"Voodoo Child" Named Greatest Riff Of All Time

11/28/2009




(RTTNews) - A survey of 5,000 music fans conducted by website Music Radar has named Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" as the song containing the greatest guitar riff of all time.

The wah-wah drenched riff of "Voodoo Child," which was recorded in 1968, bested the guitar line from the beginning of Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine," which came second in the poll.

Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" and Derek and the Dominoes' "Layla" rounded out the list's top five spots.

Only two songs that had been recorded in the past decade made it on to Music Radar's list, Muse's "Plug In Baby" (12), and the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" (15).

The full list of the top 20 guitar riffs of all time is included below.

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"

2. Guns N' Roses - "Sweet Child O' Mine"

3. Led Zeppelin - "Whole Lotta Love"

4. Deep Purple - "Smoke On the Water"

5. Derek and the Dominoes - "Layla"

6. AC/DC - "Back In Black"

7. Metallica - "Enter Sandman"

8. The Beatles - "Day Tripper"

9. Nirvana - "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

10. The Rolling Stones - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

11. Black Sabbath - "Paranoid"

12. Muse - "Plug In Baby"

13. Van Halen - "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love"

14. The Kinks - "You Really Got Me"

15. The White Stripes - "Seven Nation Army"

16. AC/DC - "Highway to Hell"

17. Led Zeppelin - "Heartbreaker"

18. Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"

19. Led Zeppelin - "Black Dog"

20. Michael Jackson - "Beat It"