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Dive into a sonic journey with our list of great rock guitarists you may not know. Listen to their unparalleled skill and electrifying performances. Discover the magic of iconic riffs and solos that shape the essence of rock. Elevate your music experience with the mastery of these guitar virtuosos.
There have been many great Rock guitarists who weren’t famous.
Everybody knows top guitarists and household names like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Keith Richards. But how many people have heard of some of the most skilled guitarists like Elliott Randall and Buck Dharma.
Being among the best guitarists does not guarantee fame. I can’t cover all the best unknown guitarists, but in this article, I give you 10 of the most skilled guitarists. Ones who weren’t unknown in music circles but were not famous. I could go as far as to say you may never have heard of them.
So, why did they never achieve the fame some of their peers did. There are many reasons, and history may give us some of the answers. For example, was it because they didn’t play in a supergroup?
In the profiles of each guitarist, I write a last line that may be a clue.
Apart from the highly revered six-string gods there are some of the most skilled guitarists who had the talent but not the recognition they probably deserved. Despite significant contributions to the history of Rock, they remain the unsung heroes of Rock music.
Great Rock Guitarists: Our Top 10 you may not know
There are more great guitarists you may never have heard of than you might imagine. And probably more than we have room to list. But this list contains some of the very best unknown yet great Rock guitarists of all time. Let’s give them the credit they deserve.
- Rory Gallagher
- Tommy Bolin
- Elliott Randall
- Micheal Schenker
- Ronnie Montrose
- Danny Gatton
- Clarence White
- Buck Dharma
- Paul Gilbert
- Terry Kath
Rory Gallagher (1948 – 1995)
When Jimi Hendrix was asked, how does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world, he is believed to have replied, “I don’t know; go ask Rory Gallagher.”
This Irish rock guitarist has been called “the greatest guitarist you’ve never heard of”. Often performing in an old pair of jeans and a flannel shirt, he refrained from portraying a flashy, rockstar image like his contemporaries.
Starting with Irish showbands to play his electric guitar live and forming the blues-rock and R&B power trio – Taste, he couldn’t attain significant star status despite many of his albums reaching the UK Albums Chart. However, the perfectionist he was, made him do everything, on stage and off, his way.
Gallagher has been an idol to many of his contemporaries, including Brian May and Eric Clapton.
With the psychedelic rock intro of “Tattoo’d Lady” and his soulful solos in “A Million Miles Away“; the pure headbanging tune of “Bullfrog Blues” and one of the great rock anthems of all time, “Bad Penny”, Gallagher has had many musicians follow in his footsteps.
But his shoes are too big to fill. Listen to Shadow Play live in 1979 and you will know what I mean.
He was a musician’s musician and a legend who refused to join a big band.
Tommy Bolin (1951 – 1976)
A solo artist, session musician, and lead guitarist are some of the tags that Tommy Bolin owned during his short-lived career and troubled life.
With his looks and talent, he was on a career path to iconic status before his untimely demise. He incorporated rock, jazz fusion, and pop elements into his style.
At a time when Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Ritchie Blackmore were at the top of their game in the early 1970s, Tommy Bolin was creating a legacy of his own.
He was more like the David Bowie of the guitar. He started as the lead guitar in Zephyr, released two albums, then replaced Joe Walsh’s replacement in the James Gang and released two albums – Bang and Miami. His collaboration with Jazz drummer Billy Cobham for the solo album Spectrum turned out to be an utterly astounding album.
Bolin ended up replacing Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, which didn’t last very long. After forming the Tommy Bolin Band, he managed to record his second and last solo record, Private Eyes and opened for Jeff Beck, which happened to be his final show in 1976.
His best work includes “Post Toastee“, which he performed as an opening act for other artists. “Teaser” and Wild Dogs which had his songwriting and guitar skills. And Marching Powder where Bolin’s guitar sound riffs over all instruments.
Headed for a place in rock history Tommy Bolin died too soon. But his influence continues to outlive his all-too-brief time in the spotlight.
Elliott Randall (1947 – )
Randall was one of the great American unknown rock guitarists. His masterful, grinding, guitar solo in Reelin’ in the Years, from Steely Dan’s album Can’t Buy a Thrill, became Jimmy Page’s favourite.
He turned down so many permanent gigs throughout his career in favour of session work. Yet despite deliberately shunning the spotlight while hiding in the shadows, he remains one of the best session musicians of all time.
While he recorded a few solo albums, he spent most of his career in sessions hired by a diverse group of artists like The Doobie Brothers, Tom Rush, Peter Frampton, and even The American Symphony Orchestra.
Apart from his artistic projects, he has played, produced, and composed advertisement jingles for television, radio, and cinema.
A most note-worthy performance by Randall apart from Reelin’ in the Years was Sour Flower from his 1970 album Randalls Island. Add to this his playing on Steely Dan’s fourth and fifth albums Katy Lied and The Royal Scam.
Despite opportunities, he shunned the spotlight in favour of session work. Fame didn’t pass him by, he avoided it.
Michael Schenker (1955 – )
German Rock guitarist Michael Schenker has been called a legendary figure in the history of Metal guitarists. He was given a Gibson Flying V guitar at a young age. It motivated him to play his first gig at 11 years, followed by his debut at 16 with Lonesome Crow – the debut album of The Scorpions.
He followed The Scorpions as the lead guitarist for the UK hard rock band UFO. Then went on a solo career with the founding of the Michael Schenker Group (MSG). Unfortunately, several personality conflicts and incidents revolved around MSG, leading him to re-join UFO on 3 occasions, producing an album each time.
Many notable players have been influenced by Schenker, including Mike McCready, Slash, Kerry King, Jeff Waters, and Phil Campbell.
Some of his notable work includes his flying solo Only You Can Rock Me from his final album with UFO, Armed and Ready from his first solo album, and Love to Love from UFO’s best studio album Light’s Out that withholds his reputation as one of the great rock guitarists.
Although on Guitar World magazine’s top 100 greatest heavy metal guitarists Michael Schenker fell on hard times at the end of the 20th century. Maybe choosing to pursue a solo career instead of joining a big group cost him fame and fortune.
Ronnie Montrose (1947 – 2012)
One of the most influential American guitarists of early Hard Rock, Ronnie Montrose’s first album was labelled as America’s answer to Led Zeppelin. This versatile Rock guitarist led the bands Montrose and Gamma. He was in demand for session work with various musicians and recorded several solo albums.
He created the blueprint for American Hard Rock. While he truly wanted his music to do the talking for him, unfortunately, it didn’t speak loud enough for the self-taught guitar hero to get his proper dues.
From his classic Rock Candy, to the most overlooked Space Station #5 and the song Matriarch from the band Ronnie & Rail’s third album entitled Warner Bros. Presents, he is indeed one of the great rock guitarists.
Montrose suffered from clinical depression and committed suicide in 2012.
He was a solo artist whose guitar playing was good enough for big bands but as a soloist fame eluded him.
Danny Gatton (1945 – 1994)
The player’s player, American Danny Gatton, was a genius who mastered every genre he touched, from Blues, Jazz, and Rock, to Country and Rockabilly. His signature style was a combination of these, called Redneck Jazz.
He was mainly Rockabilly and Country and I could have put him on my Blues list, but I chose Rock instead.
He featured in the March 1989 edition of Guitar Player’s Unknown Greats cover wearing a Phantom of the Opera-style half-mask cradling a 1953 Fender Telecaster. Gatton was considered an unusual choice for the cover feature.
“Danny Gatton comes closer than anyone else to being the best guitar player that ever lived.”
Steve Vai
He has been called “the world’s greatest unknown guitarist“, “the Humbler”, and “The Telemaster”.
From Nit Pickin off the record Unfinished Business, to Elmira St. Boogie that got him nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1990, and Harlem Nocturne for which he skilfully wrung new life out of an old standard, he remains one of the great Rock guitarists.
Danny suffered from depression and like Ronnie Montrose he shot himself, committing suicide.
Like many other fine guitarists, he was a solo artist who was in demand for session work, but who shunned the limelight.
Clarence White (1944 – 1973)
A pioneer of Country Rock during the late 1960s, Clarence White, is best known as a member of the Rock band The Byrds. Often overlooked, though, is his legacy as a Bluegrass Flatpicker with The Kentucky Colonels in the late 1950s through the mid-’60s.
His notable achievement was his invention of the B-Bender in collaboration with Gene Parsons. The guitar accessory enables a player to mechanically bend the B-string up a whole tone, emulating the sound of a pedal steel guitar.
As a new member of The Byrds, their first album to feature him as a full member was Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. His first lead vocal came with Oil in My Lamp of their album “Ballad of Easy Rider” and his performance in their album Byrdmaniax is widely regarded as one of his best Byrds’ albums.
Like a lot of fine guitarists, he was in demand and did session work for a plethora of names. Among others were Ricky Nelson and The Monkees.
He died at the young age of 29. Sadly he was killed by a drunk driver as death arrived before fame could.
Buck Dharma (1947 – )
American guitarist, Donald Roeser, aka Buck Dharma, the founding member and sole constant of Blue Oyster Cult, is a Hard Rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter.
Buck started in the band Soft White Underbelly in 1967, which was later reformed as Blue Oyster Cult. They released more than 15 studio albums and solos and produced several iconic hard rock classics. Their music intermittently combined the unique styles of melodramatic Psychedelic Rock, Progressive Rock, and Hard Rock.
Dharma had one of his Steinberger guitars custom-made to look like Swiss cheese, which he calls his cheeseburger. He wrote and sung lead vocals on timeless hits like Godzilla, Burnin’ For You, and (Don’t Fear) The Reaper.
From his blazing guitar solo in Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll, I Love the Night, to the non-stop rock and roll Hot Rails to Hell, he’s made his mark as one of the truly great rock guitarists.
I saw Blue Oyster Cult in concert when they toured the UK in the early 1970s. My goodness how well can Buck Dharma still play.
I don’t know, but maybe sticking with one band, the one he formed, for over 50 years isn’t a good recipe to achieve fame, no matter how good you are.
Paul Gilbert (1966 – )
One of the most skilled and best unknown Hard Rock and Heavy Metal guitarists, Paul Gilbert is a brilliant shredder.
He started early, playing at five years old and touring at fifteen. As a young man, Gilbert co-founded the bands Electric Fence (later renamed Racer X) and Mr. Big, before leaving to pursue a solo career in 1996.
Although he maintained his recording and touring connections with the two bands, he has primarily been solo, with a string of albums to his name. And in between he has collaborated with top guitarists like, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
Gilbert was a fan of Procul Harem’s Robin Trower who he interviewed in 2008 when Gilbert himself was ranked by Guitar World in its 2008 list, 50 Fastest Guitarists of All Time.
To see why Paul Gilbert is one of the great Rock guitarists, watch – Guitar Solo (Live In Tokyo, Japan 1991)
Paul Gilbert is another of the most skilled and best unknown guitarists who, although in demand chose solo careers above big bands. It seems to be a common trend among those on our list.
Terry Kath (1946 – 1978)
Terry Kath was, unbelievably, one of the most underrated rock guitarists of all time. Acting as the soloist, lead guitarist as well as bandleader for the rock group Chicago, Kath produced some of the most transcendental guitar solos that could positively blow your mind.
Far out Magazine
The founding member of the rock band Chicago, Terry Kath, was one of Jimi Hendrix favourite guitarists.
His harmonically savvy approach injected hard-driving rhythm playing and transcendental guitar solos within the band. He was self-taught and took no professional guitar lessons.
Starting with his first semi-professional band, The Mystics, he alternated between several bands until he formed Chicago.
His composition Introduction in the band’s first album Chicago Transit Authority has been described as Terry’s masterpiece by Dawayne Bailey (later Chicago guitarist).
Terry Kath’s extended solo guitar on his ultimate masterpiece 25 or 6 to 4 became a live favourite, and Make Me Smile brought out Kath’s vocalist skills apart from his guitar playing skills.
His untimely death at the age of 31, by his own hand in a shooting accident, meant he never achieved the fame he was probably destined for.
Final Thoughts
There are more great rock guitarists who you may not know of, despite their valuable contributions to the world of Rock music.
Some careers were cut short, while some influenced many famous guitarists. Regardless of why they are less well known, they are just as good as some of the legends of Rock that became household names.