ROCK AND ROLL EXPLOSION! Play like the greats

Licks, riffs and quiffs! In a fantastic video feature Stuart Ryan shows how to play like some of the most influential guitarists in rock and roll!

Ask the world’s greatest guitar legends who inspired them and every player in our rock and roll video lesson line-up is likely to be on the list. Learn the licks that inspired your heroes!

If the 1940s saw the arrival of the first guitar legends in the form of Les Paul and Django Reinhardt, then the ‘50s arguably saw the emergence of the guitar hero. As this new musical genre rock and roll arrived, so too did the fresh medium of television to many households across America. All of a sudden young guitar rebels were getting exposure like never before via the nation’s mainstream media. Some, like Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, were superstars whose light would shine bright but short. Others, like Scotty Moore and James Burton, were ace sidemen who would forge long, successful careers and go on to see how their contributions to rock and roll would shape virtually everything that came after. And in often surprising ways.

Across the pond in the UK, rock and roll had caught the ears of post-war British kids desperate to get out of the poverty and austerity that had gripped the nation since 1945. Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison in Liverpool, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Albert Lee and Eric Clapton in London, Eric Burdon, Brian Hankin and Mark Knopfler in Newcastle: these and a host of others saw music as a way out, and the American rockers were their ticket to ride.

The birth of rock and roll is well documented but often clumsily attributed to one or two songs - normally Bill Haley’s sleeper smash hit Rock Around The Clock and Ike Turner’s Rocket 88. However, its roots run far deeper than just one or two tracks and the genre was a melting point of many different styles, so you’ll hear elements of gospel and blues, western swing, jazz, country and boogie woogie. Indeed, listen to the artists in this feature and you will hear all of them bring different influences to the genre, from the country swing sound prevalent in Tommy Allsup’s work with Buddy Holly, to Dick Dale’s hard, frenetic surf guitar.

Given that over the years we have seen the development of rock, hard rock, metal, thrash and more it can be tempting to see early rock and roll as the gentle offering of a more naïve time. Of course nothing could be further from the truth because in fact the genre was one of teenage rebellion. Bear in mind how the energy of the music must have stood in stark contrast to the sedate country and pop sounds that had dominated the airwaves. All of a sudden teenagers were dancing to higher tempo songs with edgy lyrics and, crucially for us, guitar solos.

In this article I’ll delve into the playing styles of some of the many wonderful guitarists of this era. Some obvious names have been omitted (there’s no Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, etc) but this is because their styles have been covered in detail many times before and so leave us with space for some lesser known players from whom we can learn just as much (check out the explosive Jimmy Bryant for example).

In many ways rock and roll is a great style to learn, as along the way you synthesise blues, country, rockabilly and even elements of jazz. It can be surprisingly demanding when you come to learn the high tempo solos of guitarists like Cliff Gallup and it will also introduce you to many new rhythmic concepts from the use of major 6 chords to melodic double-stops a la Buddy Holly and Tommy Alsup. I’m a huge fan of the style, not least because of the smiles you get from other guitarists when you rip out an authentic high-tempo rock and roll lick. Have fun!

rock and roll had caught the ear of post-war british kids desper ate to get out of pover ty and auster ity