Legendary guitarist Brian May has ruled himself out of the “world’s best guitarist” conversation.
The Queen member says he is not even in the “first million” of best instrumentalists, and suggested there are many others well ahead of him regarding technical ability. May shared his thoughts on the topic after being named the greatest guitarist of all time by Guitar World. Speaking to Howard Stern in 2023, May rubbished the idea of him as the pinnacle of guitar work. Stern said: “Brian May was named best rock guitarist of all time by Guitar World.” May replied: “I’m not in the first million guitarists in the world.”
Where some fans would disagree with the Queen guitarist, May shared his reasoning as to why he felt undeserving of being first on the list. He said there was “not a chance” he should be top of the list and says the musicians he listens to daily are far stronger musicians than he is. The humble guitarist added: “There are people I listen to every day who do things that I could never do.
“Nuno, I listen to Nuno Bettencourt and I just smile because it’s so beautiful and it’s so way out of what I could ever do.” Though there are plenty of guitarists around that May believes are better than him, he added that this does not bother him.
He added: “I don’t feel in competition. I just love the guy and I love what he does. Same with Jeff Beck. Same With Eddie Van Halen. We worked together and it was the most wonderful experience. My jaw dropped every time he touched the strings.”
May, who is responsible for the recognisable riffs heard on Bohemian Rhapsody, Don’t Stop Me Now, and Killer Queen, says there are “so many wonderful guitarists” and he does not see himself as the best in class.
He added: “Steve Vai is just colossal, beautiful. I still have my old heroes. Eric Clapton is still my hero. Jimi Hendrix is still my hero, of course, it’s always going to be that way. Jeff Beck to me is something so exceptional and outside anything you could have imagined.”
Fans have since praised May’s response and agree with him that being the greatest guitarist in the world should not be the goal of any player. One user commented: “Nice to hear a legendary guitarist be humble enough to recognise other guitarists. Being a guitarist shouldn’t be a competition, but a recognition of all guitarists. Well said.”
Another added: “Such a beautifully humble man – the greats don’t have to declare their greatness.” A third wrote: “His ear for tone and his note choice make Brian every bit as iconic as everyone he mentioned, he’s just really humble.”
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Brian you are such a brilliant player you are certainly in my opinion one of the best ever you deserve all the admiration you have received
Pauline Smith
Brian you forgot to mention Rory
Once you’ve tried to learn to play the guitar then you would be truly happy if you could play one song from start to finish!
It’s a gift and I’d like to personally thank every musician for the dedication and determination to succeed and provide music that many of us feed off, you could never single one guitarist, there are so many and so many styles 😎
I remember seeing Queen play at Penzance winter gardens 1974 tickets cost a £1.00
Having seen and heard Jimmy Page play, also Richie Blackmore, to me they are in pick.
It’s funny when guitarist such as David Gilmour and even Hank Marvin and don’t forget Bert Weddon🤭
One of the Greats absolutely! He is absolutely correct as to how many other “great” guitarists we have been blessed with. So many, gone far too soon, so much talent……so many Legacies!
Randy Bachman and Tony iomi