10 legendary guitar riffs that define rock music
It all started when somebody decided to change their guitar from being a hollow body to a solid body. This was the birth of the electric guitar, and while it was originally used in jazz bands, it would be the leading instrument in the development of rock ‘n’ roll.
Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Angus Young, Slash, Ritchie Blackmore, and so many more. We all owe a great deal of our listening habits to them, and they owe everything they have to the electric guitar.
If we ask rock lovers what it is about the genre that draws them towards it, we will get a barrage of different answers; however, two of the most important aspects of this iconic sound is the guitar riff and the guitar solo. Every good rock song is required to have both, as they are a statement of intent, a means for every guitarist to show that they’re the best in the game.
When you look back through the history of rock music, you will stumble upon a number of great guitar riffs, all of which set their own precedent within the genre and from which a number of different subgenres and opportunities grew. Some tracks that you may think are cheesy or inconspicuous helped to further develop the genre and contribute to what we have today.
Trying to pick ten riffs from the vast world of rock ‘n’ roll is an impossible task, as there are so many great pieces to enjoy throughout the genre. The below, however, have been included not just because they’re good, but because they expanded upon what the genre could be.
Here is a definitive list of ten amazing riffs which all help to define rock.
10 amazing riffs that define rock music:
Chuck Berry – ‘Johnny B Goode’
What would a building be without its foundations? While rock music these days is a skyline of classics, subgenres and spin-offs, all of that had to be built upon something, and one of the earliest songs that showed the potential of this sound was Chuck Berry’s energetic ‘Johnny B Goode’.
All of this song is near perfect, but that opening solo paired with the iconic guitar run that follows makes for some of the greatest music to come out of a six-string. It’s no wonder people felt so moved by that song, and equally no wonder how many it has inspired. Yes, without ‘Johnny B. Goode’, rock music would likely be very different.
The Kinks – ‘You Really Got Me’
The A chord in the continuous riff that plays throughout ‘You Really Got Me’ is probably the most important A chord in history. It’s not just the chord itself, but the way it’s played, as both of these come together to perfectly personify what good rock music can be: Simplicity meets energy.
Steve Van Zandt of the E Street Band recalls first hearing the song, stating that it changed the way people looked at the guitar. “This was a radical-sounding record,” he said, “When this came on the Top 30 radio, it was completely new to us. It went very high, as did ‘All Day And All Of The Night’. It was radical, and you have to give [producer] Shel Talmy credit for that.”
Deep Purple – ‘Smoke On The Water’
When you have a riff that is so popular they have to start banning it in guitar stores because staff members are hearing it too much, you know you’ve written something that wonderfully defines the genre you occupy. Ritchie Blackmore was a man of many talents, never afraid to use multiple genres in his work, but his simplest riff remains his best.
What is it that people find so endearing about this riff? I believe it stems back to the precedent that The Kinks set with ‘You Really Got Me’. It’s simple to play, but with the right blend of distortion and energy going into the way the song is played, you have the recipe for a truly exceptional piece of guitar music.
AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’
When Bon Scott died, it was a loss that shook rock ‘n’ roll to its core. The AC/DC lead singer had a vocal range that was perfect for the aggressive hard rock style that the band championed, and when he passed away, people worried it might prove to be the end of AC/DC. Oh, how wrong they were.
The band were deeply saddened by the loss, but they didn’t let that sadness define them, as they knew that’s not what Scott would have wanted. Instead, they went back in the studio and started working on some of their most exciting music to date. A barrage of great riffs came out of those sessions, but none were better than the uncompromising ‘Back In Black’. It remains a classic to this day, and recognisable with one hit of an E chord.
Heart – ‘Barracuda’
One thing that you’ll notice with a lot of this list is that it’s very male-heavy. The reasoning is simple: rock music is a male-dominated genre. This is less the case in the modern age, but was certainly the norm when rock music was still evolving. There were very few female bands making waves, but those that managed to smash through the glass ceiling placed above them were some of the best in the business.
Heart managed to come through brandishing a sound that was killer but also had a nice heap of variation. Their songs didn’t follow a rule, instead, the band wrote from a place of personal experience and let the music take whatever form it presented itself as. One of their most well-known tracks is ‘Barracuda’ and that rumbling bassline and iconic riff easily shows why.
Cream – ‘Sunshine of Your Love’
Ian Anderson credited Cream with being one of the first bands to champion what would now be considered a prog rock sound. “A more progressive approach, which had been the latter part of ’66, listening to people like Graham Bond, who had at that point in his band Jack Bruce on bass and Ginger Baker on drums. In many ways, Graham Bond was kind of a precursor of that thing that became progressive rock,” he said, “And, of course, Cream in its way when those two guys left Graham Bond and set out as Cream, that became something that moved Eric Clapton along from just being a blues guitarist.”
A lot of people say Eric Clapton peaked when he was in Cream, and the reason for this is because of how definitive what he wrote was. He didn’t just write good guitar music; he paved the way to a brand new genre because of it. We can’t recognise rock without prog rock, and we can’t recognise prog rock without Eric Clapton. ‘Sunshine of Your Love’ still holds up as one of the most enchanting riffs the band ever came up with.
Guns N’ Roses – ‘Welcome to the Jungle’
Slash is one of the most definitive rock guitarists of all time. His influence doesn’t just exist within Guns N’ Roses, but extends to all of the musical projects he’s had outside of them as well. He injected some much-needed venom in the rock scene, and the genre owes a lot to him because of it.
While there are a number of classic songs we could pick for his most definitive riff, it makes sense to start with the track that opens their debut album, Appetite For Destruction. The running guitar sound, followed by the powerful riff, is the perfect introduction to Guns N’ Roses and everything that they would do for rock music.
Aerosmith, Run DMC – ‘Walk This Way’
One of the most exciting things about rock music is its versatility. There have been a number of instances throughout the genre’s lifespan where it has proven it doesn’t have to be constricted to boundaries. There are a number of instances that show this, but one of the most iconic is with the Aerosmith riff ‘Walk This Way’.
Not only does this song stand up on its own, but it’s also one of the first rock songs that was repurposed to allow rappers to rap over the top. Run DMC and Aerosmith teamed up for an iconic song that opened up both genres to completely new approaches. Without this song, the versatile rock bands out there today that we know and love may not exist.
Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’
There are a number of different subgenres to come out of rock music, but one of the most prominent and popular is heavy metal. Black Sabbath were the band that pioneered this sound, which was a combination of energetic and laced with doom. This style of music remains incredibly popular, and there are plenty of great examples; however, we must pay homage to the Sabbath’s early work.
While their first album is good, it was also rushed. It gives great insight into what Sabbath were trying to do, but they didn’t perfect that sound until their second album, Paranoid. There are so many killer guitar riffs on this record, but it would be blasphemous to not choose the titular track. This song didn’t just help make this record perfect; it also led to the creation of heavy metal.
Nirvana – ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’
There is an art to a good riff, and while the majority of those arts have been covered above, there is still one that we haven’t touched upon. That is the wonderful switch from a clean to a distorted guitar. There is something about the same riff played, once without distortion and once with it, that makes rock lovers’ hairs stand on the back of their necks.
No song does this better than Nirvana’s killer song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. While the lyrics might be fairly nonsensical, that guitar does all the talking for itself. The track is absolutely infectious, and there is no escaping how powerful every single note from that iconic riff is.
