Countless players have flirted with it. Robert Johnson sold his soul at the crossroads to master it. And Bonnie Raitt has made a respectable career of it. Yes, it’s the oft-imitated but scarcely duplicated delicate art of slide guitar playing — that unwieldy beast of open G tunings and delicate glissandos. Here is a list of a half dozen essential slide guitarists whose contributions have done much to define the style and whose influence is still resonating with today’s players.
Elmore James
Unofficially dubbed “The King of the Slide Guitar” by peers and fans alike, Elmore James did more to move the style forward with his “Dust My Broom” than has been done in the intervening years since. That is to say he defined the way the tool would be used for the next few generations. And to think that James — who split his time as a studio janitor and as legend has it only got to cut the track when there was some left over session time at the end of a long night—could have gone down in history as, well, dusting a broom. Jimi Hendrix was a huge disciple and famously covered the bluesman’s “The Sky is Crying” at Newport. Today his legacy stands next to B.B. King, Muddy Waters, and Howlin’ Wolf as one of the all time greats of electric blues.
Here’s James’ essential slide blues workout “The Sky is Crying”:
Duane Allman
The Allman Brothers Band have a long legacy of slide virtuosos — from Dickey Betts to Warren Haynes and beyond — but Duane Allman was the originator. Before a tragic and untimely death at the age of 24, Allman had set off the Southern rock trend that would dominate radio in the ’70s. His playing on the early Allman Brothers Band records alone is the stuff of legend, nevermind the fact that as a session man he can be found on Wilson Pickett’s “Hey Jude” as well as Eric Clapton’s “Layla.”
Check out this footage of the Allman Brothers Band with Duane live at the Fillmore East!
Derek Trucks
Keeping it in the family, Derek Trucks is the nephew of Allman Brothers Band drummer Butch Trucks. The 28-year-old slide guitar prodigy has already served time both live and in the studio with the Allman Brothers as well as his own group the Derek Trucks Band. In 2007, Rolling Stone named Trucks as one of the new guitar gods, and like his predecessor Duane Allman he has shared stages and studios with rock royalty such as Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Willie Nelson.
Check out Derek Trucks and Slowhand himself live on-stage at the Crossroads festival:
Pete Wells
We touched on Australia’s original rock and roll outlaws Rose Tattoo in our in-depth look at Aussie heavy rock a few months back. Pete Wells anchored the band with his overdriven bottleneck and Les Paul assault, and his signature bottleneck licks were a direct influence on a future rock and roll outlaw Slash, who covered “Nice Boys (Don’t Play Rock’n’Roll)” on Guns N’ Roses’1987 EP Lies.
Here’s Rose Tattoo live in ’82 with “Nice Boys”:
Ry Cooder
One of the more prolific guitarists on this list, Ry Cooder’s discography reads like a who’s who of the last 40 years in rock. He is perhaps most closely associated with Taj Mahal who he worked with in the Rising Sons. Cooder got his first break playing behind Captain Beefheart, before moving on to work with Randy Newman, the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison. He even played the guitar on the soundtrack of the Ralph Macchio/Steve Vai cinematic guitar epic of good vs. evil, Crossroads.
Here is Cooder with his composition “Vigilante Man”:
Muddy Waters
The pride and joy of Chess Records, a Delta bluesman who went to the Midwest to find fame, Muddy Waters’ sizzling Chicago-style electric blues has sparked quite a few fires. Jimi Hendrix and Mick and Keith were all admitted sycophants of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and six-time Grammy award winner, who just happened to also have coined the phrase “Rollin’ Stone.” Waters constantly reinvented himself over the course of his career — from early traditional Delta-styled Chess sessions to the psychedelic dabbling on Electric Mud — but through it all Waters’ unique phrasing always remained the focal point both live and on record.
Here’s Muddy Waters doing “I Can’t Be Satisfied”:
What slide greats did we miss? Leave us a comment below and let us know!