Angus Young is one of the most famous and iconic guitar players in rock history. But was his brother Malcolm secretly the true creative genius?
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00:00Angus Young is one of the most famous and iconic guitar players in rock history, but
00:04was his brother Malcolm secretly the true creative genius?
00:08Known as one half of the Grateful Dead's iconic guitar duo along with Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir
00:13has been active in the music industry since the Dead formed in the mid-1960s.
00:18In the nearly six decades since, Weir has played with a variety of bands, including
00:22as a solo act, as well as in the many post-Garcia iterations of the Grateful Dead.
00:27During his time in the Dead, Weir established himself as the ice to Garcia's fire, providing
00:32stealthy rhythm accompaniment to Garcia's blazing leads.
00:35Despite his fame and success, Weir has been perennially overshadowed almost his entire
00:40career by Garcia.
00:42Garcia's lead playing was always front and center compared with Weir's delicate rhythms,
00:46and for many, the Grateful Dead was really the cult of Garcia.
00:50Even after Weir and the remaining members reinvented themselves as Dead and Company,
00:54it seems like all of the attention goes to Garcia's replacement, John Mayer.
00:58Hopefully someday, Weir will get the spotlight and the recognition he truly deserves.
01:03When most people think of Aerosmith, two names usually jump to the forefront Joe Perry and
01:08Steven Tyler.
01:10Often left behind is longtime guitarist Brad Whitford, who joined the band when they were
01:14just starting out and helped co-write several songs, including Last Child, Nobody's Fault,
01:20and Round and Round.
01:21In addition to his work with Aerosmith, Whitford has been featured on albums by legends like
01:25Joe Bonamassa and Ian Hunter.
01:28Whitford also has composing credits for several bands, including Van Halen among many others.
01:33While Perry and Tyler often receive the lion's share of the credit for Aerosmith, without
01:37Whitford they would be a very different-sounding band.
01:40In addition to his many composing credits, Whitford also plays lead on a number of tracks,
01:45with chops that rival even Perry's.
01:48His driving rhythms made Aerosmith the kings of rock for a time, and they have always been
01:52vital to the classic Aerosmith sound.
01:55Even though he is responsible for some of the most iconic and catchy guitar riffs of
01:58the 20th century, not many people place The Doors' Robbie Krieger on their list of top
02:03guitarists.
02:04Krieger joined The Doors in their formative years and appeared on all of their albums.
02:08Without a bass player, Krieger was the only member to play a string instrument, but his
02:12innovative and groovy riffs more than filled the gap.
02:16During his career with The Doors, Krieger was often overshadowed by charismatic frontman
02:20Jim Morrison, and he is probably the most overlooked member of the entire band.
02:24Following Morrison's death in 1971, Krieger and the other members tried to keep the band
02:29going, which allowed Krieger to showcase some of his unique writing skills.
02:33Following the end of The Doors, Krieger embarked on a mildly successful solo career, where
02:38he mixes together everything from rock and reggae to jazz.
02:41While most people only associate Krieger with The Doors, his solo work has earned critical
02:46praise from many corners.
02:48Krieger has certainly proven that he is more than a second fiddle to Morrison, and he deserves
02:51much more praise for his musicianship.
02:54In terms of outstanding rhythm guitarists in rock and roll, Paul Kantner is right at
02:58the top of the list.
03:00As the rhythm player in Jefferson Airplane, which he helped found, Kantner provided outstanding
03:04songwriting and a steady, solid presence as part of the vanguard of the psychedelic music
03:09movement in the 1960s.
03:11His guitar playing was a big part of their early success, and gave a unique edge to the
03:16burgeoning San Francisco sound they were helping to pioneer.
03:19After the airplane dissolved, Kantner was part of its successor, Jefferson Starship,
03:24and he contributed many songs to the group's repertoire.
03:27He also co-wrote the Crosby, Stills, and Nash song, Wooden Ships.
03:31Though he left Jefferson Starship for a few years in the 80s, Kantner rejoined them in
03:35the early 90s and continued to tour with them for another two decades.
03:40He died in 2016 from organ failure and septic shock following a heart attack.
03:44Though he never earned the accolades he deserved, Kantner's rhythm playing is some of the best
03:49in rock history.
03:51As the guitarist for The Police, many rock fans have known the music of Andy Summers
03:55for years.
03:56In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he played with acts as diverse as Eric Burden in The
04:01Animals and Neil Sedaka.
04:03Summers joined The Police in the late 1970s, with whom he would earn several Grammys.
04:08The Police, though one of the most popular bands of the 20th century, had a short shelf
04:12life and disbanded after less than a decade.
04:15And while Sting and drummer Stuart Copeland are largely recognized as two of the greatest
04:19musicians in rock history, for some reason, the same accolades seem to escape Summers.
04:24And it's not as if Summers' career stopped at The Police.
04:27On the contrary, since their dissolution, he's put out some of his most creative and
04:31inventive music.
04:32During his solo career, which has spanned an incredible 15 albums, Summers has branched
04:37out to include many more jazz influences.
04:40Summers truly is a complete musician, and certainly not just Sting's former guitar player.
04:45And I think what really worked musically for The Police was a drawing together of a lot
04:50of contemporary styles, punk, reggae, jazz, and bringing it all together.
04:54Even though he has been active in the music industry for more than three decades, unless
04:57you have been following the jam band circuit, you likely aren't very familiar with Jimmy
05:01Herring.
05:02Herring first made a name for himself in the late 1980s as the co-guitarist in Colonel
05:07Bruce Hampton's The Aquarium Rescue Unit.
05:10Herring is also known for his contributions to Jazz Is Dead and for his multiple connections
05:14to the Grateful Dead universe.
05:16Herring took over duties for the departed Jerry Garcia during the Dead's incarnation
05:20as The Other Ones, and he also played in Dead bass player Phil Lesh's solo project, Phil
05:25Lesh & Friends, for several years.
05:27Since the mid-2000s, Herring has also served as the co-guitar player for mega-jam band
05:32Widespread Panic.
05:34Given his incredible chops, it's unfortunate that more fans don't know Herring's name.
05:39Mike Campbell is one of the greatest, but also least-recognized guitar players in rock
05:43and roll history.
05:44He is best known for being the rhythm guitarist in Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for their
05:48entire career.
05:49While guitarists have long revered Campbell's ability to play driving rhythms and the occasional
05:55he always seemed to come in second to Petty with critics and mainstream audiences.
05:59It's understandable, considering Petty is one of the gods of rock and roll, but Campbell
06:04definitely is deserving of praise all his own.
06:06Besides his work with Petty and the Heartbreakers, Campbell has played with rock legends like
06:11Fleetwood Mac and Bob Dylan.
06:13He also wrote the music for the song, The Boys of Summer, which Eagles drummer Don Henley
06:17recorded after Petty turned it down.
06:19"...he had recorded it again in his home studio, so this was one that Petty had rejected."
06:23"...he passed on this track."
06:25"...he passed on this track."
06:27Campbell also formed a band, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs, in which he has played
06:30full-time since Petty's death.
06:33Over the years, Campbell has proven himself as a solid songwriter and steady rhythm player,
06:37and he can lay down a technical solo when the music calls for it.
06:41Known by many as a musician's musician, Robert Fripp has undeniably been one of the most
06:45unique talents in rock and roll since the 1960s, when his idiosyncratic guitar methods
06:50helped his band King Crimson become one of the progenitors of the modern progressive
06:55rock movement.
06:56His guitar lines mixed rock with jazz and even some classical stylings to create a wholly
07:01new type of music.
07:02He was the only consistent member of King Crimson during their long history, mixing
07:06and matching different musicians over the years to fit his sounds.
07:10Fripp's work is not just limited to King Crimson, though, as he has released a ton of solo albums
07:14and appeared as a guest on other works.
07:17Fripp is one of the most technically gifted players in rock history, and in both 1997
07:21and 2004, Fripp was invited on the famous G3 tour to play alongside fellow guitar legends
07:27Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
07:29And even in his late 70s, Fripp is still pushing the envelope of his guitar skills.
07:34And right now I'm working hard on learning a repertoire I haven't had the good fortune
07:40of being able to play before.
07:42As one of the co-founders of ACDC, guitarist Malcolm Young lived and breathed rock and
07:47roll every day.
07:49Malcolm founded the band with his younger brother Angus in Australia in the 1970s, and
07:53they soon rose to become one of the biggest international acts in all of rock.
07:57However, even though Malcolm was often described as the creative force behind the band's success,
08:02Angus always garnered much more attention.
08:05This was mainly due to Angus playing all of the guitar solos, as well as his penchant
08:09for dressing up like a schoolboy for his energetic performances.
08:12Yet, without Malcolm, ACDC would never have risen to the heights they did, and Angus would
08:18not have had the platform to become the rock god he is widely recognized as.
08:22Together, the two wrote the vast majority of ACDC's songs, including most of their biggest
08:27hits, and Malcolm became known as one of the steadiest rhythm players in rock.
08:31Young died in 2017, three years after retiring from the band due to dementia, though he stayed
08:37with the band as long as he possibly could.
08:39Lead singer Brian Johnson told 730,
08:42"...Malcolm started to rehearse the songs that he'd played for 30 years every day before
08:48he did a show.
08:49It was his dedication."
08:50Upon his death, tributes poured in from some of the biggest names in rock.
08:54A Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Malcolm definitely has a place on the Mount Rushmore
08:59of rock rhythm guitarists.
09:01Rock and Roll has long been known as a boys' club, and lamentably, only a few women have
09:06managed to break past the patriarchal paradigm and misogyny of the rock world.
09:10One of them is Susan Tedeschi, and despite her being an amazing guitar player and songwriter,
09:16she is regularly overlooked in favor of less talented male guitarists.
09:20Tedeschi began her career at the age of just 13, and she released her first solo album
09:24with her blues band in 1995, which was re-released in 1998.
09:29She earned her first of seven Grammy nominations the following year for Best New Artist.
09:34She is also married to guitar legend Derek Trucks, and together they formed the Tedeschi-Trucks
09:38Band, winning a Grammy in 2012 for their debut album, Revelator.
09:43Tedeschi plays a distinct brand of blues rock that also incorporates elements ranging from
09:47R&B to soul.
09:49She has been one of the top acts in blues rock for more than 20 years, and hopefully
09:53she will start to be recognized as the guitar goddess she is.
09:57For many people, Cary Livgren provided the soundtrack to the 1970s.
10:01They just don't know it.
10:03As a member of Kansas, Livgren penned classics like Carry On, Wayward Son and Dust in the
10:08Wind, two of the biggest rock and roll hits of the decade.
10:11He was one of the founders and played with the band until their initial breakup in 1983.
10:16After Kansas, Livgren formed a new band, A.D., which embraced Christian themes but had little
10:22commercial success.
10:23Still, the music showcased Livgren's innovative and unique songwriting abilities.
10:28Kansas reformed years later, and in 2000, Livgren was once again the primary songwriter
10:33for their album, Somewhere to Elsewhere.
10:35Besides his work in A.D. and Kansas, Livgren has also released several solo albums, starting
10:41with Seeds of Change in 1980.
10:43Still, it's his work with Kansas that will forever be immortalized as some of the best
10:47guitar playing in rock history, even though he has never received the accolades given
10:51to other major rock guitarists.
10:53A large man of imposing stature, guitarist Leslie West first came to mainstream attention
10:58in 1970 when his band Mountain released their debut album, Climbing.
11:02The album included the now-iconic rock anthem Mississippi Queen, which featured West's thunderous
11:08vocals and guitar playing.
11:10The band, partly named for West's huge size, had played at the legendary music festival
11:14Woodstock the year before, cementing their legacy in rock history.
11:18After Climbing, West would release a few more albums with Mountain and as a solo artist,
11:23but he never again experienced the commercial success that Mississippi Queen gave him.
11:27Still, West was one of the best under-the-radar guitarists of the last few decades, and many
11:32prominent guitarists like Eddie Van Halen have praised his abilities.
11:36Interestingly, it seems like many rappers and hip-hop artists are fans of West's work,
11:40and his music has been extensively sampled by huge acts including Kanye West, Jay-Z,
11:46and A$AP Rocky.
11:48Sadly, West died in 2020 from cardiac arrest.
11:51His legacy is forever tied to Mountain and Mississippi Queen, but he contributed so much
11:56more to rock and roll during his career.