But then there was Hendrix, man. Jimi was really the last cat to freak me. Jimi was playing all the stuff I had in my head. I couldn't believe it, when I first heard him. Man, no one can ever do what he did with a guitar. No one can ever take his place.
I saw Jimi Hendrix - it must have been four times. And he was incomparable, and his legend lives on.
My dad loved Les Paul, and I wanted to be just like that.
I remember where I was when I heard Yngwie Malmsteen for the first time. It was such an epiphany for me, and it really shaped the way I play today. I think I heard him in '83, if I'm not mistaken - I was 13 years old - and it really was amazing for me.
I think guitar-wise, Eric Clapton was a big influence on me. I got to spend time around him. He's kind of strange, mysterious, serious and he always has played such hot guitar.
I decided early on that I wanted to be Michael Bloomfield, Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton - not George Harrison.
Everyone wanted to play like Eric Clapton in the early to mid-'60s.
Dick Dale don't surf no more.
I got to jam with Prince, which is amazing.
Jimi Hendrix is one of the main influences on why I wanted to play guitar. He really shook me. I think it was his whole style - the look and what he did with the guitar.
I was a kid that grew up listening to The Beatles and The Stones and Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, and I wanted all of that in there. But at the same time, a large part of my playing is Tony Iommi and Billy Gibbons. I'm just a sum total of all of the guitar players that I think were really cool.
I'm pretty sure I was about the only kid in school who knew who Jimi Hendrix even was. Through my older siblings, I was getting turned on to all the great music that was happening at the time, and I really loved Hendrix.
I wanted to be the greatest woman guitarist alive. I had fantasies about being a female Jimi Hendrix.
Mention Hubert Sumlin, as well, because Hubert's a great man, and again, you know, I don't play the guitar very good, but when I'm playing this kind of music, I always have him in my mind. I wish I could play like Hubert.
I was into Ted Nugent, I was a Nugent guy. I was a skateboarder listening to Ted Nugent.
T-Bone Walker was a big influence on just about every guitar player around.
Duane Allman was the best guitar player I ever heard who didn't read a note.
Jeff Beck is one of my heroes and has been since I first picked up a guitar.
If you really stop to think about it, the last really big guitar hero was Eddie Van Halen, and that was back in the '80s - early '80s, you know what I mean? That's a long time ago.
You can never deny the immense talent, rock credibility and iconic historical contribution that Van Halen made.
I've been a Robert Randolph fan forever, since 2001. I just thought he was so cool; you don't see a black kid playing the slide the way he plays. No one plays like Robert.
Neil Young played Helpless, and by the time he finished, we were asking him if we could join his band
Even though James Burton was my idol, I didn't think I could carry his shoes back then.
I met Les Paul when I was about 5. I was taken to see him perform and the place was sold out, just packed and full of really great musicians.
I'm a guitar player first. So my first hero was Angus Young from AC/DC. I used to copy every move that he did, play every lick that he would. I knew I wanted to be some kind of a rocker, back in the day.
