wife sat next to him in our 10th grade Engilsh class if you can believe that. Does he have even a clue who I am today? Absolutely not, but I love his music.

 

[Hutch]

I'd like to know their definition of wild.

I'm 43, and I like Pantera too!

You guys have listed some killer guitarists that aren't on that list.

No Gary Moore? No Eric Johnson?

And Kurt Cobain at 10? Why, because he was so wild, that he blew his brains out? Maybe he should have been number 1!

I think most of you have missed the point here, 'wildest guitarist' would not just be judged on techical ability, hence most of the top ten are well known for their drink and drug intake, but with the exception of Van Halen.

On the other hand Pete Townshend, Brian May & Steve Vai, are more noted for their extreme technical skill, not getting pissed and smashing stuff up, and therefore feature low on the list.

 

[yoda]

Uhhh... Pete not smashing up stuff???

 

[Hutch]

Uhhh... Pete not smashing up stuff???

lt shows you haven't been to a Who concert in recent years, Pete stopped smashing guitars up years ago.

 

[willy]

Oh..John..James Taylor is wild because??????

Because he was in a nut ward in the 70's..jeez. ( I love James Taylor)

Oh wait..is this a Wildest Acoustic Guitar list?

And Stevie Ray was actually living a clean and sober life when he died.

Angus & Malcolm Young at 88/89..pfft..they partied more than anyone on that list that even died because of it!

Bonnie Raitt at 99..pfft x2. Same category as James Taylor.

The list sucks John..period.

Should be Wildest Lifestyle of Guitarists..but that wouldn't fit either.

 

[Hutch]

Oh..John..James Taylor is wild because??????

Because he was in a nut ward in the 70's..jeez. ( I love James Taylor)

Oh wait..is this a Wildest Acoustic Guitar list?

And Stevie Ray was actually living a clean and sober life when he died.

Angus & Malcolm Young at 88/89..pfft..they partied more than anyone on that list that even died because of it!

Bonnie Raitt at 99..pfft. Same category as James Taylor.

The list sucks John..period.

Should be Wildest Lifestyle of Guitarists..but that wouldn't fit either.

Classic Rock's Top 100 Wildest Guitarists was compiled through a mixture of reader votes, expert opinion from Classic Rock's sister magazines Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Techniques, and the first-hand experiences of Classic Rock writers.

Have we missed anyone you think should have been included? Visit Classic Rock to comment

 

[BaldyLochs]

Gordon, that's way cool about Zacky! Is he an amazing story, or what?? Did you get to see him in his first band, Zyrus ?? There's footage of him playing way back then - almost before he had to shave, and he's ripping out licks that showed up on (his) first Ozzy record - and they're still his signature licks today. A great musician; one of the few who haven't ruined thier career or lives by going overboard on drugs or bastardized thier personal life. Drinking.... that's another story... but when you listen to Zakk and hear him honestly talk about honor, family, love, work ethics, patriotism...... you see much more than a great guitarist.

 

[Gordon]

Gordon, that's way cool about Zacky! Is he an amazing story, or what?? Did you get to see him in his first band, Zyrus ?? There's footage of him playing way back then - almost before he had to shave, and he's ripping out licks that showed up on (his) first Ozzy record - and they're still his signature licks today. A great musician; one of the few who haven't ruined thier career or lives by going overboard on drugs or bastardized thier personal life. Drinking.... that's another story... but when you listen to Zakk and hear him honestly talk about honor, family, love, work ethics, patriotism...... you see much more than a great guitarist.

Never saw Zyrus... but actually I believe his very first band was called Hatter Fox - now there's a little Zakk trivia for ya. In our senior year of HS he & his band (all classmates as well) played at the school in the lunchroom/auditorium on a Friday night and opened with Bark at the Moon, by Ozzy. He played a bunch of cover tunes (Ozzy, Black Sabbath, Hendrix, Zeppelin, etc.) and rocked the house, so to speak. He also played the Star Spangled Banner w/ his teeth - anybody remember who else used to do that? Anyway, I vividly remember telling my dad the next morning that I honestly felt that if anyone came out of my graduating class to become truly 'famous' it would be Jeff, er, uh, umm, I mean Zakk. Well whatd'ya know, here we are discussing him and his work on an internet chat board! And he can't be all bad - he sponsored... oh yeah, that Skuza guy! And yeah, I love his work - I have every CD.