GUITAR'S GREATEST LIVE MOMENTS !
A GREAT LIVE moment can mean so many different things. It can be an experience that forever binds the minds of those on stage with the audience in front of them — the perfect setlist matched by the right atmosphere and sonic treatment. A formula that, as easy as it sounds on paper, is like catching lightning in a bottle. But an historic event is often so much more than a strong performance; it can be anything from an unexpected guest appearance or collaboration, something with some unexpected socio-political ramifications — or one of those times when things don’t quite go as planned, which, as every guitarist knows, is always an ever-hovering possibility. If anything, it’s how musicians have reacted in the face of adversity that has left the longest-lasting impressions — rare opportunities to prove their talents are more than just a simple rehearsal to perfection.
There have been a number of on-stage victories for any of the artists featured in this list, though — in our humble opinion — these are 40 of the most definitive events in guitar history. (P.S.: We’ve promised you 40, but our math isn’t so good, so, as always, we’ve thrown in a few extras. Enjoy!)
Mary duels with Paul — on Les Pauls
THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR, 1954
IN THE FIFTIES, when the name Les Paul was spoken, it was often in tandem with that of Mary Ford, his wife and musical partner. The duo were among the biggest recording artists of the early Fifties, cutting 16 top-10 hits, including “How High the Moon” and “Vaya Con Dios.” In ’51 alone, they sold six million records. Small wonder that Gibson sought out Les in 1952 to put his name on their new solidbody electric. While Ford was the featured singer on the couple’s songs, she was a fine guitarist as well, as heard in a famous — and 100 percent live — YouTube clip (search for “Les Paul & Mary Ford Live Part 2 Of 3”). It comes from a performance on NBC’s The Colgate Comedy Hour and originally aired in March 1954. In the clip, Les and Mary, each armed with a Les Paul, perform a mock guitar battle during a performance of “There’s No Place Like Home.” And there’s no place on network TV for stuff like this in 2021!
The Beatles light a (figurative) fire
THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW, FEBRUARY 1964
“SEEING THE BEATLES on Sullivan was a defining moment in my and millions of other guys’ lives, all of us naively thinking, ‘I wanna do that!’” Aerosmith legend Joe Perry tells us. Yes, it’s no secret the Beatles helped popularize guitars more than any band before them. Instrument orders skyrocketed as a direct consequence of their debut live appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, which broke records for its viewing audience — going out to 73 million people, almost half a TVwatching nation. “I read somewhere that after the Beatles appeared on [the Sullivan shows] Gretsch sold 20,000 guitars a week, or something like that,” said George Harrison, who played a walnut Gretsch Country Gentleman that day. “I mean, we would have had shares in… Gretsch and everything, but we didn’t know.”
Sister Rosetta Tharpe shreds with fury
TV GOSPEL TIME, MID SIXTIES
FOOTAGE OF SISTER Rosetta Tharpe’s earth-shaking guitar work continues to go viral — and rightly so. Very few video recordings exist of Tharpe (who’s often called “the Godmother of Rock ’n’ Roll”), which only adds to her legend, though the sheer charisma shining through her playing is strikingly evident. In one of her most famous clips, she’s performing “Up Above My Head” on TV Gospel Time, proudly wielding her ’62 Gibson Les Paul Custom with the Olivet Institutional Baptist Church Choir behind her. The sheer ferocity in her history; when we initially shared a story about this performance, became one of our most-viewed stories in history, racking up nearly 200,000 likes on Facebook, which isn’t, you know, all that common...
