Chuck Berry
Where would Status Quo be without the trail that Chuck blazed?
By speeding up the existing blues shuffle, he had an absolutely crucial picking hand in the birth of rock 'n' roll.
Signature techniques: 12-bar shuffle, diad-fills, blues turnaround intros
Listen to: Johnny B Goode
Keith Richards
Keef said it best about drawing his influence from early rock 'n' roll and 'suggested' rhythms around the beat:
"There's a tension between the 4/4 beat and the eighths going on with the guitars."
Signature techniques: Using rhythmic riffs to create melodies, open G tuning
Listen to: Brown Sugar, Start Me Up
James Hetfield
Even if he didn't have the frontman role, too, he'd be regarded as metal's foremost right-hand man.
"If you're playing eighth or 16th notes then you've got to get cooking," says chef James.
Signature techniques: Forearm-torturing fast downpicking, reverse gallop groupings
Listen to: Master Of Puppets, Battery
Pete Townshend
It's not so much what Pete played, but how he played it - and not just the windmill.
You can hear the intensity in his huge chords, and his lighter moments display a fine chord-voicing knowledge.
Signature techniques: Big chords, alternative voicings, the windmill!
Listen to: I Can't Explain, Pinball Wizard
Malcolm Young
Malcolm's rhythm is AC/DC's foundation, helped by his use of thicker-gauge strings and employing open-chord rhythms judiciously, economically and percussively for maximum mojo power.
Signature techniques: Simple open-chord progressions delivered with expert touch
Listen to: For Those About To Rock
Jimi Hendrix
At the core of Jimi's playing were his supreme rhythm chops.
Using his thumb for barre chords allowed him to play around the shapes, infusing progressions with melody and movement.
Signature techniques: Chordal embellishments, thumb-over barre chords
Listen to: Little Wing, Castles Made Of Sand
Tosin Abasi
As well as face-blazing chops, Tosin has a mean line eight-string rhythm.
Time at the Atlanta Institute Of Music lent his music a jazz sensibility, while his slapping puts funk bassists to shame.
Signature techniques: Slapping and popping, djent rhythms, jazz chords
Listen to: Wave Of Babies, Another Year
Dave Grohl
Papa G brings a drummer's drive to his rhythm work, but his use of open strings brings ringing chime to his clean tones and adds new depths to the aggressive punk-rock powerchord approach.
Signature techniques: Use of extended chords, open strings and alternate voicings
Listen to: Best Of You, Learn To Fly, Everlong
Jeff Buckley
His career was short-lived, but Jeff's influence is undeniable.
Jazz-inspired chords sound natural in his compositions, while Indian influences inspired his user of open strings and exotic melodies.
Signature techniques: Arpeggiated chords, extended chords, open-strings drones
Listen to: Grace, Dream Brother