Viaene Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 In addition to this article, an unranked list of 'the 12 greatest Female Electric Guitarists'. What do you think? 12 of the greatest female electric guitar players to ever pick up the instrument: # Joan Jett A no-nonsense player who in only a few strums can get an entire barroom howling her 1982 hit, "I Love Rock ’n’ Roll." That kind of power, often amplified by painted-on leather pants, sets the bar high for Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, who’s playing Jett in an upcoming Runaways biopic. # Lita Ford After jamming with Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-metal shedder sound solo and hired fellow rocker chick Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, she released Lita, a sexy riff-filled album that not only pleased rockers with its head-banging tunes but also got mainstreamers in the pit, especially with "Close My Eyes Forever," her duet with the prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne. # Nancy Wilson Only a few seconds into the riff of Heart’s "Barracuda" and you know that only Nancy Wilson could knock you over with solos that beg to be air-guitared. Which makes us even more excited to hear that Nancy and sister Ann are preparing a new album slated for next summer. # Jennifer Batten Jennifer Batten’s shredding is just as outrageous as her platinum-spiked locks, both of which must have caught the attention of Michael Jackson, who called on her to play Eddie Van Halen’s "Beat It" guitar solo on his Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory tours. Watch video here. # Donita Sparks Donita Sparks, the woman behind ’80s girl group L7’s guitar-heavy riffs, gave birth to boozy garage grunge (download "Pretend We’re Dead," or play your own version on Rock Band 2), as well as her own group, Donita Sparks + the Stellar Moments, whose 2008 Transmiticate proves she hasn’t lost her hard-rock edge. # Kelley Deal Kelley Deal didn’t pick up the guitar until she was 30, but that’s the reason her disheveled playing for the Breeders (and later the Kelley Deal 6000) moves us. It’s untrained, uncalculated, and completely unreal. # Carrie Brownstein Sleater-Kinney could have fallen into obscurity like some of their ’90s indie-rock classmates (what ever happened to Joan Osborne?) but not with Carrie Brownstein’s riotous wailing, especially Page-like in the group’s 2002 record, One Beat. And lately, she’s taken to blogging for NPR. # Poison Ivy The Cramps were playing envelope-pushing ’80s psychobilly before it became mainstream in the ’90s and influenced bands like the Black Lips, the Jesus And Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. With Poison Ivy on the ax (and late husband Lux Interior on vocals), her garage-punk attitude, though totally hard-core, seemed to come from a place of love. Creepy, fetish-filled love. # Ruyter Suys When her band Nashville Pussy plays live, lead guitarist Ruyter Suys whips her fiery red mane back and forth and lies on the stage floor (sometimes in only her underwear), all while creating the high-pitch electric screams that frame their "good old-fashioned, humping-in-the-back-seat-of-a-car rock ’n’ roll," as Suys describes it to Rolling Stone. # The Great Kat Of all the shredders on our list, Juilliard-trained violinist the Great Kat (aka Katherine Thomas) is the most mind-bogglingly fast. Watch her fingers do the talking in the Beethoven Mush video here. (Or just imagine the composer’s electrical symphony on amphetamines.) # Marnie Stern Marnie Stern’s twitchy rhythms and face-melting licks take what we love about Eddie Van Halen’s fast-paced playing and paints it with a rock-girl feel. On her second record, This Is It… (2008), Stern is a virtuosic badass. # Orianthi At 24, Australian newcomer Orianthi’s melodic wailing has already been endorsed by Carlos Santana ("If I was going to pass the baton to someone, she would be my first choice," he told the Aussie Today show) and Michael Jackson handpicked her for what would have been his comeback tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 As an old punker / alt.rocker, I guess I applaud the inclusion of the likes of Joan Jett, Donita Sparks, Poison Ivy, Kelley Deal, Carrie Brownstein, etc. My problem is that none of them are actually such good guitarists. So we're just appreciating them for being there and kicking ass, aren't we really? I appreciate that there aren't so many female musicians to choose from, but, y'know? None of the aforementioned are anywhere near as good as Kelly Johnson (RIP) of Girlschool , who not only kicked ass, but was a sh!t-hot guitarist. This list is discredited by her omission. In his autobiography, Lemmy (of Motorhead) asserted that Kelly was as good a rock guitarist as he ever encountered, and I'm sure he must have met a few. "C'mon Let's Go" - Girlschool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 If I'm not mistaken, I've read this article before. Poison Ivy of the Cramps is a bit overrated appearing on this list. The Cramps... influenced bands like the Black Lips, the Jesus And Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine. Please, those bands are much better than the Cramps were, they didn't influence jacks#!t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_s_1987 Posted August 26, 2009 Report Share Posted August 26, 2009 (edited) I'm surprised they didn't link to a video of Orianthi Panagaris, she's probably the most skilled female electric guitarist I've seen. And I'm not just saying that because she's Australian and good looking. See here. I also agree with someone who made a comment on that page - if it wasn't just electric guitarists listed, Ana Vidovic should make the top ten. Asturias is my favourite Spanish classical guitar instrumental (originally written for piano), and she plays it amazingly well in this video. I tried to learn Asturias about six years ago. Needless to say, I didn't have much success. Edited August 26, 2009 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kruthika Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 (edited) After jamming with Jett as lead guitarist in the Runaways, Lita Ford took her pop-metal shedder sound solo and hired fellow rocker chick Sharon Osbourne as her manager. In 1988, she released Lita, a sexy riff-filled album that not only pleased rockers with its head-banging tunes but also got mainstreamers in the pit, especially with "Close My Eyes Forever," her duet with the prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne. Edited August 28, 2009 by Guest say with me now, "spamalamadingdong the witch is dead..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blind-fitter Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 That's very good copy-and-paste technique you've got there, Kruthika. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farin Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Susan Tedeschi (I dunno if she's playing the solos in this song as well though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted August 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Rory Block knows how to play that guitar too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindCrime Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 say with me now, "spamalamadingdong the witch is dead..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Pa Posted September 2, 2009 Report Share Posted September 2, 2009 Any of you folks ever heard of "Carol Kaye" ? Check out this link. You may be surprized.. http://www.carolkaye.com/ Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim in Pa Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 And here's another: Ana Vidovic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ana_Vidović This girl is fantastic.. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanAm Posted November 25, 2009 Report Share Posted November 25, 2009 Sue Foley A very good electric blues guitarist. Liona Boyd One of the greatest classical guitarists in history. She apprenticed with the master, Segovia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viaene Posted November 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Sue Foley A very good electric blues guitarist. that's a great piece of music, gotta get my hands on that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chutzpah Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 yeah..."Kelly Johnson" of Girlschool should be on there...And "Sue Foley"...I liked that blues guitar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chutzpah Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 ... and "Bonnie Raitt" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanAm Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 Bonnie Raitt!! You sure got that right! :guitar: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Joe Posted December 1, 2009 Report Share Posted December 1, 2009 Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Bonnie Raitt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DemonD Posted February 20, 2010 Report Share Posted February 20, 2010 Yep, Bonnie Raitt is just right. My sweet Mama Bon-Bon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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