When we search for the greatest guitar player or guitarist of all time there will always come the name of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton however, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd also made it to the list of the greatest guitarists of all time. Considering how great Gilmour is, it is no surprise to us that he is listed and considered one of the greatest guitar players of all time.
David Gilmour joined the popular rock band, Pink Floyd, back in 1967 replacing the original frontman and lead vocalist of the band Syd Barrett. And it is known to all how great of a band was, Pink Floyd has sold more than 250 million records globally.
A few years past Gilmour was noted as the greatest Fender guitar player of all time surpassing Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton however, he did not seem to be impressed by the list because he rather gave a dry response. Talking about the case Gilmour said, “Best ever Fender player will come around again, and it will be Eric or Jimi or someone. You can’t believe that stuff. Much as I’d love to believe I’m the best ever Fender guitar player, it just doesn’t really make sense.”
While it was a rather dry response, it still was an interesting, humble, and wise reply. Furthermore, Gilmour showed respect to two of the biggest and most iconic guitar players and his influencers. Well, no wonder he respected them because Jimi and Eric are two legendary guitar players and musicians who are inspirations to millions including Gilmour. However, are there any other artists who inspired Gilmour? yes, there are several other artists who are Gilmour’s inspiration and in this handy article, we are going to discuss the artists who inspired Gilmour or in other words, David Gilmour’s favorite guitarists or guitar players.
Who are David Gilmour’s favorite guitarists?
As mentioned David Gilmour is one of the greatest guitar players of all time and he also respects other greatest guitarists. In fact, he was hugely influenced by various guitar players including Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. And now we will be looking into Gilmour’s several other influencers who are his favorite guitarists.
Gilmour talked about his guitar journey with Uncut and during their conversation, David said, “When you start out, you copy, trying to be too original when you’re too young is possibly not the best thing. But I learned copying Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix. All sorts of people.”
He says that it is all right to copy when you first start to play, in fact, he insists to try and copy various artists because trying to be too original when you’re just into guitar would not be the best thing according to Gilmour. He mentioned Eric and Jimi’s name there as well which shows how much he respects them. Talking about Jimi and Gilmour, did you know David Gilmour was a guitar technician to Jimi Hendrix? well, now you do. Gilmour was a guitar technician to Jimi at the Isle of Wight Festival back in 1970.
Other than Jimi and Eric, Gilmour is a huge fan of the lead guitarist of The Shadows band, Hank Marvin. Furthermore, when talking about the greatest guitarist there is no chance of someone not getting influenced by the original King of Rock n Roll Chuck Berry who is also widely known as the grandfather of Rock n Roll. Talking about the band, David Gilmour is also a big admirer of the Fab Four, the Beatles.
He once said that he wished he was in the Beatles. In October 2015, in an interview with Mojo Gilmour said, “I really wish I had been in the Beatles, [they] taught me how to play guitar; I learnt everything. The bass parts, the lead, the rhythm, everything. They were fantastic.” While Gilmour really loved the whole band, he thinks that he was more influenced by George Harrison who was the lead guitarist of the Beatles.
These are not the only guitarists who inspired Gilmour, he was also hugely influenced and inspired by the English rock guitarist Jeff Beck and one of the members of the popular English rock band Yardbirds. Furthermore, it is not like Gilmour was never asked about who his influencers or inspiration were. And when asked Gilmour replied, “So many players inspired me. I learned from Pete Seeger, Hank Marvin, Lead Belly, Joni Mitchell, John Fahey, Roy Buchanon, Jeff [Beck] and Eric [Clapton] and dozens more. I copied – don’t be afraid to copy – and eventually something that I suppose that I would call my own appeared.” Furthermore, Gilmour told his fans not to be afraid to copy, he said, “I copied – don’t be afraid to copy – and eventually something that I suppose that I would call my own appeared.”
This might not be known to many but David Gilmour was a huge fan of the original frontman of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett. Gilmour has admitted that he learned various guitar techniques from his friend Barrett however, it was really a pity that Barrett was mentally ill and was a drug addict which led him out of Pink Floyd. Moreover, there are also other artists including John Fahey, Roy Buchanan, Joni Mitchell, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly who really helped Gilmour to grow more, who are Gilmour’s inspiration and of course they also come in David Gilmour’s list of favorite guitar players.
