Greatest Rock N Roll Guitar Riffs - 1-50

OK, so I'm gonna list what I consider to be the greatest rock guitar riffs of all time. Now remember, this is MY list... and some of you wont agree; but that's how it goes. I looked for more than just the riff alone; I looked for things like the ability of the guitarist, the licks, the overall blend of the riff with the song, and you'll also notice that I drifted away from most of the other lists out there that place Smoke on the Water as number 1. This is nothing against Deep Purple or Ritchie Blackmore... I think they're awesome. I just felt that it truly wasn't the greatest riff. It may be the most well known, but that doesn't make it the best.

Most riffs are simple chords, mostly power chords... and it's what an artist does with that simplicity that makes a great riff. Keep in mind that this is a rock list and there are other great riffs out there, but they didn't fit into the genre. Although I did have to include Bo Diddley... because any kind of "riff" list wouldn't be a list without him. I also included the year the songs were released, as well as the guitarist(s).

1. Derek and the Dominos - Layla (1971) Eric Clapton, Duane Allman
2. The Beatles - Day Tripper (1965) George Harrison
   
3. Black Sabbath - Iron Man (1971) Tony Iommi
4. Cream - Sunshine of Your Love (1968) Eric Clapton
5. The Beatles - I Feel Fine (1964) John Lennon
   
6. Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode (1958) Chuck Berry
7. Rolling Stones - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (1965) Keith Richards
8. AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) Angus Young, Malcolm Young
9. Roy Orbison - Oh, Pretty Woman (1964) Roy Oribison
10. Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (1980) Randy Rhoads
11. Black Sabbath - Paranoid (1970) Tony Iommi
12. Rolling Stones - Jumpin' Jack Flash (1968) Keith Richards, Brian Jones
13. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet Home Alabama (1974) Gary Rossington, Allen Collins
14. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Purple Haze (1967) Jimi Hendrix
15. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986) Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield
16. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine (1987) Slash
17. Led Zeppelin - Heartbreaker (1969) Jimmy Page
18. Jimi Hendrix Experience - Voodoo Child (Slight Return) (1968) Jimi Hendrix
19. AC/DC - Hells Bells (1980) Angus Young, Malcolm Young
20. Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (1971) Ritchie Blackmore
21. Iron Butterfly - In A Gadda Da Vida (1968) Eric Brann
22. David Bowie - Rebel, Rebel (1974) David Bowie
23. Metallica - Enter Sandman (1991) Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield
24. Aerosmith - Walk This Way (1975) Joe Perry
25. Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues (1958) Eddie Cochran
26. The Animals - House of the Rising Sun (1964) Hilton Valentine
27. The Kinks - You Really Got Me (1964) Dave Davies
28. ZZ Top - La Grange (1973) Billy Gibbons
29. Soundgarden - Outshined (1991) Kim Thayil
30. Metallica - One (1989) James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett
31. Dire Straits - Money For Nothing (1984) Mark Knopfler
32. Rolling Stones - Brown Sugar (1971) Keith Richards
33. The Guess Who - American Woman (1970) Randy Bachman, Greg Leskiw
34. Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1971) Jimmy Page
35. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - I Love Rock N Roll (1982) Ricky Byrd, Joan Jett
36. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (1958) Bo Diddley
37. The Troggs - Wild Thing (1966) Chris Britton
38. Kiss - Heaven's On Fire (1985) Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley
39. Tommy Tutone - 867-5309 (Jenny) (1982) Tommy Tutone
40. Led Zeppelin - D'yer Mak'er (1971) Jimmy Page
41. AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long (1980) Angus Young, Malcolm Young
42. Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son (1976) Rich Williams
43. Ozzy Osbourne - Mr. Crowley (1980) Randy Rhoads
44. Pearl Jam - Alive (1991) Mike McCready
45. Ratt - Round and Round (1984)
46. Asia - Heat of the Moment (1982)
47. Joe Walsh - Life's Been Good (1978) Joe Walsh
48. Eric Clapton - Cocaine (1976) Eric Clapton
49. Molly Hatchett - Flirting With Disaster (1980) Charlie Hargrett
50. The Eagles - Life In The Fast Lane (1977) Don Felder, Joe Walsh
51. Meat Puppets - Backwater (1994) Curt Kirkwood

The Rolling Stones

Little did the Rolling Stones know how apt their name - inspired by the title of a Muddy Waters song, “Rollin’ Stone” - would turn out to be. Formed in 1962, they are the longest-lived continuously active group in rock and roll history. They are also, according to a slogan that is supported by critical and popular consensus, “the World’s Greatest Rock and Roll Band.” Throughout four decades of shifting tastes in the arena of popular music, the Stones have kept rolling, adapting to the latest sounds and styles without straying too far from their origins as a blues-loving, guitar-based rock and roll band. In all aspects, theirs has been a remarkable career - and one with no apparent end in sight.
The Rolling Stones’ earliest origins date back to the boyhood friendship of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, forged in 1951. Their acquaintance was interrupted when both families moved in the mid-Fifties but got rekindled in October 1960, when the two ran into each other at a train station. (Richards noticed the imported R&B albums Jagger was carrying under his arm.) Jagger, a student at the London School of Economics, was a hardcore blues aficionado, while Richards’ interest leaned more toward Chuck Berry-style rock and roll. Richards soon joined Jagger’s group, Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys.
While making the rounds of London blues clubs, Jagger and Richards met guitarist Brian Jones, a member of Blues Incorporated (fronted by Alexis Korner, a key figure in the early London blues-rock scene). Jagger and Richards had been knocked out by Jones’ slide-guitar work on his solo reading of Elmore James’ “Dust My Broom.” Soon, the trio of Jagger, Richards and Jones became roommates and musical collaborators.
Keith Richards is clear about whose band it was in the beginning: “Brian was really fantastic, the first person I ever heard playing slide electric guitar,” Richards said in Stone Alone: The Story of a Rock ’n’ Roll Band, by Bill Wyman. “Mick and I both thought he was incredible. He mentioned he was forming a band. He could have easily joined another group, but he wanted to form his own. The Rolling Stones was Brian’s baby.”
When Alexis Korner skipped one of his regular Marquee gigs to appear on a BBC radio show, Jagger, Jones and Richards seized the opportunity to debut their new group. And so it came to pass that the earliest version of the Rolling Stones – which also included bassist Dick Taylor (later a founding member and guitarist for the Pretty Things), drummer Mick Avory (a future member of the Kinks) and keyboardist Ian Stewart (the Stones’ lifelong road manager and adjunct member) - made their first public appearance on July 12th, 1962.

The Rolling Stones have released 22 studio albums in the UK (24 in the US), eight concert albums (nine in the US) and numerous compilations; they have had 32 UK & US top-10 singles, and have sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. 1971's Sticky Fingers began a string of eight consecutive studio albums at number one in the United States. In 1989 the Rolling Stones were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2004 they were ranked number 4 in Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. They are also ranked as the number 2 artists of all time on Acclaimedmusic.net. Their latest album, A Bigger Bang, was released in 2005 and accompanied by the highest-grossing tour in history, which lasted into late summer 2007.

The Eighties yielded both the group’s best-selling album (Tattoo You, #1 for nine weeks in 1981) and the longest period ever between Stones tours (eight years). A growing estrangement between Jagger and Richards culminated in a three-year lull after the release of Dirty Work (1986). Happily, the standoff ended when Jagger and Richards successfully resumed their working relationship during a ten-day songwriting retreat in Barbados. The Stones regrouped for an energetic, well-received world tour following the recording of strong, creatively resurgent Steel Wheels. (Wanting to exit on a high note, bassist Wyman announced his retirement from the band in 1992). In the Nineties, the Rolling Stones have found a way to accommodate the solo careers of its two principals, Jagger and Richards, while leaving time for band projects. In fact, the group is seemingly more active now than it’s been since the Seventies, having released studio albums (including the Stones’ first Best Rock Album Grammy-winner, Voodoo Lounge) and the live No Security, and kicked off lengthy tours in 1994 (Voodoo Lounge) and 1997 (Bridges to Babylon).

The Rolling were inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and continue to rock the world with frequent tour dates.

Check out this great video from the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966. Brian Jones classic riffs on the Sitar are unforgettable.

Official Website: www.rollingstones.com

The Box Tops

Everyone remember The Box Tops? I'm sure we all do, especially when you think of great songs like "The Letter", "Soul Deep" and "Cry Like A Baby". The Box Tops was a very talented group of guys from Memphis.

Formed officially as The Box Tops in 1967, the band featured Danny Smythe on drums, John Evans on guitar and keyboards, Bill Cunningham on bass and keyboards, Gary Talley on lead guitar, sitar and bass and 17 year old vocalist sensation and guitarist Alex Chilton.

Though only one number one hit (The Letter) came out of their career, they did indeed provide us with some very good music. In 2001 they played at the World Trade Center... and were a huge hit with the crowd, returning for 2 encores. To this date, they are still rockin'!

The Doors - Jim Morrison

In 1965 Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, John Densmore and Robby Krieger formed one of the most advanced, unpredictable and controversial bands of all time: The Doors.

The Doors were led by the highly charismatic Jim Morrison. Jim was widely known for his unorthodox stage manner and brilliant vocal skills. He was also the lead songwriter for the band. Morrison, also noted for his scandalous and mysterious stage persona, has had many followers and has influenced many rock frontmen, including Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velevet Revolver, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and Scott Stapp of Creed. While many have adopted his style, there will always be only one Jim Morrison. The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Sadly, Jim's life came to an abrupt end on July 3rd, 1971. The world mourned as they faced the fact that rock music's most influential, most charismatic and most memorable frontman was gone. He was just 27 years old. RIP Jim... you'll forever be missed.