Greatest Rock Guitar Riffs Video Showcase

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Great Rock Guitar Riffs The Top 10

The opening riff is usually the most memorable parts of the song, and although not always difficult to play, it's enough to determine the lasting appeal of these recordings. This Lens features Many great Rock Guitar Riffs, I'm Sure Many of your Favorites are represented Here.

The Top 10 Rock Guitar Riffs of All Time

according to Digital Dream Door

1. Smoke On The Water - Deep Purple
2. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Rolling Stones
3. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream
4. Layla - Derek And The Dominos
5. Oh Pretty Woman - Roy Orbison
6. Iron Man - Black Sabbath
7. Johnny B Goode - Chuck Berry
8. Heartbreaker - Led Zeppelin
9. You Really Got Me - The Kinks
10. Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N' Roses

Above from following Website http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitarriff.html

Smoke on the Water

Deep Purple

type=text"Smoke on the Water" is known for and recognizable by its central theme, a four-note "blues scale" melody harmonised in parallel fourths. The riff, played on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar by Ritchie Blackmore, is later joined by hi-hat and distorted organ, then drums, then electric bass parts before the start of Ian Gillan's vocal.

The lyrics of the song tell a true story: on 4 December 1971 Deep Purple had set up camp in Montreux, Switzerland to record an album using a mobile recording studio (rented from the Rolling Stones and known as the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio - referred to as the "Rolling truck Stones thing" and "the mobile" in the song lyrics) at the entertainment complex that was part of the Montreux Resoort (referred to as "the ... house" in the song lyric). On the eve of the recording session a Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention concert was held in the ..... theatre. In the middle of Don Preston's synthesizer solo on "King Kong", the place suddenly caught fire when somebody in the audience fired a flare gun into the rattan covered ceiling, as mentioned in the "some stupid with a flare gun" line.

The resulting fire destroyed the entire complex, along with all the Mothers' equipment. The "smoke on the water" that became the title of the song (credited to bass guitarist Roger Glover, who related how the title occurred to him when he suddenly woke from a dream a few days later) referred to the smoke from the fire spreading over Lake Geneva from the burning complex as the members of Deep Purple watched the fire from their hotel across the lake.

Deep Purple

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(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

The Rolling Stones

type=text(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" is a song by English rock band The Rolling Stones released in 1965. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

The song is notable for Richards's three-note guitar riff which opens and drives the song, and for the lyrics, which include references to Tabu Subjectsand a theme of anti-commercialism. The latter in particular caused the song to be "perceived as an attack on the status quo".

Keith Richards states that he came up with the guitar riff for the song in his sleep, waking up in the middle of the night, recording the riff and the words "I can't get no satisfaction" on a cassette recorder and promptly falling back to sleep

Rolling Stones

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Sunshine of Your Love

Cream

type=text"Sunshine of Your Love" is a song by the British supergroup Cream. The song was originally released on the album Disraeli Gears in November 1967. It was written by bassist Jack Bruce, lyricist Pete Brown, and Clapton. It features a distinctive guitar/bass guitar riff and an acclaimed guitar solo from Eric Clapton.

Clapton's guitar tone on the song is created using his 1964 Gibson SG guitar and a Marshall amplifier. It is also believed that a Vox Clyde McCoy Picture Wah is placed fully in the bass position for the solo section. The song is renowned among guitarists as perhaps the best example of his legendary late-'60s "woman tone", a thick yet articulate sound that many have tried to emulate. For the solo Clapton quoted the opening lines from the pop standard "Blue Moon," creating a contrast between the sun and the moon.

Drummer Ginger Baker is said to have came up with the song's tempo, which was based on African drumming.

Cream

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Layla

Derek And The Dominos

type=text"Layla" is a song by blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos and the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, originally released in December 1970. It is considered one of rock music's definitive love songs, featuring an unmistakable guitar figure, played by Eric Clapton and Duane Allman, and a piano coda that comprises the second half of the song.

It is often hailed as being among the greatest rock songs of all time. Two versions have achieved chart success, first in 1972 and again twenty years later as an acoustic "Unplugged" performance. In 2004, it was ranked #27 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the acoustic version won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.

Derek And The Dominos

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Oh, Pretty Woman

written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees.

type=text"Oh, Pretty Woman" is a song, released in 1964, which was a worldwide success for Roy Orbison. Recorded on the Monument Records label in Nashville, Tennessee, it was written by Roy Orbison and Bill Dees. The song spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

The best-known guitar performance was by Wayne Moss later of Barefoot Jerry. Although the official recording appeared in 1964, the Beatles recalled Orbison's having written and performed the song during a mid-1963 tour of the UK which included both acts.

Orbison posthumously won the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his live recording of the song on his HBO television special Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night. In 1999, the song was honored with a Grammy Hall of Fame Award and was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #222 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Roy Orbison

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Iron Man

Black Sabbath

type=text"Iron Man" is a song by British heavy metal band Black Sabbath from their second studio album Paranoid released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1976), as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations. Many musical acts have recorded cover versions of the song, and the song is frequently used and referenced during sporting events and in television shows and films. A live performance of this song was made for the program Beat-Club.

Black Sabbath

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Johnny B. Goode

Chuck Berry

type=text"Johnny B. Goode" is a 1958 rock and roll song written and originally performed by American musician Chuck Berry. The song was a major hit among both black and white audiences peaking at #2 on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B Sides chart and #8 on the Billboard Hot 100

The song is one of Chuck Berry's most famous recordings, has been covered by many artists, and has received several honors and accolades.

Written by Berry in 1955, the song is about a poor country boy who plays a guitar "just like ringing a bell," and who might one day have his "name in lights." Berry has acknowledged that the song is partly autobiographical, and originally had "colored boy" in the lyrics, but he changed it to "country boy" to ensure radio play.

Chuck Berry

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Heartbreaker

Led Zeppelin

type=text"Heartbreaker" is a song from English rock band Led Zeppelin's 1969 album, Led Zeppelin II. It was credited to all four members of the band

Robert Plant sings about a woman named Annie, who is up to her old tricks again; the lyrics recall a tale of a man painfully wizened after their encounters.

Led Zeppelin

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You Really Got Me

The Kinks

type=text"You Really Got Me" is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. It was released in August 1964 as the group's third single, and reached Number 1 on the UK singles chart the next month, remaining for two weeks. It was the group's breakthrough hit; it established them as one of the top British Invasion acts in the United States, reaching Number 7 there later in the year. It was later included on the Kinks' debut album, Kinks.

The Kinks

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Sweet Child O' Mine

Guns N' Roses

type=text"Sweet Child o' Mine" is the third single by American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and the third from their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. Released on August 18, 1988, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first and only number-one single in the U.S. It reached number six on the UK Singles Chart.

Guns N' Roses

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Important!

The Following Lists of Great Guitar Riffs were

taken from
digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitarriff.html

More Great Guitar Riffs - 1

11. Purple Haze - Jimi Hendrix Experience
12. Day Tripper - The Beatles
13. Walk This Way - Aerosmith
14. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida - Iron Butterfly
15. Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
16. Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
17. Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Jimi Hendrix Experience
18. Paranoid - Black Sabbath
19. Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne
20. Back In Black - AC/DC

More Great Guitar Riffs 2

21. Foxey Lady - Jimi Hendrix Experience
22. Frankenstein - Edgar Winter
23. Aqualung - Jethro Tull
24. Bad To The Bone - George Thorogood & Destroyers
25. Brown Sugar - Rolling Stones
26. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran
27. Money For Nothing - Dire Straits
28. Jumpin' Jack Flash - Rolling Stones
29. American Woman - Guess Who
30. Wild Thing - The Troggs
31. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
32. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
33. Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
34. Roadhouse Blues - The Doors
35. Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley
36. Breaking The Law - Judas Priest
37. Runnin' With The Devil - Van Halen
38. Enter Sandman - Metallica
39. The Hellion/Electric Eye - Judas Priest
40. Outshined - Soundgarden

More Great Guitar Riffs 3

41. Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
42. Hells Bells - AC/DC
43. La Grange - ZZ Top
44. Master Of Puppets - Metallica
45. Kashmir - Led Zeppelin
46. Sultans Of Swing - Dire Straits
47. Rusty Cage - Soundgarden
48. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love - Van Halen
49. Bring It On Home - Led Zeppelin
50. Man On The Silver Mountain - Rainbow
51. Panama - Van Halen
52. Maybellene - Chuck Berry
53. N.I.B. - Black Sabbath
54. Pinball Wizard - The Who
55. China Grove - The Doobie Brothers
56. Stranglehold - Ted Nugent
57. Ace Of Spades - Motorhead
58. Wipeout - The Surfaris
59. Paradise City - Guns N' Roses
60. Don't Fear The Reaper - Blue Oyster Cult
61. Five Minutes Alone - Pantera
62. All Day And All Of The Night - The Kinks
63. Up Around The Bend - Creedence Clearwater Revival
64. Bulls On Parade - Rage Against The Machine
65. Life In The Fast Lane - The Eagles
66. Start Me Up - Rolling Stones
67. Walk - Pantera
68. Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses
69. I'm Broken - Pantera
70. All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience

More Great Guitar Riffs 4

71. Under The Bridge - Red Hot Chili Peppers
72. Working Man - Rush
73. Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
74. Pride And Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan
75. The Boys Are Back In Town - Thin Lizzy
76. Whipping Post - Allman Brothers Band
77. Aenima - Tool
78. You Shook Me All Night Long - AC/DC
79. School Day - Chuck Berry
80. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen
81. Honey Don't - Carl Perkins
82. Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin
83. Rockin' In The Free World - Neil Young
84. Wake Up Little Susie - Everly Brothers
85. Taxman - The Beatles
86. The Ocean - Led Zeppelin
87. Lola - The Kinks
88. Hangar 18 - Megadeth
89. Sharp Dressed Man - ZZ Top
90. Thunderstruck - AC/DC
91. Politician - Cream
92. The Trooper - Iron Maiden
93. I Feel Fine - The Beatles
94. Spirit Of Radio - Rush
95. Hallowed Be Thy Name - Iron Maiden
96. Man On A Mission - Van Halen
97. Fear Of The Dark - Iron Maiden
98. Raining Blood - Slayer
99. Scuttle Buttin - Stevie Ray Vaughan
100. Hysteria - Muse

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Amazon MP3 Deep Purple

Check out my favorite songs! I've handpicked these MP3s from Amazon. Take a listen. If you like, you can click to buy them on Amazon.
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Whats Your Favorite Guitar Riff

  • riff999 May 22, 2011 @ 3:54 am | delete
    I really enjoyed my stay at this lens. Great topic. Well done! Blessed.

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Eric Clapton Plays Rock Guitar

by

ewguru

I live in St Louis MO with my wife Tracy, her son Tyler and our 2 dogs Frankie and Bernice. Mike Makler is the coolest guy in the Universe.

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