One of the most influential guitarists of all time, David Gilmour was an important part of Pink Floyd‘s sound. Without his incredible guitar solos the band’s discography certainly wouldn’t have been the same. You can hear many different influences on his playing but the Blues is certainly one of the main ones.
He was deeply influenced by that kind of music and once mentioned 5 Blues guitarists who inspired him. Rock and Roll Garage selected what Beck said about them over the years and the connection he has with some of them.
The 5 Blues musicians that David Gilmour said he loves
B.B. King
One of the most important Bluesmen in history, B.B. King inspired countless generations of musicians, including David Gilmour. It was in an interview with Guitar Classics in 1985, that he mentioned the Blues players that influenced him, and of course, King was one of them. “I was a blues fan but I was an all-around music fan,” he said.
The British musician was lucky enough to play live with B.B. King in 1998 at the Jools Holland show on BBC Two. They played the song “Eyesight To The Blind”, a Blues classic written by Sonny Boy Williamson II. Gilmour recalled that the first time they met each other, King joked asking him if he was sure he wasn’t born in Mississippi, because he was such a great Blues player.
“He’s a lovely chap. His early stuff was stupendous, and he’s just kept going. I first met him in New York. He came up to me and said, ‘Hey, boy, are you sure you weren’t born in Mississippi?’ I’ve played with him a couple of times since, on a Later With Jools Holland session and on one of his albums. When he’s in the dressing room, he spends all his time writing lyrics. There are some guitar players who are instantly recognisable, and then there are all the rest,” David Gilmour told the The Guardian,
King sadly passed away in his sleep in 2015 from vascular dementia caused by a series of small strokes as a consequence of his type 2 diabetes. He was 89.
Eric Clapton
The second guitarist mentioned by Gilmour was Eric Clapton, who is certainly the most successful British Blues player in history. The Pink Floyd member was deeply influenced by Clapton’s playing, especially from his era in John Mayall and The Blues Breakers. He learned every lick from that album Clapton did with Mayall.
“All of those guys were incredible (Eric Clapton and Peter Green). I spent time trying to learn how to play their licks perfectly. I would suggest any young player should try to sit down and do that. You will wind up knowing how to play their stuff quite well but eventually you will find your own style form that. It forces its way out of the copying,” David Gilmour told Relix magazine.
Gilmour likes the “Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton” (1966) album so much that he listed the record as one of his favorites in an interview
with Guitar Tricks Insider in 2017. Curiously, the bassist and singer Jack Bruce, who would later be Clapton’s bandmate in Cream played in some tracks of that record. It also featured the bassist John McVie that would co-found Fleetwood Mac later on.
Roy Buchanan
The third guitar player mentioned by Gilmour was the late underrated Roy Buchanan, who curiously said he was influenced by Gilmour. They had the chance to know each other and even jam in the 80s. Buchanan and Pink Floyd coincidentally were touring at the same time in Australia and the British band got in touch saying they would like to meet him and play one day.
“They got in touch with the guy who was booking us there and said they wanted to play with me. So, I worked at this club the night before and I liked the acoustic there. So I (ask him to) tell them we would meet there. We did, we jammed for like 40, 50 minutes and the place was just packed. They let me call the shots (about what we were playing). (David Gilmour) I think he is great, incredible player,” Roy Buchana said in an interview with Steve Newton.
Even though Roy was an influential player, he sadly didn’t have the commercial success many other artists had during that era. He was born in Ozark, Arkansas in 1939 and started his musical career back in 1955. However, his debut album would be released only in 1971. He would release 11 more albums until his tragic death in 1987 at the age of 48.
Leadbelly
Another forgotten but important American musician mentioned by David Gilmour was Leadbelly, who was born in Mooringsport, Louisiana, United States back in 1888. He is remembered for his strong vocals, talent on the 12-string guitar and for the folk standards he recorded. He was a big inspiration for Gilmour and even revealed once that “The Rock Island Line” was one of his favorite songs.
“The Rock Island Line” was one of his absolute favorites. “Leadbelly, I loved him when I was very young, loved his 12-string guitar playing. I always enjoyed the 12-string. His story, he was in prison, he got released from prison on a murder charge because he was such a great singer.”
“But for me, ‘Rock Island Line’ was one of the first things I’ve learned. Also is one of the things that you can actually learn one chord, get your fingers on that guitar in one position and not move from there. You can do the whole song and sing this old song to yourself. So it’s a great thing, part of my childhood,” David Gilmour told BBC Radio 2 in 2006 (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).
Jeff Beck
The final guitarist mentioned by Gilmour was the late legendary Jeff Beck, who played practically any kind of music he wanted but was an incredible Blues player. He curiously was Pink Floyd’s first option when the band decided they should hire another guitarist when Syd Barrett was becoming mentally unstable.
“Yes. It’s true. Before I joined he was maybe the only other choice they were thinking about. It would have been a bit more explosive (If he’d joined). I suspect Jeff would have left after six months. So I don’t think the compromises that one has to make to be in a group. I don’t think Jeff is that interested in compromise,” David Gilmour told Mojo magazine.
Gilmour always admired Jeff Beck and even called him a”maverick guitar player”. The Pink Floyd guitarist was interviewed for the 2018 documentary “Jeff Beck: Still On The Run”. (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “He is a maverick. A maverick guitar player who doesn’t like to repeat himself. Who takes big risks all the time and has done all the way throughout his career,” he said.
