TG PICKS...

PAUL KOSSOFF

AC/DC copied the Free legend’s frenetic vibrato and muscular riff writing, and Allrightnow remains a masterclass in building excitement.

MICK TAYLOR

“Taylor was a very fluent, melodic player,” said Mick Jagger. With wah and slide, he create impressively vocal sounds.

STEVE HACKETT

Tapping before Eddie and sweeping before Yngwie, the Genesis wizard was also an early adopter of the guitar synth.

STEVE LUKATHER

His easy groove, wild bends and fluid runs made Toto’s guitarist the first call session player of the 80s.

SCOTT GORHAM & BRIAN ROBERTSON

Thin Lizzy drove the

Les Paul and Marshall combination harder than anyone had before, defining the sound and licks of heavy rock guitar.

TOM SCHOLZ

Second only to EVH for defining 80s rock guitar tone, the Boston man invented the gear behind hundreds of hits.

JJ CALE

He wrote Cocaine, originated the Tulsa sound and counted Clapton, Knopfler and Neil Young among his disciples.

ANDY SUMMERS

The Police’s songs would have sounded generic without Andy’s innovative add9 voicings and his EHX Electric Mistress flanger pedal.

THE EDGE

By using delay as an instrument of its own, with U2 he found an entirely new way to orchestrate guitars.

ROBERT FRIPP

Guitar’s premier mad scientist, Fripp has defied convention and influenced every subsequent progger.

WAYNE KRAMER & FRED ‘SONIC’ SMITH

The MC5’S garage rock kicked out the jams, predated punk by a decade and sounded angry as hell.

JEFF ‘SKUNK’ BAXTER

He played on more records than some people own, most notably adding inspiration to Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers.

MICK RONSON

Created the arrangements for Bowie’s best material. Find any guitarist in makeup and Ronson is probably the reason they started playing.

DICK WAGNER & STEVE HUNTER

They shook the sound of rock first with Lou Reed, then again with Alice Cooper. Hunter played uncredited for Aerosmith.

NEAL SCHON

When rock became a speed competition, Schon made solos you could sing. Journey are still on the radio as a result.

RY COODER

An undisputed slide master, Cooder’s smoking licks even vanquished Steve Vai in Crossroads. His feel and vibrato are unrivalled.

ANDY POWELL/TED TURNER

Wishbone Ash did more than anyone to introduce harmony guitars to metal. Their twin guitars gave Iron Maiden their cue.

JERRY GARCIA

Garcia idiosyncratically borrowed banjo techniques, leaving behind 22,000 hours of recorded music with the Grateful Dead.