Ritchie Blackmore’s favourite guitarist of all time: “I couldn’t believe how incredible he was”
Classic rock was the age of the guitar hero. A range of influential axemen appeared during this era, including the likes of Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Tony Iommi. One of the most distinctive that arrived during those heady days, however, was the great Ritchie Blackmore.
A pioneer of hard rock and metal, Blackmore stretched the form to its limits and pushed contemporary music into the future. Flourishing in Deep Purple, Rainbow and as a solo artist, Blackmore continues to be a source of wisdom regarding rock music’s halcyon days.
From visceral solos carried by the heavy use of sustain to more relaxed traditional-leaning moments, Blackmore’s longevity can largely be attributed to his dexterity on the guitar, meaning he’s never lost for what to do next. Indicative of this, in 1975 – seven years after he joined Deep Purple – he had grown bored. Accordingly, Blackmore left to form Rainbow, his other most important group. Their best-known hit is the 1979 cover of ‘Since You Been Gone’.
The year he jumped from Deep Purple to Rainbow, Blackmore sat down with International Musician magazine and surprised fans when he named his “favourite guitarist”. Many thought it would have been Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, someone Blackmore had mentioned as an influence before this. However, Page’s friend and brief Yardbirds bandmate, Jeff Beck, took the crown.
A part of 1960s London’s most eminent triptych of guitarists, alongside friends Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page, from the mid-1960s onwards, everyone with an eye for great art was acutely aware of the power his hands possessed as he continued to develop his craft and discover new creative areas.
Whether it be pioneering psychedelia with The Yardbirds, penning the era-defining instrumental ‘Beck’s Bolero’ with Page, or the many other hard-rock flourishes of his later career, Beck’s list of achievements is extensive. One of the definitive figures in the transition from blues to classic rock, the Londoner made such an impact that countless artists cite him as one of the best.
Blackmore said: “I like Jeff (Beck). He’s my favourite guitarist. There are a lot of guitarists around that get overlooked. When you’re a guitarist yourself you tend to get so buried in what you’re doing.”
As a guitarist, Blackmore explained that he usually understood what others were doing, but Beck was so skilful that he always left him speechless. He continued: “Being a guitarist, I obviously know a lot of tricks of the trade. But whenever I watch Beck, I think, ‘How the hell is he doing that?’ Echoes suddenly come from nowhere.”
“He can play a very quiet passage with no sustain and in the next second, suddenly race up the fingerboard with all this sustain coming out. He seems to have sustain completely at his fingertips. Yet he doesn’t have it all the time, only when he wants it,” the former Deep Purple man concluded.
After Jeff Beck passed away in January 2023, Blackmore released an official statement on his social media accounts. Taking a trip down memory lane, he remembered first meeting his fellow guitarist before calling him the “best rock and roll player”.
He wrote: “First met Jeff Beck around 64-65. It was a session where we were both playing guitars, and Jimmy Page was producing. I couldn’t believe how incredible he was. Not only with his technique but his sound too. I became a fan of his ever since. He could reach up into the stars and make magic with his playing. His choice of notes was always absolutely perfect. This whole thing is a shock. We shall always remember Jeff as the best rock and roll player”.
