Don’t listen to Rolling Stone (Jimi Hendrix), Spin (Lee Ranaldo & Thurston Moore), the LA Times (Duane Allman), Bruce A. Roop from some random Amazon review (Robert Fripp), or your mom (“That nice lady from Indigo Girls”), the greatest guitarist of all-time, according to readers of Guitar World, is Eddie Van Halen.
After nearly half a million total votes were cast, Eddie Van Halen has been named the victor in Guitar World’s first-ever Greatest Guitarist of All Time poll.
In the final matchup, which took place Monday and Tuesday, Van Halen faced off against an unlikely opponent in Queen’s Brian May, pulling a hefty 62.48 percent of the votes to claim a decisive win over the upset-happy May. May had previously knocked off a who’s-who of guitar greats on his way to the finals, with his signature tone, academic chops and a rabid Queen fanbase taking him past Jeff Beck, George Harrison, Les Paul, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. (Via)
This was a big week for Eddie Van Halen. First, we wrote at-length about “Hot for Teacher,” and he actually took home a couple of other awards, too, including:
Best Bandana/Overalls Combination
Outstanding Achievement In Two-Person Guitar Playing with a Shirtless Dude
Greatest Use of a Pink Track Suit While Doing Something Totally Confusing
Least Homoerotic Image of the Year
And lastly, Most Boss Symbolism Ever
Congrats, Eddie.
