Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • 84000+ free music samples
  • Foo Fighters' new drummer
  • Ken Scott on recording The Beatles
  • First EVH Jump synth recording

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. Home
  2. News

Quinn Sullivan: the blues guitarists that blew my mind

By Michael Astley-Brown
published 12 May 2017

Buddy Guy protégé names inspirational players

Introduction

Introduction

At just 17 years old, Quinn Sullivan has already shared the stage with a who's who of blues guitar - including Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks and Joe Bonamassa - and third album, Midnight Highway, sees him hone not only his chops but his songwriting skills as well.

Having been mentored by blues legend Buddy Guy since the age of eight, Quinn has grown up surrounded by top-drawer players, so when we asked him to name just 10 mind-blowing guitarists, it can't have been easy.

Nonetheless, he happily obliged, drawing wider than just the blues and delving into rock and psychedelia for his top picks. Read on for an insight into the making of a blues prodigy…

Midnight Highway is out now via Mascot Label Group/Provogue.

Page 1 of 11
Page 1 of 11
1. Buddy Guy
(Image credit: Amy Harris/REX/Shutterstock)

1. Buddy Guy

“Buddy is my mentor and a great friend of mine. He is right up there with the greatest of all time.

“From the intensity right down to the solid blistering tone, he is like nobody else.”

Page 2 of 11
Page 2 of 11
2. Eric Clapton
(Image credit: Andrew Fosker/REX/Shutterstock)

2. Eric Clapton

“He's always been my all-time favourite. His approach to the guitar was so unique, and what he did with the guitar was highly influential on so many people around the world.

“His tone grabs you, and when you hear one of his solos, you know that's a Clapton lick.”

Page 3 of 11
Page 3 of 11
3. Derek Trucks
(Image credit: Amy Harris/REX/Shutterstock)

3. Derek Trucks

“Derek has the ability to move someone with one single note. He has been one of my favourites since I can remember. His ability to grab you and give you chills when he plays really is something I admire.

“He's the only guy that's really given me chills when I hear him play. A true guitar hero and innovator.”

Page 4 of 11
Page 4 of 11
4. Jeff Beck
(Image credit: Isopix/REX/Shutterstock)

4. Jeff Beck

“Jeff is unmistakable. He has all of these tricks up his sleeve, so you never know what lick he's going to play next. He's an incredible, innovative guitar player that's so influential on so many.”

Page 5 of 11
Page 5 of 11
5. David Gilmour
(Image credit: Roger Goodgroves/REX/Shutterstock)

5. David Gilmour

“Such an amazing player. His guitar reminds me of the human voice, and he also has the ability to move you with one note.

“His tone is remarkable and he sends a message with every note and solo.”

Page 6 of 11
Page 6 of 11
6. BB King
(Image credit: Joni Hauska/REX/Shutterstock)

6. BB King

“Everyone's favourite. If you're a guitar player or a music fan, you should damn well know who BB King is and the impact he had on all music.

“He was the creator of bending the strings his own way that so many after him copied. He's the mastermind behind modern-day guitar and a true king.”

Page 7 of 11
Page 7 of 11
7. Carlos Santana
(Image credit: ddp USA/REX/Shutterstock)

7. Carlos Santana

“Carlos was one of the first guys I listened to growing up. I always heard him on the radio and I fell in love with the tone he got out of his guitar.

“You immediately know when you hear Santana playing guitar - it's unmistakable.”

Page 8 of 11
Page 8 of 11
8. Warren Haynes
(Image credit: Julie Jacobson/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

8. Warren Haynes

“An amazing guitar player. He honestly showed me that there doesn't need to be many notes to say something. Less is more and it shows so purely in his playing. He's one of the greats.”

Page 9 of 11
Page 9 of 11
9. Frank Zappa
(Image credit: Nigel Skelsey/REX/Shutterstock)

9. Frank Zappa

“Frank took the guitar to another level. He was the creator of so much and the guitar seemed to have been taken to another planet whenever it was in his hands.”

Page 10 of 11
Page 10 of 11
10. Jerry Garcia
(Image credit: Andre Csillag/REX/Shutterstock)

10. Jerry Garcia

“He was one of the first guitarists I saw when I was around three years old. My parents were and still are huge Grateful Dead fans, so that music was always floating around my house when I was a kid.

“Jerry is a genius. He opened up the door for jamming and his phrasing is like no other. He'll always be one of my all-time favourites.”

Page 11 of 11
Page 11 of 11
Michael Astley-Brown
Michael Astley-Brown
Social Links Navigation

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.

More about guitars
Foo Fighters: A colorised image of a Foo Fighters press pic reveals the finish of Grohl's new Epiphone

Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?

EarthQuaker Devices Disaster Transport Legacy Reissue

EarthQuaker Devices resurrects the OG Disaster Transport, with the cult classic ‘Delay Modulation Machine’ newly improved with expanded features

Latest
Noel Gallagher

Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart

See more latest ►
Most Popular
Learn 7 of the greatest blues guitar licks of all time

By Leigh Fuge2 June 2023

Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box

By Jonathan Horsley2 June 2023

A Jazzmaster 12-string?! Squier steals the limelight from Fender with its new Paranormal Series guitars

By Rob Laing1 June 2023

Arturia’s FX Collection 4 lands with an all-new Leslie speaker plugin and emulations of Korg and Lexicon classics

By Ben Rogerson1 June 2023

Propellerhead’s ReBirth is reborn as a hands-on hardware synth, and it’s all thanks to Look Mum No Computer

By Ben Rogerson1 June 2023

Attica Blues: "This album opened doors for other people. We played our part so the Little Simz of the world could come through"

By Roy Spencer1 June 2023

Issue 397 of Future Music is out now

By Future Music1 June 2023

Karma Police: the story behind the Radiohead classic that started life as a tour bus catchphrase

By Michael Leonard31 May 2023

SSL’s UF1 promises to “set a new standard for single fader DAW controllers”

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

Pedalboard tour: how Petter Carlsen from the Norwegian duo Pil & Bue gets his juggernaut guitar tones

By Rob Laing31 May 2023

Akai issues a red alert as it launches the MPC One+, but it might not have all the upgrades you were hoping for

By Ben Rogerson31 May 2023

  1. Nirvana In Utero cover
    1
    Steve Albini recalls the secrecy around the Nirvana In Utero sessions: "I had to do everything I could to keep it under wraps to make sure that we didn’t get overrun by fans and the added nonsense"
  2. 2
    Gryffin: "After I discovered deadmau5, Skrillex and Avicii, I immediately downloaded Ableton Live"
  3. 3
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  4. 4
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  5. 5
    Is Dave Grohl’s new Epiphone DG-335… Gold?
  1. Orange Box: The iconic British amp brand enters the Bluetooth speaker market
    1
    Orange Amps enters the Bluetooth speaker market with the Orange Box
  2. 2
    Jon Hopkins spent 4 months perfecting the synth riff for Open Eye Signal on a 1979 Korg MS-20: “So much effort into trying to make something sound effortless”
  3. 3
    Former 10cc keyboard player Duncan Mackay showing his Yamaha and Roland synths to comedian Mike Reid could be the strangest video you'll watch all week
  4. 4
    Watch Noel Gallagher use a Fender Strat for High Flying Birds’ “blasphemous” cover of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart
  5. 5
    New Van Halen documentary takes us back to the early ‘80s to tell the story of how Eddie built 5150 Studios as the band were coming apart

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.