Jimi Hendrix Tops List of Guitar Gods

By Rachel F. Elson

Tuesday August 26, 2003 10:49 AM EDT

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The art of the guitar, it seems, died in the 1970s.

Old-time rockers and bluesmen Jimi Hendrix, Duane Allman, B.B. King, Eric Clapton and Robert Johnson took the top five slots in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the all-time 100 greatest guitarists, Reuters reports.

Hendrix -- who, Reuters notes, frequently tops such guitar polls -- "made the electric guitar beautiful," the Who's Pete Townshend (guitar god No. 50) raves to the magazine. The list will be published in Rolling Stone's upcoming issue, due onto newsstands Friday.

Few of Rolling Stone's top players are still alive, the BBC notes. Hendrix and Allman, of the Allman Brothers, died in 1970 and '71, respectively; Johnson died in 1938 at the age of 27.

Rounding out the top 10 are yet more old-timers: Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Ry Cooder.

Meanwhile, only two women made it into Rolling Stone's top 100: Joni Mitchell (No. 72) and Joan Jett (No. 87.) The 100th spot went to Kim Thayil, of onetime Seattle grunge band Soundgarden.