30 killer pop guitar solos
While MusicRadar isn't averse to belting out a Phil Collins tune or prancing around to a Girls Aloud number at a family wedding, we acknowledge that these days the majority of 'pop' is - quite rightly - judged on its production, not guitar showmanship.
So, with the exception of one or two recent numbers from the Jonas Brothers and, erm… Shania Twain, most solos in this rundown by Total Guitar have come from the golden '80s and '90s; laid down by a slew of innovative players and session aces such as Steve Lukather, Dave Barry and Paul Jackson Jr.
Throughout the top 30, we've highlighted each guitarist's specific techniques on each solo so that you can see exactly what makes them killer. In no particular order, then, we'll kick things off with pop royalty: Prince's Sexy MF…
Sexy MF - Prince (1992)
He may be a kick-ass guitarist himself, but Prince knows when it’s time to hand soloing duties over to the right person. Levi Seacer Jr’s tasteful, staccato (short, detached notes), jazz-influenced licks are integrated beautifully into the funk feel of this track from The Love Symbol Album.
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship (1986)
Opening with a tasty doublestop, Craig’s solo is well crafted with a warm distorted tone and some bluesy touches, making it a perfect alternative to the vocal line. The final high D, aided by smooth whammy bar vibrato, continues to sing as the chorus vocals kick back in.
Lovebug - Jonas Brothers (2008)
The hardest part of any twin-axe harmony solo is the bends. They have to be of the same speed and hit the target note at exactly the same time. Jonas Brothers backing band member John Taylor isn’t scared, though; there’s a succession of quick bends in this catchy solo.
Maniac - Michael Sembello (1983)
Coming from the 1983 movie sensation Flashdance, this song by ex-Stevie Wonder guitarist Sembello features him playing a singlecoil-driven solo complete with blazing two-hand tapping. Played on the third string, the tapping ascends the fretboard from the 15th fret as his fretting hand remains rooted around the 9th fret position. Manic!
La Bamba - Los Lobos (1987)
With his black sunglasses and slick hair, Cesar Rosas - singer, songwriter and guitarist of the American Chicano rockers Los Lobos - is as recognisable as they come, and a force to be reckoned with. Classic Mexican folk song La Bamaba is arguably best known by Ritchie Valen’s 1958 version, but it was Los Lobos’ 1987 stomper that reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic. Cesar’s solo? Hot, hot hot!
You Might Need Somebody - Randy Crawford (1981)
Recorded at the height of his session career, Steve Lukather’s solo is brilliant because, while based around the song’s melody, he adds fabulous touch and tone, gorgeous vibrato and note-perfect string bending. In Randy Crawford’s own words, Steve "steals the track from under me". Great outro fills, too.
Faith - George Michael (1987)
Scottish session guitarist Hugh Burns had already proved his versatility with his nylon strung licks on George Michael’s Careless Whisper in 1984, when he channelled ‘50s rockabilly on Faith four years later. His authentic picking transformed a great song into a modern rock ’n’ roll classic. Incidentally, Burns also played the amazing solo on Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, since covered by Foo Fighters.
The Heat Is On - Glenn Frey (1985)
Eagles’ Glenn Frey may be known as a great singer, but he’s one mean axeman too! Typical of pop rock songs, this solo has various nods to the blues including some killer quarter-tone curl bends. As heard several times in this track, these bluesy bends curl away from the fretted note and teasingly stretch out to the next fret’s note without quite getting there.
When You Tell Me That You Love Me - Diana Ross (1991)
Child actor-turned-guitarist Paul Jackson Jr was an A-list rhythm session master in the ‘80s and ‘90s (now a smooth jazzer), but on this song he ‘out-Lukes’ Steve Lukather with a screamingly high rock solo full of bends and vibrato-fuelled notes. It’s a highly polished performance with the last Eb note getting pet dogs the world over nodding in approval.
Physical - Olivia Newton John (1981)
A pop rock song’s solo needs plenty of energy so, aside from blazing note runs, the best way to get this is with the whammy bar or finger-orientated note vibrato. This is not the place for soft bluesy vibrato, though: assertive, tone-wide (two frets worth) vibrato is needed here to make sustained notes sing. Listen to Lukather on this song for a vibrato masterclass. Word is, it was a complete one take, too.
Leave A Light On - Belinda Carlisle (1989)
Belinda Carlisle was such a big deal in the ‘80s that she could even get an ex-Beatle to play guitar on her records. George Harrison’s achingly beautiful slide solo was played in standard tuning on Rocky, the psychedelically painted ’61 Fender Stratocaster he used on Beatles classics like Nowhere Man.
Easy Lover - Phil Collins (1984)
Daryl Stuermer joined Genesis as "permanent-temporary-part-time member" in 1977 as a replacement for Steve Hackett, before following Phil Collins to become "permanent-touring-recording member" of his solo group. 1984's Easy Lover exemplifies the era of golden pop/rock, and Stuermer’s squealing solo is the icing on the cake. Listen out for the cool chromatic passing notes…
Man! I Feel Like A Woman! - Shania Twain (1999)
Dann Huff’s philosophy of producing a solo that’s structured but played like it’s been improvised is perfectly illustrated on this Shania Twain smash hit. A veteran country session player, Huff gets less than 20 seconds to do his thing so he nails some wild bends, stinging licks and a pinched harmonic. Man!
Addicted To Love - Robert Palmer (1986)
Session guitarist Eddie Martinez nailed the Addicted To Love solo in one take using a Hamer Prototype guitar loaded with a triple-coil pickup, plus a Pro Co Rat distortion pedal and a late ‘70s non master volume Marshall head with a 4x12 cab. While his solo takes pride of place in the audio, a leggy model replaced him in Palmer’s infamous video.
This Ole House - Shakin' Stevens (1981)
Mickey Gee, who sadly passed away last year, was such a killer guitarist that he once made Nashville legend Chet Atkins’ jaw drop. His red-hot Telecaster picking on This Ole House apparently inspired Stray Cat Brian Setzer to cover the song. Mickey’s solo is a rockabilly guitar masterclass.
Black Cat - Janet Jackson (1990)
Like En Vogue and Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson is a pop diva partial to a spot of heavy riffing. Session ace Dave Barry’s extended solo - which is split into three distinct sections - is an A to Z of modern rock technique, but notably features long, slow bends that work well with Black Cat’s cool groove.
Fame - Irene Cara (1980)
"When I recorded the solo they hadn’t finished editing the film," Elliott told TG. "So they didn’t know how long it would need to be and I had to create a ‘finish’ after every eight bars to create natural edit points. It was done in one pass too, so that made it even more of a challenge."
La Isla Bonita - Madonna (1987)
Perhaps surprisingly for a session musician, Bruce Gaitsch co-wrote La Isla Bonita with Patrick Leonard and Madonna (although it was originally written for Michael Jackson - Madge re-purposed it for herself). Cuban drums, maracas, harmonicas, and Bruce Gaitsch’s Spanish guitar. Exotic!
How Am I Supposed To Live Without You - Michael Bolton (1989)
If you can hold off the vomit for the first two inutes and 44 seconds of Bolton’s sickly ower ballad, you’ll witness a thing of beauty as Michael Landau plays effortlessly through a series of quick, complex chords changes that guide the song into a new key. And then it’s back to Mr Constipated…
Goodbye To Love - Carpenters (1972)
Want to know how to create some contrast in a silky sweet Carpenters’ track? Break out the fuzz pedal and throw a super cool guitar solo in, that’s how. Axeman Tony Peluso uses chromatic passing notes to copy Karen Carpenter’s vocal melody before developing his solo with some tasty pentatonic licks.
Loverboy - Billy Ocean (1985)
English guitarist Geoff Whitehorn is taste personified, but he can pull out the stops when the moment demands it. Using a typically processed ‘80s sound, Whitehorn employs the ‘bend, tap, pull-off’ technique during Loverboy, so prevalent at the time, to inject a heady rush to this chart-busting single.
Beat It - Michael Jackson (1983)
Surely one of the most recognisable solos of all time, let alone in pop, Beat It’s overdriven riffage comes courtesy of Eddie Van Halen. Remarkably, he didn’t even get paid for the privilege: “I did it as a favour,” he said later. “I was a complete fool, according to the rest of the band… [but] I knew what I was doing.”
Queen Of The Night - Whitney Houston (1993)
Based around various patterns of the minor pentatonic scale, this solo is certainly big on energy. Paul Jackson Jr features in TG’s list once more, this time kicking off with a repeating pull-off lick before ascending the neck via a run of diatonic 6ths. The solo builds to a climax with a 16th note triplet run into a high string bend.
Warning Sign - Nick Heyward (1984)
In the ‘80s, the late session guitarist Alan Murphy was everywhere: Kate Bush, Go West, Level 42 and Mike And The Mechanics - all huge names on the pop scene. On this Nick Heyward classic, Alan’s whammy bar scoops and doops (using the bar to bend into and out of the notes) are everywhere, producing phrases with a definitive ‘rubber band’ type sound. It’s like Allan Holdsworth had gone pop!
Somewhere In My Heart - Aztec Camera (1988)
The Bangles played some killer surf music in their early days, and Vicki Peterson’s solo on Everything I Wanted echoes that sound. Worked around the song’s melody, it builds to a climax just like any great solo should and was most likely played on Vicki’s favourite Gibson Les Paul Custom.
Somewhere Out There - James Ingram and Linda Ronstadt
Two celebrated vocalists singing a song for a cheesy Disney flick: it hardly suggests blazing guitar, does it? But check out the ascending sextuplet run that opens this solo and there’s no doubt that rock session legend Steve Lukather is on the job. The rest of the solo is a rocky mimic of the vocal line with bends and vibrato galore, but it’s his three-note-per-string low to high legato burn that grabs our attention.
Running With The Night - Lionel Richie (1983)
Hired for what he would bring to the track and not simply reading the dots, Steve Lukather - yup, here he is again! - went for this one big-time. Fabulous string bends (a huge four-fretter at 2:31), vibrato arm dips and speedy legato runs display a titanic piece of improvisation.
Everything I Wanted - The Bangles (1990)
The Bangles played some killer surf music in their early days, and Vicki Peterson’s solo on Everything I Wanted echoes that sound. Worked around the song’s melody, it builds to a climax just like any great solo should and was most likely played on Vicki’s favourite Gibson Les Paul Custom.
Private Dancer - Tina Turner (1984)
Private Dancer was touched by the hands of two legendary guitarists: Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits wrote the song but left solo duties to Jeff Beck. Although he’s best known as a Fender endorsee these days, Beck apparently whipped off the bluesy solo on a pink Jackson Soloist.
The One And Only - Chesney Hawkes (1991)
One hit wonder Chesney’s Hawkes’s ‘one hit’ was written, produced and soloed all over by synthpopper Nik Kershaw. The One And Only soundtracked the film Buddy’s Song in 1990, starring Chesney as Buddy, and Roger Daltrey as Buddy’s dad. Today, the song - and Chesney - remain staples of student unions throughout the UK. And for that, Mr Kershaw, we salute you, and your pinched harmonics…
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