The perfect sideman/guitarist

[Jimi75]

Only recently I thought about how much influence real good sidemans have. One of my absolute favorites is Richie Sambora. Okay, he is more than a sideman but hell this guy delivers the goods in Bon Jovi. Of course Jon has got the looks and he can truly sing, but Sambora is extraordinary. He is a brilliant guitarist who has learned his lessons from Hendrix to SRV, he is a great songwriter who always finds the right melody, he can rock and play solos that I dream of, he has got the actresses chics ;-), and of course he can sing so damn personal, deep and put all his emotion into the song.

I saw BJ twice and the highlight of the show was always when Richie sang "I'll be there for you".

All in all I think he's better than Jon, but this is just my personal opinion.

 

[Spudman]

I agree. Richie is great.
Sonny Landreth is another good one.
Daniel Gildenlow from Pain Of Salvation is an amazing artist in his own right, but the work he did with Transatlantic and The Flower Kings is rock solid.


...more to come...

 

[t_ross33]

Gotta go with Don Rich, king of Bakersfield. Without Don, there'd be no Buck. Chickin' Pickn' Finger Lickn' goodness, perfect harmonies with Buck...

If I had to point to one guy that I instantly associate with electric guitar (especially teles) it would have to be Don Rich.

Must have been all those Buck Owens records my Dad had when I was a kid :R

EDIT: Okay, gotta add one more: Alex Lifeson of RUSH. Maybe not a sideman per say, but with Getty holding down lead vocals and all the attention Neil gets for being the BESTDRUMMERINTHEFREAKINGWORLD!!! he's kinda overlooked. He is a cornerstone of the band's sound though.

 

[oldguy]

I guess my vote would go to Nels Lofgren. Hated it when he broke his arm on that trampoline, though.

 

[kerc]

The Edge of U2. He's so essential to the band that it's almost sacrilege to call him a sideman...

 

[Katastrophe]

Malcom Young of AC/DC. He's always there, the perfect foil for Angus to do his stuff.