Great read and an interesting list. I knew from another article that he really digs Albert King.

This quote on Duane really sums it up for me. He often seemed like he was right on the edge and played with such a searing intensity.

He played with fire, kinda reckless at times, and with a lot of maturity

Nice browse, Thanx, I dug the video samplers of each.

Huh, no Clapton, SRV, Hendrix ect. Not surprising.

There's something to be said for subtlety. I was thinking the other other of an analogy when speaking with someone about guitarists. They like the Vai/Van Halen shredders and I go the other way. A good auctioneer has a skill and can speak fast and precise but I'd much rather have a great voice like Morgan Freeman or Sam Elliot narrate a good documentary. It's the 'voice' that make the hairs on my arm stand up.

People look at me crazy when I say Willie Nelson is one of my favorite guitarists.This is basically my list, Derek has great taste, no wonder I love listening to him.

I remember just after Dickey parted with the ABB Derek was interviewed and he said he knew there was a lot of bad feelings, jealousy, too much drinking by one member etc going on, but he was still shocked his uncle, Gregg and Jaimoe voted out Dickey.

Then he said on one of their recent shows Dickey became unhinged and they had a couple songs that were trainwrecks. Next up was Blue Sky and when it sequed into Dickey's solo, Dickey floored Derek by playing the best solo he had ever heard by anybody. Derek said it was the damndest thing he had heard in his life.

The solo he mentions by Dickey in the article must be the one he talked about 19 years ago. There are some darn fine Blue Sky solos by Dickey on YouTube. I wish I could hear the one Derek is talking about.

Yes no shredders on his list. The late Gary Moore was the fastest shedder of them all.

I think the foundation of Derek's playing is Duane Allman plus Charlie and Albert. Especially Duane.

Fantastic list -- that Wes album Live at the Tsubo Club is tops, it's the best version of SOS on the planet -- all those jazz/blues guys he mentions -- in the same breath as Duane and Dickey -- nice read, thanks

"profound, powerful, beautiful and dangerous". Yep, that guitarist is ALL that musically. Dickey is a one and only.

People look at me crazy when I say Willie Nelson is one of my favorite guitarists.This is basically my list, Derek has great taste, no wonder I love listening to him.

Ditto

Definitely interesting. A couple of those guys I have never heard of.

I was somewhat surprised that Warren was not on his list, given their history together. If for no other reason than out of respect.

Personally, I don't think Warren is as good as Derek but he IS a great player.

I'm glad that he didn't include Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, etc. I am a fan of those guys, but they're in pretty much all of the guitarist lists. It's nice to hear someone talk about players who don't get as much attention.

Derek’s all about melody and emotion
These guys are great examples

Derek doesn't mean players such as SRV or Warren Haynes or Eric Clapton are not admired by him. No doubt he is very close to Warren and Clapton. Derek is talking about 10 guitar players that influenced him. Carlos Santana said in the 1970s that it's easy to notice a player's influences if they have yet to find their own style, to put their own stamp on the instrument.

During the last lineup, especially in the old songs, I could hear Dickey and Duane influencing Warren AND Derek's solos but that was probably intentional.

The only one of Derek's top 10 that I can often clearly hear in his style is Duane Allman. But Derek grew up being drawned to slide guitar and Duane because Derek's dad was always playing Fillmore East and Eat A Peach. And those were the first records Derek really began to study. That is why he was such a great fit for the ABB.

One famous guitar player who shows one of his influences is Joe Bonamassa. I just watched an interview with him this weekend and he admitted that the playbook he borrows from heavily but not exclusively is Gary Moore. And I've always heard Gary in most of Joe's solos and SRV in much of Kenny Wayne Sheppard's style. Perhaps they show a major influence too much in their playing but I don't put that label on Derek because it's slide guitar. And Derek's slide playing involves more than Duane's style and his non slide style doesn't remind me of Duane Allman. And Duane used a pick on straight guitar and Derek doesn't.

Thank you for posting and thank you Derek for sharing!

Charlie Christian and Ralph Towner are now on my radar - never heard of those guys before.

Was expecting to hear an eastern player like Ali Akbar Kahn mentioned. Maybe on the next list