The Best Rock Guitarists Who Ever Lived

B.B. King

B.B. King is the definition of a genius success story. Born on a cotton plantation, his family made very little money in sharecropping. King showed an early interest in music and bought his first guitar at the age of 12 for $15. Years later, he was touring the country extensively, playing on a multitude of radio shows, and still playing juke joint and church gigs like how he started. King innovated the world of blues guitar both tonally and technically.

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The More You Know

  • Layne Staley asked Jerry Cantrell to play in a funk band and agreed to sing in Cantrell’s band in exchange. The funk band didn’t last but Cantrell’s band became Alice in Chains.
  • Creedence Clearwater Revival has the most No. 2 Billboard hits—without ever hitting No. 1.
  • In 2016, Mozart sold more albums than Beyoncé.
  • Lynyrd Skynyrd is named after a high school teacher, Leonard Skinner, who suspended students for having long hair.
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