[AdamCalifornia]

I've read that many consider George Harrison (The Beatles, ....) as the the Greatest Rhythm Guitar Player ever.

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I guess that Malcolm Mitchell Young of AC/DC was very good.
How about Ronald David "Ronnie" Wood of The Rolling Stones?

I've also found this: Last of the Great Rhythm Guitar Players

Who are your favourite ones?

By the way, Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band is considered by many
as the Greatest Slide Guitar Player ever.

 

[Febs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamCalifornia /img/forum/go_quote.gif Who are your favourite ones?

John Lennon. Rhythm guitarist for the Beatles.

 

[rlanger]

Danny Gatton

 

[GlendaleViper]

In the Metal world, Scott Ian is still the master chugger.

 

[Cousin Patty]

James Hetfield. He's up there.

 

[Know Talent]

Brad Whitford

Glen Tipton or KK Downing!

Frank Zappa when Steve Vai was jamming with him

Dickie Betts

 

[Beyerfan70]

My vote goes to Carlos Alomar,Bowie's right hand man for many years!

 

[bigshot]

I recently saw a live television broadcast of Buck Owens back in the sixties. I used to think Don Rich owned that band with his deep twangy Bakersfield sound guitar playing, but Buck was amazing playing rhythm backup too.

See ya
Steve

 

[mbriant]

Ronnie Wood - Rolling Stones

I guess you could classify him as a rhythm guitarist, although he ventures into lead territory at times.

 

[dantztiludrop]

Ronnie Wood is a very good choice, however.....Mick Taylor, prior to Ronnie, was the man! And he did put Keith into the rhythm guitarist role on a pretty regular basis.

Dickie Betts x2

I used to think Bob Weir was up there (probably cuz I'm such a hopeless deadhead), but not so much any more. His well-regarded rhythm guitarist status seems to have mostly hinged upon the synergy with Jerry & the band as a whole.

 

[Sovkiller]

Lennon, Harrison, Wood, you gotta be kidding me, right? Unless you are talking of a very early 60's...otherwise pick any of the bunch, and will do a far better job...any...we are talking of playing, not about composing, right?

 

[mbriant]

Sovkiller, you are correct. There are all sorts of great guitarists these days, many of them session musicians, some of them teenagers, who could likely play circles around Jimi Hendrix if they wanted ... but I think most of us are taking the originality of the music they helped shape and create into account when choosing who was a great rhythm guitarist. Their contribution to great songs may not be as prominent as the writer's, the vocalist's, or the lead guitarist's, but as part of the group who actually together created and performed the great songs, their piece of the synergy was unique ( at that time) and extremely important to the final result. The same could be said for drummers, lead guitarists, keyboardists, and singers as well.

I've often thought about this while watching guest bands play on Letterman or Leno, etc. As musicians, the house band members are usually technically way ahead of the guest band's musicians, capable of playing anything with excellent results, but it's the guest band, often comprised of young, much less experienced and less refined musicians who have created the sound and spark of whatever recent hit they're performing ... so they're the ones people pay most attention to, and they're the ones people will remember.

 

[ljs]

Hetfield for sure. Malcom Young should also get some credit

 

[jetstream]

Andy Summers

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbriant /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sovkiller, you are correct. There are all sorts of great guitarists these days, many of them session musicians, some of them teenagers, who could likely play circles around Jimi Hendrix if they wanted ... but I think most of us are taking the originality of the music they helped shape and create into account when choosing who was a great rhythm guitarist. Their contribution to great songs may not be as prominent as the writer's, the vocalist's, or the lead guitarist's, but as part of the group who actually together created and performed the great songs, their piece of the synergy was unique ( at that time) and extremely important to the final result. The same could be said for drummers, lead guitarists, keyboardists, and singers as well. I've often thought about this while watching guest bands play on Letterman or Leno, etc. As musicians, the house band members are usually technically way ahead of the guest band's musicians, capable of playing anything with excellent results, but it's the guest band, often comprised of young, much less experienced and less refined musicians who have created the sound and spark of whatever recent hit they're performing ... so they're the ones people pay most attention to, and they're the ones people will remember.

I agree with you to some extend, that was why I stated if they were only talking of playing, or as a whole musical phenomenon, of course Beatles, Stones, were the base for what we have today, and I respect that, even while I do not like too much what they did, I'm more into more aggressive and elaborated musical tendencies, even though I have a couple of Stones videos and CDs around, but nothing that will take my sleep away...

But the thread asked about the best rhythm guitar players of all times, that is very big name to just let Harrison, or Wood to take it, just based in ancient history, IMO they are not clearly the best rhythm guitar players of all times, sorry...not even considering what they did in the bands, or the legacy for the humanity they have left behind...But anyway that is a realy complex argument, so whatever float your boat....