Which guitarist has had the most number one songs?
At the forefront of all good music has been the guitar. While it is an instrument most predominantly associated with rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Slash, it continues to play a pivotal part in the majority of contemporary music to this day. If it isn’t included in the final cut of a song, chances are that it has been used in its writing.
There is something transportive about that axe. There is magic embedded within the vibration of the strings, the playing of a chord and the execution of a riff. Kids everywhere have sat in their bedrooms, watching videos of their guitar heroes, trying to work out what fret makes what note and how they can become somewhat similar to those they admire.
That magic only continues when you start to learn how to play the guitar and become your own musician. Escapism exists within a short grasp, as it doesn’t matter what is going on with the world outside, how devastating times might seem, when you have that guitar in your hand and a song in your heart, the world could be on fire, nothing else matters than that moment with your favourite instrument.
Forged in the fire of this magic are some of the greatest guitar players in the world. The songs that we love, those we flock to dancefloors over the mere mention of, have the guitar embedded in them on some level. We greet the introductions to our favourite rock songs as if they’re long-lost loved ones, and a good guitar solo has a euphoric feeling that would melt the coldest of hearts.
No matter what genre you are listening to, whether it’s blues, jazz, rock, metal, or pop, littered all over these unique sounds are great guitarists. They stand behind underrated songs that not enough people listen to, and some of the biggest hits in the world. Here, we are going to focus on the latter, as amongst these excellent guitarists who linger in every corner of the soundscape, only one of them can have the most number-one songs under their belt. Hence, it begs the question, who is it?
So, which guitarist has the most number-one songs?
I wish I could give you a straightforward answer to this question, but unfortunately, that’s not possible. The truth is that different charts have different ranking systems, and so what they consider a number one might vary compared to another. Additionally, guitarists will have had number ones in different countries, some of which might not have been accounted for.
That being said, there is a universally agreed-upon answer as to which guitarist has had the most number-one hits, and it’s because he has played on so many classics that logic determines that it has to be him. What’s interesting is that it might not be a name that you’re overly familiar with, as he was famous for being a session musician and working with a range of different artists.
It is accepted that the guitarist is Tommy Tedesco. For those of you who don’t know, Tedesco was one who played as part of The Wrecking Crew, and these were the go-to session musicians for stars, especially throughout the ‘60s, which is arguably when the group peaked.
The band worked on a list of songs which is too long to go through here, but some of the names they helped out throughout their tenure include Dean Martin, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & the Papas, The Byrds, Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell and Simon & Garfunkel (to name a few). This list of names has contributed to a huge amount of number-one songs, and these make Teddy Tedesco the guitarist with the most number-one songs in history.
