- The guitar riff in Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine was voted first
It’s an instantly recognizable prelude to one of the great rock songs.
So it may come as no surprise that the guitar riff in Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child O’ Mine has now been declared the most iconic of all time.
And Slash, who wrote the riff for the band’s 1988 hit, has been named the fifth greatest guitarist of all time, with Queen’s Brian May in the top spot.
Prince’s Purple Rain was voted the second best riff, while the one in Dire Straits’ Sultans of Swing came in third.
Among the riffs from more modern songs that charted in the top 40 were those from Sam Fender’s Seventeen Going Under, Pharrell Williams’ Happy and Arctic Monkeys’ Do I Wanna Know. The survey of 2,000 music fans showed that as many as 83 percent preferred music with guitars in it. While 81 percent said a memorable guitar riff was essential to a good rock song.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards rocks the house as singer Mick Jagger belts out a favorite during their concert in Munich, June 6, 2003
Jimi Hendrix performs live on stage playing a black Fender Stratocaster guitar with The Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Royal Albert Hall in London on February 24, 1969
Prince performs at the Grand Palais in Paris on October 11, 2009
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits performs in support of The Prince’s Trust at the Hurlingham Club on September 9, 2009 in London, England
The 1970s were, according to 30 percent of music fans, the ‘golden age’ of the riff, while 21 percent thought the best riffs were released in the 1980s.
Worryingly, just over half think the riff is dying out, while 74 percent say this is a bad thing. But there’s still hope: 65 percent still claim the guitar is one of the coolest instruments you can play.
The research was commissioned by Sky Arts ahead of the new Greatest Guitar Riffs series, featuring rock guitar legends Andy Summers, Tony Iommi and Nancy Wilson.
A spokesperson for the show said: ‘It’s the ultimate air guitar playlist. Whether it’s the late, great Jimi Hendrix, big names like Iron Maiden and Led Zeppelin or the new artists coming up, rock ‘n’ roll will never die.”