The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach names his three favourite guitarists
Guitarist, singer and songwriter Dan Auerbach is an essential part of the Ohio-formed blues rock band The Black Keys. Along with his bandmate Patrick Carney, Auerbach has written and recorded eleven albums as The Black Keys and has also put out two solo records.
In addition to his work with The Black Keys, Auerbach is also a prolific record producer and owns the Easy Eye Sound recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee. He has worked on albums with Lana Del Rey, Cage the Elephant, Dr. John, Ray LaMontagne, CeeLo Green and even The Pretenders. His producing work has seen him win Grammys in that category as well as for his songwriting with The Black Keys.
Auerbach once discussed his three favourite guitarists with Music Radar, and his first pick is Fred McDowell. “When I was starting to play guitar, Fred McDowell blew my mind,” Auerbach said. “He played in open-tuning with a slide; it was very rhythmic in his finger-picking, and a lot of it was just kind of one chord. It was not your basic 12-bar.”
Yet McDowell is not the only 12-bar blues player that Auerbach has a fondness for. He is also a great admirer of the legendary Lightnin’ Hopkins. “That’s the kind of stuff I love, like Lightnin’ Hopkins,” Auerbach added. “He played 12-bar blues, but not basic at all. There was no time signature; rhythmically, he was very hard to follow.”
Widely considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Lightnin’ Hopkins influenced the likes of Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams Jr. and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Hopkins was born in Texas and immersed himself in the world of blues, going on to become of the genre’s greats.
Departing from that 12-bar blues influence, Auerbach opened up on his wider tastes. “If you wanted to start hearing some weird electric shit, I would definitely say listen to Junior Kimbrough,” he said. “He’s just amazing – he played his own style. He was another guy that was almost just one chord the whole song and just hypnotic finger-picking. I love that stuff so much.”
Noting how his three favourite guitarists are linked by their approach to playing, Auerbach concluded, “With Lightning Hopkins, Junior Kimbrough, Fred McDowell, their music was who they were; it was their life, whether they made money or not. It was a beautiful thing – the music just represented them. It was a natural extension of their personalities, of who they were as human beings.”
Dan Auberbach’s favourite guitarists:
- Lightnin’ Hopkins
- Fred McDowell
- Junior Kimbrough
