The song that switched your DNA to guitar.

Jonathangus

My 'whoa, what's that?' moment was this intro:

Which oddly is still one of the most un-guitar-like guitar sounds ever recorded, but there you go.

darthed1981

I had to think about this one, but the real things that made me want to play lead guitar were both by Mr Graham Coxon in Blur, specifically his solos on...

This is a Low (actually the whole damn thing for me is basically how Ed wants to play)...

and later, Coffee and TV, where Graham somehow gets the whole emotional point of the song squeezed into his solo...

As he is a strong candidate for a lurking/hidden poster on TFB, I'd like to say just in case, thanks Graham!

Philtre

darthed1981 said:

As he is a strong candidate for a lurking/hidden poster on TFB, I'd like to say just in case, thanks Graham!

How so?

(Hi Graham!)

fendergibson

Nothing mega cool here, it was either House of the Rising Sun by the Animals or something off Under a Blood Red Sky by U2

darthed1981

Philtre said:

darthed1981 said:

As he is a strong candidate for a lurking/hidden poster on TFB, I'd like to say just in case, thanks Graham!

How so?

(Hi Graham!)

I think we may have a few famous guitarists among us.

Graham mixes with various businesses from off here and the fretboard has a lot of reach, Google loves TFB posts that's how I found it.

He probably isn't on here, but I'd not miss the opportunity to thank him directly if he was.

Philtre

darthed1981 said:

He probably isn't on here, but I'd not miss the opportunity to thank him directly if he was.

You're welcome.

Yours, Grah...er I mean Phil. ;-)

proggy

Albatross. I still feel the need to pick a guitar up every time I hear it.

schrodinger1612

The guitar solo on we will rock you. I remember playing that part over and over again on my dad’s record player as a 7 year old. That sowed the seeds anyway...what actually prompted me to pick up the guitar at sweet 16 was sabbath - pretty much everything off their ‘best of’. 

slacker

I've never really been a one moment person I started and failed In 76 and 78 finally sticking with it in 80 and swapped to bass. Swapped back in 97.

So there is a shortlist but sticking to the rules probably I wanna hold your hand. 

Rocker

Johnny Cash.  Not actually Luther Perkins playing but a local pub player, Johnny Coleman, who played an acoustic/electric in a similar style to Luther.  That sound hit the sweet spot in my brain.  And it still does.

Blueingreen

Vacation by John Mayall, the opening track to Blues from Laurel Canyon.

I was at school and a guy had bought a tape player and decided to tape and sell his LPs.  I agreed to buy the Mayall without hearing it.  At that point almost all the music I knew was chart singles.

I went home at lunchtime and put it on the record player and was horrified, thinking I'd squandered my precious paper round money. I can no longer grasp why this music sounded so alien, but it did. I had heard bluesy stuff before, my tiny collection of 3 or 4 albums included a couple of early Stones album.  But this was MUCH weirder. 

But I played it a few more times, it all clicked into place and it felt like the most exciting music in the world.  And for maybe the next 3 or 4 years I was obsessed with electric blues guitar.

I'm still slightly bemused by the amount of guitar players who say that hearing The Beatles was what made them want to play guitar, because I so loved The Beatles as a kid, and their music stood the test of time for me much better than Mayall's.  But they never made me want to pick up a guitar, and nor did the Stones or The Who or even the Cream or Hendrix singles.  It was Green, Clapton, Gallagher etc who did that, and Mick Taylor's solo on Vacation was the gateway.

guitars4you

I started playing in 1974 - Definitely as a result of seeing Slade + T-Rex on Top of the pops - Truth be known I can't recall which specific song, but know this was my first 'I want to play the guitar moment'

Nitefly

The Shadows' "Apache" for me.  I guess I was 12 or 13 at the time.

But before that it wasn't so much hearing one as seeing one - when I  was 9 I saw a red guitar in a music shop window in Oak Lawn, Illinois - I didn't know what it was but I wanted one!  I know now it was a LP Junior, so I got the bug early!

RobDavies

Probably this.... 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d1gYJDQXPOk

Reverend

Iron Maiden on Tiswas

mudslide73

Purple Haze on the beginning of Blue Jean Cop (aka Shakedown) starring Robocop's Peter Weller. I can't remember the film particularly but there was enough Jimi to make me wonder what that incredible noise was. This led to me taping Jimi plays Monterey from the telly and I was besotted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9qfcM3m3S4

EricTheWeary

Reverend said:

Iron Maiden on Tiswas

presumably they did get to play a song as well but this is what YouTube turned up:

Mark1960

Danny and the Juniors - "At the Hop". It's not even a guitar song particularly, but there was just something about it which hit me, and made me want to learn guitar

chromatuna

guitars4you said:

I started playing in 1974 - Definitely as a result of seeing Slade + T-Rex on Top of the pops - Truth be known I can't recall which specific song, but know this was my first 'I want to play the guitar moment'

Pretty much the same here. Not having an older brother my exposure to all things rock was ToTP and the chart rundown. Slade were the first band that grabbed my attention around the time of Gudbuy T' Jane (sic), 1972 age 12. Raucous*  rock 'n' roll and I loved it.  My parents of course hated it

* "making or constituting a disturbingly harsh and loud noise"

guitars4you

chromatuna said:

guitars4you said:

I started playing in 1974 - Definitely as a result of seeing Slade + T-Rex on Top of the pops - Truth be known I can't recall which specific song, but know this was my first 'I want to play the guitar moment'

Pretty much the same here. Not having an older brother my exposure to all things rock was ToTP and the chart rundown. Slade were the first band that grabbed my attention around the time of Gudbuy T' Jane (sic), 1972 age 12. Raucous*  rock 'n' roll and I loved it.  My parents of course hated it

* "making or constituting a disturbingly harsh and loud noise"

sounds a similar story - I was born in 59 - I played trumpet before hand for about 8 years - dad was jazz influenced and a lot of that is still with me - But as far as pop music went, then I was on my own - After this I found out about Bad Company, EC, L Skynyrd  and other bands from the mid 70's - Then moved from there after - But I still have a soft spot for such times/songs/bands

I was in the car the other day with my daughter (17) and Gudbuy t' Jane came on the radio - Full volume followed and me singing along - Daughter was aghast - I said to her that in 20 years time, you will be in the car with your kids and a Taylor Swift song will come on the radio and you'll do like wise and your kids will be aghast