It's said that once, when Jimi Hendrix was asked by a journalist what it was like to be the best guitar player in the world, he shrugged, “I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher.”
Whether or not that oft-told tale is factual, Rory Gallagher remains perhaps the definitive guitarist's guitarist – a Strat-slinging master of the blues who made every note count, and whose stinging tone was the blueprint for – to name the most famous example – that of Queen's Brian May.
Though he never found great commercial success before his untimely death in 1995 at the age of 47, Gallagher remains a touchstone for blues and rock guitarists the world over, and has informed the playing of everyone from blues king Joe Bonamassa to stadium-rock conquerer the Edge, and metal gods like Glenn Tipton and Janick Gers.
Latest about Rory Gallagher
The 25 Stratocaster players who revolutionized the guitar
The Fender Stratocaster would just be a glorified carpentry project without the players who danced across its neck and gave it life. Here we celebrate 25 of the best
18 of the greatest Irish guitarists of all time
Rory Gallagher, The Edge, Gary Moore of course, but who makes up the other 15?
Meet Spencer Mackenzie, the Canadian blues-rock maestro covering Rory Gallagher and learning when to unleash his “ginormous” lead tone
Mackenzie says he’s learning all the time to control the dynamic between sweet and acoustic and "rip-your-face-off" drive sounds – and you can hear it on new album, Empty Chairs
How Rory Gallagher grabbed his iconic 1963 Gretsch Corvette for the princely sum of $150
Can you judge a guitar by its case? Not usually, but when Donal Gallagher was shopping for cases for brother Rory, he found one with a very special guitar inside, and there was a deal to be made
Thefts, sweat, and countless mods: The story of Rory Gallagher’s ’61 Stratocaster, one of the most iconic guitars of all time
The late bluesman's most famous guitar is a true relic in the original religious sense of the term: it was a part of Rory himself, a receptacle for his musical mojo and a dear friend that spent more time with him than most people
The 16 most expensive guitars of all time
Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction
Brad Whitford and Joe Perry on the time Aerosmith were upstaged by their support act
The guitarist – who came before an Aerosmith festival headline slot – returned to the stage for three separate encores and proved to be a tough act to follow
Why some of the most famous Fenders are so heavily worn, according to a Custom Shop Masterbuilder
Dale Wilson attempts to solve the mystery of why vintage Fenders played by big-name artists have so much gnarly wear
