JIMMY PAGE And EDDIE VAN HALEN Top 'Greatest Guitar Solo' List

September 29, 2010

According to The Pulse of Radio, Jimmy Page's 1971 solo to LED ZEPPELIN's "Stairway To Heaven" topped the Gibson.com list of the "Top 50 Guitar Solos Of All Time." Coming in at No. 2 is Eddie Van Halen's 1978 groundbreaking instrumental "Eruption" from VAN HALEN's self-titled debut, with Jimi Hendrix's solo on his 1968 cover of BOB DYLAN's "All Along The Watchtower" rounding out the Top 3.

Hendrix made the list four times — the most of any guitarist. Eric Clapton scored three times with solos for tracks with CREAM, THE BEATLES, and DEREK & THE DOMINOES. In addition to his runner-up spot with "Eruption", Van Halen's 1982 solo on MICHAEL JACKSON's "Beat It" came in at No. 50.

Jimmy Page — whose solos to LED ZEPPELIN's "Since I've Been Loving You", "Heartbreaker" and "Whole Lotta Love" also made the list — says that after all the success LED ZEPPELIN had, the real reward has been that the music has lasted so well: "The most satisfying, the most rewarding part of it, is having been part of music like that, which has stood up to the test of time. Every musician hopes that their music will hold up. And it's wonderful."

Peter Frampton has been close friends with Page since the mid-1960s. He frequently watched ZEPPELIN record in the early '70s at London's Olympic Studios, while taking breaks from his own recordings and was consistently impressed with Jimmy Page's guitar technique: "He's a very well-rounded player. His technique on acoustic is phenomenal. And he uses various different open tunings. He tunes his guitar down and there's a special 'Jimmy Page' tuning (laughs) that he uses on a lot of the stuff."

Gibson.com's "Top 50 Guitar Solos Of All Time":

01. Stairway To Heaven" - Jimmy Page (LED ZEPPELIN)
02. Eruption" - Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN)
03. All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix (THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE)
04. Hotel California" - Don Felder and Joe Walsh (THE EAGLES)
05. Comfortably Numb" - David Gilmour (PINK FLOYD)
06. Free Bird" - Gary Rossington and Allen Collins (LYNYRD SKYNYRD)
07. Layla" - Eric Clapton and Duane Allman (DEREK & THE DOMINOS)
08. While My Guitar Gently Weeps" - Eric Clapton (THE BEATLES)
09. Johnny B. Goode" - Chuck Berry
10. Bohemian Rhapsody" - Brian May (QUEEN)
11. Crazy Train" - Randy Rhoads (OZZY OSBOURNE)
12. 'Cause We've Ended As Lovers" - Jeff Beck
13. Sweet Child O' Mine" - Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)
14. Hot For Teacher" - Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN)
15. Since I've Been Loving You" - Jimmy Page (LED ZEPPELIN)
16. November Rain" - Slash (GUNS N' ROSES)
17. Mr. Crowley" - Randy Rhoads (OZZY OSBOURNE)
18. Whole Lotta Rosie" - Angus Young (AC/DC)
19. Like A Hurricane" - Neil Young
20. Sultans Of Swing" - Mark Knopfler (DIRE STRAITS)
21. Texas Flood" - Stevie Ray Vaughan (STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & DOUBLE TROUBLE)
22. One" - Kirk Hammett (METALLICA)
23. Cortez The Killer" - Neil Young
24. Rock Around the Clock" - Danny Cedrone (BILL HALEY & THE COMETS)
25. Sweet Jane - Live" - Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner (LOU REED)
26. Purple Rain" - Prince (PRINCE & THE REVOLUTION)
27. Heartbreaker" - Jimmy Page (LED ZEPPELIN)
28. Jessica" - Dickey Betts (THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND)
29. Machine Gun" - Jimi Hendrix
30. Crossroads" - Eric Clapton (CREAM)
31. Time" - David Gilmour (PINK FLOYD)
32. Are You Experienced?" - Jimi Hendrix (THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE)
33. Race With the Devil" - Cliff Gallup (GENE VINCENT)
34. Don't Believe A Word" - Brian Robertson (THIN LIZZY)
35. Purple Haze" - Jimi Hendrix (THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE)
36. Besame Mucho" - Wes Montgomery
37. Sympathy For The Devil" - Keith Richards (THE ROLLING STONES)
38. Blue Sky" - Duane Allman and Dickey Betts (THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND)
39. My Sharona" - Berton Averre (THE KNACK)
40. Marquee Moon" - Tom Verlaine (TELEVISION)
41. Hitch A Ride" - Tom Scholz (BOSTON)
42. The End" - Paul McCartney, John Lennon, and George Harrison (THE BEATLES)
43. Whole Lotta Love" - Jimmy Page (LED ZEPPELIN)
44. Train Kept A-Rollin' - Live" - Joe Perry (AEROSMITH)
45. Highway Star" - Ritchie Blackmore (DEEP PURPLE)
46. Dirt" - Ron Asheton (THE STOOGES)
47. Off The Handle" - Rory Gallagher
48. The Great Curve" - Adrian Belew (THE TALKING HEADS)
49. The Messiah Will Come Again" - Roy Buchanan
50. Beat It" - Eddie Van Halen (MICHAEL JACKSON)

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