Roy Clark –
See the article on Clark here:
“Fast” Eddie Clarke –
It’s arguable that if not for Eddie Clarke, there would be no Motorhead, at least to the level of success we are familiar with. He played on all of their best known songs such as “Ace of Spades”, “Overkill” and “Road Crew.”
Photo by Sky News
Oliver “Oli” Herbert (All That Remains) –
Highly regarded in Death Metal circles, his passing at the age of forty-four was a shock to his many fans.
Nokie Edwards (The Ventures) –
The Ventures made instrumentals of some of the most popular songs of the 1960s such as “Hawaii Five-O” and the theme from “The Green Hornet”. Nokie played on virtually all of their hits and became famous for promoting the Mosrite guitars the band played. They continued to tour until the last few years when health issues prevented it. (Edwards is on the left in this photo)
Danny Kirwan (Fleetwood Mac) –
Kirwan joined Fleetwood Mac in 1969 after Peter Green heard him play. He stayed with the group through 1972 and played on their early hits.
Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy –
Murphy is best known for playing on and acting in the two “Blues Brothers” albums/movies and actually toured with them through 2000. He was a respected session guitarist and toured with some of the more well known Blues acts.
Ed King (Lynyrd Skynyrd) –
Ed King’s most famous composition was Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” and that’s him playing the opening licks. A Les Paul aficionado, he ironically played a Strat during his tenure with Skynyrd. Most notably, he had a 1959 Sunburst Les Paul stolen from him that he ended up seeing in a Japanese book about guitars and subsequently got it returned to him. Was he lucky? “You Got That Right!”
Otis Rush –
One of the Chicago Blues-style of guitarists. Rush influenced the “Big Three” white Blues Guitarists of the early sixties (Clapton, Peter Green and Bloomfield.) A lefty – he played his guitars “Albert King” style; strung as if he were right-handed.
Wah Wah Watson –
A guitarist who played on some of the most famous Motown hits of the 60s and 70’s. He was best known for the effects pedal that gave him his nickname.
Echoes/Redferns, via Getty Images
Glenn Schwartz (James Gang) –
Schwartz, who preceded Joe Walsh in the James Gang, went on to play in Christian Rock bands in the 70s and switched to the Blues, playing regularly until 2010 when health issues prevented him from continuing.
Instagram @johnnyhorsepower
Pete Shelley (Buzzcocks) –
The Shelley-led Buzzcocks were one of the early Punk influences of the mis-70s along with The Sex Pistols.
Joe Osborn (The Wrecking Crew) –
Bassist in the famed Wrecking Crew, the group of studio musicians who performed on tracks like Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and the Mamas & the Papas’ “California Dreamin’”.
Photo credits: credits for some photos in this post could not be found. If you are the owner: contact us and we will gladly credit your photo.