Star Guitars: 101 Guitars That Rocked The World Review

By: Rick Landers

Click to Buy Star Guitars from Amazon.com

The first thing that grabs you about Star Guitars: 101 Guitars That Rocked the World,is the book’s front cover cut out that frames the psychedelic Cream days axe of Eric Clapton, known as The Fool.  Open the hardbound book and a colorful montage of album covers and posters featuring famous guitarists and their guitars gets the adrenaline pumping. Fortunately, Star Guitars delivers a page turner that’s impossible to put down.

The book is more or less a past and present romp that carries us to the days of Buddy Holly and his ’54 Strat, Billy Gibbons and Pearly Gates, Joe Strummer’s black sticker adorned Telecaster, and other notable artists and axes that have given us the blues, jazz, rock, punk, shred, folk and Gypsy jazz.

Insightful information abounds, along with vintage photos that help us fit each guitar in its rightful time and place, giving perspective to the era and the music associated with the guitars.  Author, Dave Hunter, has done his research and nicely lays out the background of each guitar and guitarist, telling us why the artist is important, if not legendary, and some history of the guitars they loved.  We’re told about how B.B. King came to call his guitars, Lucille, how Clapton combined several used Stats into the most famous Strat of all, Blackie, and the guitar that “killed fascists” owned by the ardent social activist Woody Guthrie.

Although, one could argue about other guitars and guitarists who should have been in the book, like Andre Segovia, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon and Frank Zappa, the selected group ain’t all that bad. And the emphasis really is on well-known guitars that have captured our imaginations. But, where’s George Harrison’s Rocky? Among the group of guitars and guitarists tagged by the author for the book are Eric Johnson, Yngwie Malmsteen, Neil Young, Rick Neilson, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and enough great guitarists to keep most readers riveted.

This is a great book and a hoot to read with illustrations and photographs throughout to whet any guitarist’s appetite.  Once I had my paws on Star Guitars, I was hooked and didn’t put it down from the time I read the first entry for Chet Atkins, until I finished up the piece about Neil Young and Old Black. Star Guitars: 101 Guitars That Rocked The World would make a great gift for any guitar enthusiast during the holidays, for a birthday, or for no occasion at all, so motivate over the hill to the nearest Amazon link and stomp on it.

******