When it comes to guitar virtuosos, David Gilmour stands as a respected figure with his emotive solos and playing skills. From Pink Floyd to his solo endeavors, the musician proved devotion to the instrument, but there are also other musicians he feels admiration for and even tried to copy at the beginning of his career.
In different interviews over the years, Gilmour mentioned many notable names among his favorites, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Chuck Berry, George Harrison, Joni Mitchell, Hank Marvin, Pete Seeger, John Fahey, Roy Buchanan, Lead Belly, and Syd Barrett. However, when pressed to select one guitarist above all others, Gilmour’s choice was clear: Jeff Beck.
In a video interview, the Pink Floyd icon described Beck as someone he has admired consistently for a long time. When asked about his favorite guitar player, Gilmour initially responded:
“I have lots of favorite guitar players.”
When asked further to pick just one, he stated:
“Probably, the person who I have admired the longest and the most consistently is Jeff Beck in the guitar playing stakes, and a lovely guy.”
That was not all Gilmour said about Beck. In a 2017 interview with Guitar Tricks Insider, Gilmour named the late musician as the greatest British guitarist ever for many people worldwide. Praising Beck’s long career and innovative style, he said:
“For many people, musicians and fans alike, Jeff Beck is the greatest ever British guitarist. For more than 50 years, he has blazed an uncompromising trail across the musical landscape. Always an innovator, never a follower, Jeff has steadfastly refused to pander to the demands of the record industry.
This maverick attitude required some difficult career decisions; he left the Yardbirds at the height of their popularity, deserted his own group days before their billed appearance at Woodstock, and often shifted his attention to his other great passion of building hot rods rather than continuing a tour or returning to the studio.”
In another interview with Ultimate Guitar in 2015, David Gilmour admitted that he was dissatisfied with his playing in his early years, so he wanted to sound like his guitar heroes, such as Hendrix, Clapton, or Beck. However, as time went on, his perspective shifted, and he learned to embrace his unique style. The guitarist explained:
“My sound is what it is because of the way my hands and fingers are made, and due to my musical taste as well. I can’t sound like anything else. I’ve never tried to make it like that, it’s just the way I am. The fact that it is distinctive to other people is something that at first – in the early years – I was kind of unhappy about.
I wanted to sound like other people. I had my moments of wanting to sound like Hendrix, or Eric Clapton, or Jeff Beck. Eventually, I got to like the way I sounded, and I think things got better from that moment – not just accepting it, but really liking what I sounded like because there was a time when I just didn’t like what I sounded like.”
Gilmour shared the stage with Jeff Beck as a guest at a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2009. The pair first played an extended version of ‘Jerusalem’ and closed the show with ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining.’
