The Only Guitarist Paul McCartney Considers Better Than Eddie Van Halen

Ever wondered who your favorite guitarist’s favorite guitarist is? Many of the greats have been tight-lipped about their personal inspirations, while others have been pretty forthright about the musicians they love. 

Kurt Cobain loved The Stooges, David Bowie loved Arcade Fire (not the other way around; though we imagine the feeling is mutual), and Chris Martin loves Radiohead. Not surprisingly, former Beatles multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Paul McCartney has expressed his love for his favorite guitarist, Jimi Hendrix.

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Paul McCartney Has Said in the Past That His Favorite Guitarist Is Jimi Hendrix

Paul McCartney wasn’t solely a guitarist for The Beatles. He was more well-known as the band’s bassist, as well as (more or less) one-half of the songwriting talent behind the legendary rock band. Still, he knows his way around the guitar, among other instruments.

McCartney and Hendrix ran in similar circles during their heydays in the late 1960s. McCartney said that he saw Hendrix perform in London at the Saville Theatre shortly after The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Hendrix even covered that album’s title track once he heard that McCartney was in attendance.

“Brian Epstein used to rent it when it was usually dark on the Sunday,” McCartney once said in an interview with Stephen Colbert. “Jimi opened, the curtains flew back and he came walking forward, playing ‘Sgt. Pepper’. And it had only been released on the Thursday so that was like the ultimate compliment.”

The choice to cover the song won McCartney’s heart, and he’s spoken fondly of the late guitarist ever since. McCartney went on to say that the performance was a “shining memory” for him and that he “admired him so much anyway”. It’s pretty surprising that Hendrix learned the song so quickly, a sentiment that McCartney also shares.

“It’s a pretty major compliment in anyone’s book,” he said.

Paul McCartney has also been more forward about the fact that Hendrix is his favorite guitarist.

“I have very fond memories of Jimi,” he once said in a Rolling Stone interview. “I love Eddie Van Halen, but I still think Jimi was the best.”

We’d be inclined to agree.

Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

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