T.J. Edmond

There are a whole lot of good ones. Where to begin?:

Chuck Berry’s riffs like the intro to “Johnny B. Goode” cleared some of the ground that would become an expressway for rock guitarists after him.

Led Zeppelin’s looping riffs in “Black Dog” and “Rock and Roll,” gooey with groove, and impossible to keep your head from nodding when heard.

Jimi Hendrix’s swirling wah-wah riff in “Voodoo Chile” is like an ominous, marching army

AC/DC’s best and most famous guitar parts (like “Back in Black” and “You Shook Me All Night Long” are really more chordal rhythm parts than single note lines, but iconic nonetheless. “Have A Drink On Me” is a great linear riff from them.

The Beatles, who are known more for their use of chords, melody and harmony had some great riffs as well, such as in “Paperback Writer” and “Revolution”.

The riff in David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel” comes in at number two in my book, with the energy it packs into that descending line, and the tenacity with which it replays in the listener’s head.

But the number one greatest Rock and Roll guitar riff, in my opinion, is the riff from “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones. It has a looping, grooving, pulsing energy as the notes ascend and then descend, and repeat– like when you were a kid on the swingset, where with each swing you pump closer to that moment of weightlessness just before the chains jerk as you fall back to earth, your adrenaline surges, and you do it again!

And what economy! Keith Richards packed all that power, groove, and melody into just THREE notes. One could make the point that Tom Morello’s riff in “Bulls On Parade” by Rage Against The Machine uses only two notes (actually the same note, but an octave apart), arguably packing more power, but it does so at the cost of  melody, so I still give the trophy to Keith.

What do you think? Is there one better?

Be Sociable, Share!

•