Favorite guitar players not named......

Great choices garebear! Hearing Bloomfield on the What's Shakin' album in '66 was a game-changer. That's when he was in The Butterfield Blues Band, who introduced a lot of us white suburban kids to Blues. I saw Mike live in The Electric Flag in '68, and he was just great, as was drummer Buddy Miles. About as "punchy" a drummer as I've ever seen, along with Keith Moon. But Buddy could lay down a killer shuffle, which British guys aren't so hot at. No offense, Keith lovers!

Hubert Sumlin is credited with creating the tone all Rock 'n' Roll guitarists wanted to get after hearing Hubert on the Howlin' Wolf albums. Jeff Beck used the Gibson Maestro distortion pedal to imitate that sound on "Heart Full of Soul", but that artificial distortion is nowhere as cool as Hubert's organic tone. It took awhile, but everybody finally found out it was using a low powered tube amp driven into clipping that was the secret. Great player, very influential. And Wolf himself, unmatched imo!

I’m surprised Prince isn’t listed more often.

Vernon Reid too.

Afie Jurvanen from the Canadian band Bahamas surprises me the more I listen.

Gordie Johnson from Big Sugar is great.

Al Anderson from Bob Marley and the Wailers is overlooked too.

Larry Carlton

Most of my modern favourites are already mentioned, but here’s a few of the old blues guys I studied when I was learning myself. 

Mississippi John Hurt

Charley Patton

Skip James

Blind Willie McTell

Rev Gary Davies

Blind Boy Fuller

Robert Johnson

Lightning Hopkins

Lonnie Johnson

Elizabeth Cotton

Just to mention a few.

Then there’s BB King.

Guitar educator Stefan Grossman

Plus British guys - John Renbourn, John Martyn, Michael Chapman, Tim Renwick and Tony McManus.

Finally my late friend and neighbour in the NE of England, Charley Harcourt.