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1 results

  • 4 - The Guitar Hero in Classic Rock

  • from Part I - History
  • Edited by Jan-Peter Herbst, University of Huddersfield, Steve Waksman, Smith College, Massachusetts
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar
    Published online:
    08 November 2024
    Print publication:
    17 October 2024, pp 53-70

  • Summary

    This chapter examines the rise of the guitar hero in the period from the mid 1960s until the early 1990s, with an emphasis on the 1970−1985 period. The “hippie aesthetic” is explored to establish the various aspects of musical ambition among guitarists that helped to make technical virtuosity a key factor in this rise. Readers’ polls primarily from Guitar Player magazine are surveyed to explore how aspiring guitarists in the 1970s and later ranked contemporary (but also historical) guitarists. These polls suggest that aspiring guitarists sometimes preferred different guitarists to those who might be most popular among the general listening public. A brief survey of modern guitar hero polls suggests that the guitar heroes of the 1970s have mostly retained their standing, though some newer ones appear in these polls and some older ones have receded.