Jimi Mac Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 What was the song, that lit the fire of your music/guitar sojourn? We've talked about players, we've talked about guitars, now lets talk about the songs we heard that made us say; "That, is what I want to do!" For me it was the first time I heard John Mayall's Bluesbreakers featuring Eric Clapton do "Steppin' Out." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkulcvRkd4I I was just learning about the genre of Blues and figuring out it's the music that most inspires me and that I like to hear most... It took me a while to parse it out of rock and roll of the era as it took me a while to learn it came from The Blues. I found a bootleg cassette at some local record store as I was looking to buy Blues albums to figure it all out for myself and this South American with spanish sub-titles cassette showed Clapton on the cover and had some reference to Blues across the lable that I couldn't really read and the words "Blues Breakers" made me give it a shot... "Between Hideaway," "Tribute To Elmore," and "Steppin' Out" it was all over but the buyin' a guitar... I clearly remember hearing "Steppin' Out" for the very first time and realizing that's what I'd been looking for since my very first music interest that my ears, head, and heart wanted to hear and I knew I wanted to find out how to make that guitar sound and do it for myself one day... It is this Album and this song that made me go on a sojourn that would lead me directly to experiencing the likes of Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, and Jimmy Rogers Et Al for myself... This song, Eric Clapton, and that Les Paul are responsible for the whole 9-yards! I must thank Eric Clapton, John Mayall, Lester Polsfuss, and every Bluesman that ever inspired them to follow their dreams! Later on I found another album that struck a fancy with me and brought home the British guitar God ideal and the 3 contemporary Yardbirds... It was an album from 1971 entitled; "Guitar Boogie" and the lead off song just twisted me all up inside with a driving boogie that set my soul on fire! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKzNQbj7y_Q It was the definition of the quintessential sounds I wanted to know and make... It all led me to personally meet and see live Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Hubert Sumlin, Lonnie Mack, Li'l Ed Williams, Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny "Clyde" Copeland, and eventually having the honor and privilege of seeing the likes of SRV, Jeff Healey, and Eric Clapton himself live in my lifetime... I got to sit backstage with Buddy Guy and Junior Wells sipping Cognac and chatting Blues for the culmination of a lifetime experience once upon a time... Those British Guitar Gods led me to discover Buddy Guy in a cassette album entitled; "Left My Blues in San Francisco." The track; "I suffer With The Blues" instantly told me, I'd found my way home! And remains my biggest lifetime inspiration ever... I've had the fortune and privilege of seeing Buddy Guy live dozens of times starting in the late 1980's and he remains (until I die) my biggest hero of heroes! I believe he'll be turning 78 next month and he ain't slowin' down none! Amen!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Hello! The song that made me want to play guitar, was Stones' "Rock and a hard place". Probably. At least, that's how I remember. It had a huge impact on me. ...then, when I first heard Ozzy's Randy Rhoads Tribute record. That blew me off my feet. The way the opening riff of "I don't know" explodes into the moment of musical catharsis of Carl Orff's "O fortuna" - used as concert intro - is something that will be with me forever. Again, the genius of Randy Rhoads. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Free - and therefore Koss, of course - playing "The Hunter" in live concert footage which I saw on TV in the very early '70s. It might well have been the Isle of Wight performance but it was a long, long time ago and I'm now much more familiar with the version on 'The Free Story'. Clapton's version of 'Stepping Out' is right up there too. I still play it a few times a week. In fact before I was hoodwinked into joining the hordes of i-phone users 'Stepping Out' was my mobile's ringtone. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 if I had to pick one... All Along The Watch Tower (Hendrix's version) Running up a close second, Deep Pruple's Hiway Star a coin toss really... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vangoghsear Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Pink Floyd "Comfortably Numb." Love that song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I guess it would be "All Day And All Of The Night" by the kinks. It was one of the early harder sounds from the British Invasion. "Heart Full of Soul" by The Yardbirds a close second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_s Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 So many good songs lit my musical fire so to speak, but the one stand out is 'White Room' by Cream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deeman Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Growing up, my father listened to a lot of Clapton and Beatles and classic rock in general. I think that planted the seed. One thing I do remember is when I was like 10 or so (mind you i didn't pick up a guitar until I was about 15) I was home alone and was blasting Shine by Collective Soul and playing air guitar to it in the living room on repeat for quite some time. Something about that riff. I still play that song from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanHenry Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 In my case, it wasn't so much a song, but a Teacher at School. At the time I was learning to play the drums because my Dad was a drummer in a Jazz band, and wanted me to follow suit, however at School we had a young physics Teacher called Mr Porter, who used to set us our work, then sit on the lab bench running around the room and play his guitar, he was rather cool. Anyway, one day a couple of mates and I were talking to him about music, and he offered to teach us some guitar during the lunch break. He taught use a few chords, and the rest, as they say is history. If I had to pick some music, it would be an entire album, Made in Japan by Deep Purple. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brc Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 For me it was in the 50s, Joe Maphis, Fire on the Strings, or just about any Merle Travis picking from the mid 50s Then early 60s any **** Dale , and the Ventures, Walk, don't Run Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It was the Beano album for me too. I was poking around the record shop in 1974 and I saw this album with Clapton on there. I already was into Cream but didn't know about the Bluesbreakers. I figured I'd buy the album and check it out. I was like "Holy shick - this is unbelievable." All I wanted to do for like six months was sit in my dorm room and try to replicate those licks. That's when I figured out position one and the "Clapton" position. I had no idea what I was doing but somehow figured out what he was doing by trial and error. All Your Love, Stepping Out, Have You Heard & Double Crossing Time were favorites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I was inspired to learn guitar by George Harrison, but the first song that really blew me away was this version of Johnny B. Goode. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IHAgShXh9E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Although having already plunked around on guitar for a few years, hearing the Allman Brothers "Fillmore East" album for the first time was a life altering moment. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when the epiphany occurred. I was hanging out in a friends basement when his mom called him up for dinner. On his way upstairs he put Fillmore East on the turntable, handed me a set of headphones, and said "check this out". When he came back down I was laying on the floor with the headphones cranked, in total amazement of the guitar work I was hearing from Duane and Dickie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Although having already plunked around on guitar for a few years, hearing the Allman Brothers "Fillmore East" album for the first time was a life altering moment. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when the epiphany occurred. I was hanging out in a friends basement when his mom called him up for dinner. On his way upstairs he put Fillmore East on the turntable, handed me a set of headphones, and said "check this out". When he came back down I was laying on the floor with the headphones cranked, in total amazement of the guitar work I was hearing from Duane and Dickie. yep. That was indeed an awesome album. I went thru maybe three copies of it. ah the old days when to learn a solo, you had to sacrifice an album, or 10. I have that on iTunes now, some serious greatness was on those two vinyls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Had to have been Chuck Berry's "Maybellene!" But, things really took off, when I heard "I Saw Her Standing There" on The Beatles 1st (American) Album, "Meet The Beatles!" After that....too many, to list! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xkimo Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Not going to be a "spectacular choice I know..But seeing Roy Clark at the fair in Knoxville,Tennessee mid 60ish.The man played everything literally,right down to a washboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Although it was The Beatles who really got me into guitar,it was hearing "Foxy Lady" and "Are You Experienced" that really got me turned to a completely different tangent and made me set my sights on bringing up my playing to an entirely different and higher level.When I heard that album and these songs especially-combined with the really extreme sonic effects of "Third Stone From The Sun"-,it made me realize that the guitar was capable of creating sounds that were far beyond the realm of what up until then was believed to be the limit of the guitar's tonal boundries.I have been keeping on testing out what weird and wonderful sounds that I can coax from a guitar...and of course still trying to decipher a lot of Jimi's incredible sounds,ever since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Up Around the Bend - Creedence. Opening riff. I remember air guitaring it in front of my friend Russell at about age 8. I said "I want to do this". He said, "You couldn't do it in a million years". Only took me 5 from that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xkimo Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Not going to be a "spectacular choice I know..But seeing Roy Clark at the fair in Knoxville,Tennessee mid 60ish.The man played everything literally,right down to the washboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 For me it was Stairway To Heaven that started it.. and then Sweet Child o Mine and Thunderstruck.. After that I was hooked for life, grew my hair and bought a biker jacket that pretty much shows that same story :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It was the Beatles that got me wanting to play the guitar, but it was hearing the Allman Brothers "Fillmore East" that pointed me in the direction I wanted to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It wasn't a song, it was a friend. Learned guitar as a kid and then quit until my early 20's. When I started a new job and met a like-minded coworker. Went to my new coworkers house for lunch one day where he picked up a guitar and started playing some Pink Floyd tune. I said,, "Wow,, you can do that? cool." He said, "I will teach you" I said, "No, I played as a kid but I'm old now, it's too late". He said "Do you plan on being alive in 10 years?" I said "I hope so" He said "Well start now and if you're still alive in 10 years you should be pretty good". So to this day I thank him for that. So no,, there was no one song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hall Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 "Celery Stalks at Midnight" Will Bradly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 When I heard this guitar "solo", I thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever heard. I don't know if I had already taken up the guitar, or would soon thereafter. Once I did, The Beatles and Paul McCartney solo were what I was listening to for musical inspiration. But this was the one that fascinated me regarding WHAT I might be able to accomplish with the guitar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMLiqEqMQyQ Not sure why I can't post a video here as I've done many times before… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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