Is Steve Marriott the most underrated guitarist of the 1960s?
If you had to pick a definitive ‘golden age’ of rock music, the 1960s is the only logical option. During the era, the modest origins of rock ‘n’ roll were completely revolutionised, taking in a defiant and inventive new direction by a generation of creative visionaries. Particularly during the latter part of the decade, with the rise of counterculture rock and psychedelia, countless gifted artists rose to prominence, especially within the guitar world. However, the oversaturation of guitarists during the 1960s meant the talents of some went largely unnoticed, as is the case with Steve Marriott.
From an early age, Marriott was destined for guitar greatness. After teaching himself to play the ukulele and harmonica during his childhood, the budding young musician triumphed in talent competitions and laid the foundations for his later career in music. As a young man, Marriott idolised the guitarists of early rock ‘n’ roll, particularly figures like Buddy Holly, who was hugely influential on his teenage music taste.
Later, Marriott established himself as a stalwart of the swinging sixties by co-founding The Small Faces in 1965. Disciples of the modernist subculture, the band helped to redefine expectations of British rock music, along with fellow London rockers like The Who or The Kinks. Despite the group’s legendary reputation, their music rarely allowed Marriott to fully explore his guitar mastery. If you look at their most iconic tracks, like ‘Lazy Sunday,’ the music-hall influences do not lend themselves naturally to a stunning guitar solo.
Nevertheless, if you delve deeper into the discography of the Faces, you can find some of the greatest guitar riffs and solos from the entirety of 1960s rock. Their 1968 track ‘Song of a Baker’, for example, sees Marriott absolutely shredding on his starburst Fender Telecaster and although it is not one of their most notable tracks, its guitar solo is virtually unparalleled by any other British rock outfit of the period.
Following the break-up of The Small Faces in 1969, Marriott formed the hard rock supergroup Humble Pie. Again, with this new group, Marriott’s guitar skills often took a backseat to his vocal performances. However, if you strip back the sound of both of these bands, Marriott’s distinct guitar stylings make them so enduring.
In many ways, Marriott was a victim of his own success. As a frontman, the Small Faces songwriter became so legendary that he had a colossal impact on future rock icons like Robert Plant. In fact, the future Led Zeppelin singer once revealed, “I could never be compared with Steve Marriott because he’s too good.”
Meanwhile, Black Sabbath’s iconic guitarist Tony Iommi shared, “Steve Marriott was the first choice to be Black Sabbath’s vocalist. I tried everything I could think of to get him to agree, but he had other plans. He was Jimmy Page’s first choice for Led Zeppelin, too”.
So, although Marriott was honoured by his fellow rock stars, it was more often because of his vocals than his guitar proficiency. When taking into account the fact that the songwriter was at his peak at the same time as figures like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Jimmy Page might provide some insight as to why his guitar playing went overlooked or entirely unnoticed, but it is certainly worth revisiting, as he is perhaps the most underrated guitarist of the era.
