Originally Posted by: Raskolnikov1. We've all grown up since B.B.'s time; I and most people I know figured out how to play "Enter Sandman" by accident, yet before Metallica released it, who latched onto that riff?

2. "Tapping" existed well before Eddie Van Halen. However, he popularized it and therefore he was the impetus for 99.999% of the implementation of that technique to come since that time.




Tell that to Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, SRV, Jimmy Vaughan, Robert Cray and any number of other contemporary Blues (and, honestly, a lot of Rock and Jazz guitarists I've run into) who have cited B.B. as a key influence on them.

When Jimmy Vaughan says that "we're all trying to sound like [B.B. King]" and the entire cast of the SRV tribute agrees with him, then I think that should tell you something.


When you think about it, compared to contemporary Hard Rock and Metal bands, Black Sabbath is relatively unremarkable; and yet without them, none of it would exist in its present form.

You have to remember: you're listening to B.B. King's music with 50+ years of following music history being thrown at you at the same time and so for you or I or almost anyone else on this site, it's a lot of hard work to put his music into the context of what music was before he came along and what it became because of it.

I take it you're a BB fan, so I'll stop debating with you because it will never end. I would defend to the death for one of my favorite players too, or even someone I highly respected. Like Eddie!

The only guitarist to really use any kind of tapping before Eddie was Billy Gibbons, and he only used it a couple times in a lick or two. Eddie took it to an astronomical level, way beyond anyone's comprehension.

Just a quick question: Who do you think should be higher on a "guitarist" list, BB or Eddie? I mean as far as inspiration to musicians(successful or not) and the body of work? Just curious.