Jesse Levine Norristown - Amazing American Guitarists
                     Top 10 Best American 
Guitarists
By Jesse Levine Norristown
There are many lists of “Best Ever Guitarists” out there. 
Jesse Levine Norristown is going to share some all time 
favorite Guitarists List
• Elmore James
• J. Mascis
• Tom Verlaine
• John Fahey
• Dick Dale
• Duane Allman
• Eddie Van Halen
• Jack White
Elmore James
Elmore James was an American blues guitarist, 
singer, songwriter and bandleader. He was 
known as "King of the Slide Guitar" and was 
noted for his use of loud amplification and his 
stirring voice. For his contributions to music, 
James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall 
of Fame in 1992. 
J. Mascis
Joseph Donald Mascis Jr., known 
professionally as J Mascis, is an 
American musician, best known as 
the singer, guitarist and main 
songwriter for the alternative rock 
band Dinosaur Jr. He has also 
released several albums as a solo 
artist and played drums and guitar 
on other projects
Tom Verlaine
Tom Verlaine is an American 
singer, songwriter and 
guitarist, best known as the 
frontman of the New York City 
rock band Television.
John Fahey
John Fahey was one of the greatest 
acoustic guitar players ever. His best music 
harks back to an older, almost mythical 
America – a rural, simpler, pre-War 
America. His debut album, Blind Joe 
Death, was originally released as a “fake” 
album, supposedly containing old 
recordings by a forgotten bluesman. In a 
very American display of 
entrepreneurship, the album was the first 
ever “indie record”, self-financed by Fahey 
with the money he earned working at a 
gas station!
Dick Dale
Richard Anthony Monsour, known 
professionally as Dick Dale, was an 
American rock guitarist. He was a 
pioneer of surf music, drawing on 
Middle Eastern music scales and 
experimenting with reverberation. Dale 
was known as "The King of the Surf 
Guitar", which was also the title of his 
second studio album.
Duane Allman
Duanne Allman was a players like few others – 
who could humble Clapton, who could play 
slide like few others, who had one of the best 
Les Paul tones. He could do seemingly so 
naturally what players such as Clapton actually 
laboriously studied for year – that fluid, bluesy 
guitar thing, you know… listening to Duane is 
like driving a convertible down a highway, on a 
sunny hot day somewhere, down South. Yep – 
great driving music, the likes of which only 
Americans could make!
Eddie Van Halen
Van Halen’s music couldn’t be more 
Californian if it tried. It’s loud, silly, 
colorful… it’s widescreen rock’n’roll. Silly, 
fun, sunny. And so is Eddie’s guitar style. 
What could be a bit “too much” for those 
who are not crazy about Eighties hard 
rock, is actually quite enjoyable if you’re 
listening to Eddie’s playing – a true 
innovator.
Jack White
Pop Art is one of the defining styles of 
American art from the past 100 years. It’s as 
American as apple pie. And Jack White is pure 
Pop Art, when you think about it: he’s all about 
bright primal colors, about style, and about 
making many people wonder what is real and 
what is fake, who is the true Jack White, why is 
he singing like Blind Willie McTell, and whether 
is it real blues or just a commercial copy? These 
questions of originality vs. imitation, 
commercialism vs. authenticity, are pretty 
much the same questions people asked when 
confronted with the work of Pop Art names 
such as Warhol.
Thank You