Led Zeppelin’s Whole Lotta Love has been revealed as the Greatest Guitar Riff of all time in BBC Radio 2’s countdown of the Top 100 Greatest Guitar Riffs.
Whole Lotta Love beat rock legend contenders such as Metallica, Nirvana and The White Stripes to the top spot. The Top Five Guitar Riffs are completed by Guns ‘N’ Roses, Sweet Child O’ Mine (2nd), AC/DC’s Back in Black (3rd), Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water (4th) and Derek And The Dominoes’ Layla (5th).
Radio 2 listeners cast their votes from a list of 100 riffs selected by a panel of music industry experts including Radio 2 and 6 Music DJs, music critics and record producers. The Top 100 Guitar riffs vote, opened on Monday 14 July in Simon Mayo’s show (5-7pm) and closed on Monday 4 August.
Throughout the day, BBC Radio 2 listeners were treated to the complete top 100 countdown of guitar riff greatness. The big reveal began with Will Gompertz’s midnight show (midnight-3am) and continued throughout the day culminating in Zoe Ball exclusively announcing numbers 30 – 1 in her special Bank Holiday show Radio 2's Top 30 Greatest Guitar Riffs with Zoe Ball (2pm-5pm).
On being voted number one, Jimmy Page said “I'm knocked out by this, because I didn't expect that to happen – there's been so many wonderful riffs along the way…I wanted a riff that really moved, that people would really get, and would bring a smile to their faces… but when I played it with the band, it really went into overdrive…There was this intent to have this riff and the movement of it, so it was menacing as well as quite sort of caressing."
The Top 100 Guitar Riffs of all Time, as voted for by BBC Radio 2 listeners;
1 Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin
2 Sweet Child O' Mine Guns ‘N' Roses
3 Back In Black AC/DC
4 Smoke On The Water Deep Purple
5 Layla Derek And The Dominoes
6 How Soon Is Now? The Smiths
7 Down Down Status Quo
8 Money For Nothing Dire Straits
9 You Really Got Me The Kinks
10 Money Pink Floyd
11 Ziggy Stardust David Bowie
12 Purple Haze The Jimi Hendrix Experience
13 Motorcycle Emptiness Manic Street Preachers
14 20th Century Boy T. Rex
15 Do I Wanna Know? Arctic Monkeys
16 Enter Sandman Metallica
17 Johnny B. Goode Chuck Berry
18 The Spirit Of Radio Rush
19 Livin' On A Prayer Bon Jovi
20 Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana
21 All Right Now Free
22 Oh Well Fleetwood Mac
23 Sweet Home Alabama Lynyrd Skynyrd
24 Sunshine Of Your Love Cream
25 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes
26 Paranoid Black Sabbath
27 I Can't Get No (Satisfaction) The Rolling Stones
28 Day Tripper The Beatles
29 The Riverboat Song Ocean Colour Scene
30 Alive Pearl Jam
31 One Vision Queen
32 She Sells Sanctuary The Cult
33 Pretty Vacant Sex Pistols
34 Don't Fear The Reaper Blue Oyster Cult
35 No Surprises Radiohead
36 Hocus Pocus Focus
37 Cigarettes & Alcohol Oasis
38 No One Knows Queens of The Stone Age
39 I Can't Explain The Who
40 Under The Bridge Red Hot Chili Peppers
41 Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love Van Halen
42 Born To Run Bruce Springsteen
43 Fools Gold The Stone Roses
44 Apache The Shadows
45 Run To You Bryan Adams
46 Stay With Me Faces
47 Atomic Blondie
48 Life In The Fast Lane Eagles
49 Milk & Alcohol Dr. Feelgood
50 Spoonman Soundgarden
51 Should I Stay Or Should I Go The Clash
52 Killing in The Name Rage Against The Machine
53 Beat It Michael Jackson
54 Don’t Believe A Word Thin Lizzy
55 Walk This Way Aerosmith / Aerosmith & RUN-D.M.C.
56 Sharp Dressed Man ZZ Top
57 Mannish Boy Muddy Waters
58 Peter Gunn Duane Eddy
59 Good Times Chic
60 Take Me Out Franz Ferdinand
61 Misirlou Dick Dale
62 Song 2 Blur
63 Marquee Moon Television
64 Are You Gonna Go My Way Lenny Kravitz
65 Need You Tonight INXS
66 Pride (In The Name Of Love) U2
67 Shakin' All Over Johnny Kidd & The Pirates
68 Theme From Shaft Isaac Hayes
69 There She Goes The La's
70 Boys Don't Cry The Cure
71 Oh, Pretty Woman Roy Orbison
72 Every Breath You Take The Police
73 Rumble Link Wray
74 Block Buster! Sweet
75 My Sharona The Knack
76 A Girl Like You Edwyn Collins
77 Runnin' Down A Dream Tom Petty
78 Cannonball The Breeders
79 Born To Be Wild Steppenwolf
80 I Love Rock 'n' Roll Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
81 Boom Boom John Lee Hooker
82 Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Rainbow
83 Bo Diddley Bo Diddley
84 Words of Love Buddy Holly
85 Mr Tambourine Man The Byrds
86 That Lady The Isley Brothers
87 Eye Of The Tiger Survivor
88 Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
89 C'mon Everybody Eddie Cochran
90 Wheels Foo Fighters
91 The One I Love R.E.M.
92 September Earth, Wind & Fire
93 Lonely Boy The Black Keys
94 Jack & Diane John Mellencamp
95 Bohemian Like You The Dandy Warhols
96 Rocks Primal Scream
97 Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet
98 Loser Beck
99 Unbelievable EMF
100 Get Lucky Daft Punk
