Throughout rock n roll history there have been many iconic guitar intros. Below I will list the final five of the best in my opinion.
The Basic Understanding PLEASE READ
This list is constructed based on my personal opinions. You may choose to disagree with them. For this list, I will stick to mainly Rock N Roll songs. Not venturing too much into Metal or other genres. I will also try to only put one or two songs by an artist on this list as if there wasn’t a limit this list could just be two people.
5. Sweet Child O Mine, Guns N Roses
This almost feels like the stereotypical and easy option to pick for a Guns N Roses Slash riff. Nonetheless, it’s one of the most iconic guitar riffs ever. A riff that helped shoot Guns N Roses to stardom. It’s the perfect build into a song about one of Axl Rose’s many lovers. It’s also a song that somehow captures and makes the Appetite For Destruction album what it is.
Sure you could pick a song like Welcome To The Jungle off the Appetite For Destruction album to put on this list. But Sweet Child O Mine is a song that you know immediately when you hear the first note of that oh-so-sweet Gibson Les Paul. The backstory behind the riff is a bit confusing. With some saying it came from a guitar warm-up Slash used. While Slash says it wasn’t. Nonetheless, the riff will forever be one of the greatest guitar intros of all time.
4. Kashmir, Led Zeppelin
The first of two Led Zeppelin songs on this list. If I’m being honest half this list could be Led Zeppelin songs. They have so many good ones, I even had a hard time picking this one, the other one had to be included on this list and you’ll see which one that is later on. The intro has an amazing chord progression that carries on throughout most of the the song. It’s a riff that is easy enough to remember. The riff is simple yet has so much characters behind it. It’s hard to describe the riffs feel.
3. Voodoo Child, Jimi Hendrix
It wouldn’t be a list of guitar related things without a mention of Jimi Hendrix at some point. The simplicity of this riff makes it one that is easy to remember. Add on the raw feeling the intro has and you have an amazing intro to a song. It’s a riff that isn’t overly complicated or heavily produced. Which adds character to the riff itself. Sure Purple Haze could’ve been put on this instead of or in addition to Voodoo Child. You can’t go wrong with either option. I picked Voodoo Child, you may pick Purple Haze, each to their own.
2. Money For Nothing, Dire Straits
I want my MTVeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Somehow Mark Knopfler was able to construct one of the best guitar intros for a song about microwaves and colour TV’s. The intro to the song is instantly recognizable. As the sound of Knopfler’s Gibson Les Paul on the song has become iconic. Much like every other Knopfler riff he doesn’t know how the sound came about, but that’s the way you do it I guess. Not knowing how the sounds on Knopfler’s riffs are made adds a little bit of a cool mystery behind them, and makes each one unique in its own special way. Yes, this song has some controversy behind it for the use of a certain word in one of the verses. That doesn’t take away from the pure epicness of the intro itself.
1 Layla, Derek And The Dominos
An iconic riff is fitting for a song about a fellow musician’s wife, isn’t it? As Layla was written by Eric Clapton about his love for George Harrison’s then-wife Pattie Boyd. Nonetheless, the intro to Layla has become one of the most iconic guitar intros of all time, and one of the most iconic Eric Clapton guitar bits.
But Where’s Blank Song or Artist?
To put it simply, this list was built off of my opinions once again. Meaning I’m not including songs I don’t know well enough to put on this list. No, I haven’t listened to much Van Halen. Should there be some of his songs on this list? Most definitely. I’m just not comfortable or familiar enough with his catalog to select one or two songs to put on this list.
My name is Joe Moore. I am a writer for Belly Up Hockey, Belly Up Racing, and Belly Up Sports. You can find me on Twitter.
