10Pete Townshend

Jan Persson/RedfernsPete Townshenddoesn't play many solos, which might be why so many people dont realize just how good he really is. But he's so important to rock hes a visionary musician who really lit the whole thing up. His rhythm-guitar playing is extremely exciting and aggressive he's a savage player, in a way. He has a wonderful, fluid physicality with the guitar that you don't see often, and his playing is very much a reflection of who he is as a person a very intense guy. He's like the original punk, the first one to destroy a guitar onstage a breathtaking statement at that point in time. But he's also a very articulate, literate person. He listens to a lot of jazz, and he told me that's what he'd really like to be doing. On "Substitute" you can hear the influence of Miles Davis' modal approach in the way his chords move against the open D string. He was using feedback early, which I think was influenced by European avant-garde music like Stockhausen an art-school thing. The big ringing chords he used inthe Whowere so musically smart when you consider how busy the drumming and bass playing were in that band it could have gotten chaotic if not for him. He more or less invented the power chord, and you can hear a sort of pre-Zeppelinthing in the Who's Sixties work. So much of this stuff came from him. By Andy SummersKey Tracks:"My Generation," "I Can See for Miles," "Summertime Blues"

11George Harrison

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesGeorge Harrisonand I were once in a car and theBeatlessong "You Can't Do That" came on, with that great riff in the beginning on the 12-string. He goes, "I came up with that." And I said, "Really? How?" He said, "I was just standing there and thought, 'I've got to do something!' " That pretty much sums him up. He just had a way of getting right to the business, of finding the right thing to play. That was part of that Beatles magic they all seemed to find the right thing to play.George knew every obscureElvissolo; his initial influences were rockabilly Carl Perkins,Eddie Cochran,Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore but he always added something to it. Even going way back, I used to just swoon over that solo in "I Saw Her Standing There." You just can't imagine anything else there. He had that knack. And how many Rickenbacker 12-strings did that guy sell? That was a whole new sound too Roger McGuinn got the idea from George, and then Roger took it to his own place with the Byrds.When he moved over to the slide guitar later in the Beatles' career, it was a really beautiful thing to hear him play that. He once said to me, "I think modern guitar players are forgetting about pitch," and that was something he really cared about. He was very in tune when he played, the slide was very precise, and just a beautiful vibrato on it. It really sounded like a voice, like a very distinct, signature voice that came out of him. Just listen to those records. They're so immaculate, so inventive. He was a guy who could just add so much. By Tom PettyKey Tracks:"I Saw Her Standing There," "Something"

12Stevie Ray Vaughan

Clayton Call/RedfernsIn the early eighties, MTV was on the rise, and blues guitar was miles away from music's mainstream. But Texas'Stevie Ray Vaughandemanded your attention. He had absorbed the styles of just about every great blues guitarist plusJimi Hendrixand a lot of jazz and rockabilly and his monster tone, casual virtuosity and impeccable sense of swing could make a blues shuffle like "Pride and Joy" hit as hard as metal. Vaughan was recognized as a peer by the likes ofB.B. KingandEric Clapton, and despite his 1990 death in a helicopter crash, he's still inspiring multiple generations of guitarists, fromPearl Jam's Mike McCready toJohn Mayerand rising young star Gary Clark Jr. "Stevie was one of the reasons I wanted a Stratocaster his tone, which I've never been able to get down, was just so big and bold and bright at the same time," says Clark. "If you listen to his records and watch his videos, you can tell he's just giving you everything he had. His passion is overwhelming."Key Tracks:"Love Struck Baby," "Cold Shot," "Look at Little Sister"