The Americana and roots music authority

Top 10 Country / Roots Guitarists

I don't do a lot of "top whatever" lists but as an advanced mediocre guitar player I've always been fascinated by the instrument. So here goes! I asked my much more intelligent than myself twitter followers who they thought was the best country / roots guitarists of all time was and I got a lot of excellent responses. Though I used those responses as a source all blame of leaving Buddy Miller off is mine and mine alone.

These 10 masters squeeze magic from lumber and have changed the genre and influenced scores of followers. Country and roots guitarists don't hide behind fancy technology. Their stock-and-trade is built on clean tone and fiery or soulful picking.

Don't see your favorite? Drop them in the comments below.

10. Willie Nelson - An under-appreciated player. Willie's been playing this ode to his hero, Django Reinhardt, on his one-of-a-king acoustic - Trigger - for years.

9. Junior Brown - Junior is an absolute beast on his signature double-neck 6-string meets lap steel guitar guitar. He's dubbed it his "guit-steel".

8. Dave Rawlings - You may go to see Gillian Welch but you'll walk away knowing that it's Rawlings that brings musical depth to the duo.

7. Jerry Reed - most people knwo him as Cledus Snow from the Smokey and the Bandit films but Reed was a top-notch songwriter and guitar slinger.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCE48O6U4Yw

5. Brent Mason and 6. Vince Gill - Some might say the whole point of this post was to show these masters at work. Who am I to argue?

4. Hank Garland - Garland wrote "Sugarfoot Rag" when he was 19. It went on to sell over a million copies. He went on to be a sought after Nashville session guitarist working with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Brenda Lee, Mel Tillis, Marty Robbins, the Everly Brothers, Boots Randolph, Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty.

3, Kenny Vaughan - You can't be a slouch and play with Marty Stuart. Vaughn has lent his talent to Staurt, Lucinda Williams, Rodney Crowell and others. He's also used his fiery tele to carve a=out a right respectable solo career.

2. James Burton - James "Master of the Telecaster" Burton is in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. the latter of which his induction speech was given by longtime fan Keith Richards. Burton's session playing has appeared on the work of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, Glen Campbell, John Denver, Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Jerry Lee Lewis, Claude King, Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, Vince Gill, Suzi Quatro and more.

1. Chet Atkins - In his lifetime Atkins set a new bar for guitar players. His clear-time picking could shift from roadhouse to supper club in a the same piece. Influenced by Merle Travis, Django Reinhardt, George Barnes, Les Paul, and Maybelle Carter. He has nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards, and was inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Originally posted at TwangNation.com

Normaltown Records

Tags: Atkins, Brent, Brown, Burton, Chet, Dave, Garland, Gill, Hank, James, More…

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by TwangNation.com on February 13, 2013 at 7:19pm

I need to put Duane Allman in there somewhere

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by drivingtheview on February 13, 2013 at 8:57pm

This guy was dubbed the ace of Austin by a good source. Seems he's always overlooked

http://archives.nodepression.com/2007/05/ace-of-austin/

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Dave Crotts on April 23, 2013 at 1:32pm

It's hard not to like all of the artists mentioned in this blog. I'll get to see Jerry Miller with Eilen Jewell again soon. I've seen Dave Alvin do mostly roots rock in one concert and then do a mellow accoustic session in another when he was dealing with the loss of a couple of great musician friends. Super job in both concerts.

If we add electric blues guitarists to the mix, we could go on for days (three Kings, Otis R., Ronnie E., Duke R., Jimmy Dawkins, Magic Sam......

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Brendan Cooke on April 24, 2013 at 9:50am

Clarence White

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jim Moulton on April 30, 2013 at 5:13am

TwangNation, This is a downright awesome list of Nashville Pickers, I might have moved one here or there , like I think that Albert Lee should be in there instead of Rawlings. Right in the middle you have two guys battling to a virtual tie, Vince Gill and Brent Mason. Really not much difference between the two, except maybe Mason has a bigger effects pedal board.I have sure listened to that youtube a lot. Kenny Vaughn is spectacular,either acoustic or electric. Martie uses that same bunch for country or bluegrass. And Buddy Miller sure does not belong in that list. Great job Fellows.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Frank Kocher on April 30, 2013 at 1:52pm

He may tend to get lumped in with Southern Rock and jam bands, but Luther Dickinson is no slouch.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Stephen Jacobson on April 30, 2013 at 9:02pm

Ry Cooder
Ricard Thompson
Norman Blake
Buddy Miller
Bryan Sutton

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Johnny Edlin on May 1, 2013 at 9:41am

first person I thought of........Jerry Reed (yes I know he's on the original posted list). Here's a list (in my humble opinion) of folks that should be on any top guitarist of country and/or roots genre. Not in any order:

Jerry Reed, Greg Martin, Ricky Skaggs, Lee Roy Parnell, Doc Watson, Chet Atkins and Dallas Moore. If you are not familiar with Dallas, check his band out. The Dallas Moore Band. You have to see them live. He did an acoustic set over a year ago and it was the finest flat top picking I have ever seen live. Yes there are many other greats but the few I mentioned are my personal favorites.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sue Rarick on May 1, 2013 at 1:34pm

You've got to include Jimmy Capps. One of the most recorded guitarists in Nashville who started with the louvin bros, did the dylan nashville skyline and even today plays on larry's country diner every week + the grand ol oprey.