# Guitar Solos for a Funeral or Memorial > Guitar Solos for a Funeral or Memorial: #1 is Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin, then Free Bird and While My Guitar Gently Weeps. 17 solos, ranked. Canonical URL: Choosing music for a funeral or memorial is hard. A guitar solo can say what words can't. These are songs whose solos people turn to in grief and remembrance: Stairway to Heaven, Free Bird, Say Hello 2 Heaven (Chris Cornell's tribute to his friend Andrew Wood), Shine On You Crazy Diamond and Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd's songs for Syd Barrett), and Buckethead's quiet instrumentals. Each video starts at the solo, so you can hear the exact moment before you choose. 1. [Stairway to Heaven](https://greatestsolos.com/song/led-zeppelin-stairway-to-heaven/) — Led Zeppelin · solo by Jimmy Page · 1971 2. [Free Bird](https://greatestsolos.com/song/lynyrd-skynyrd-free-bird/) — Lynyrd Skynyrd · solo by Allen Collins & Gary Rossington · 1973 3. [While My Guitar Gently Weeps](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-beatles-while-my-guitar-gently-weeps/) — The Beatles · solo by Eric Clapton · 1968 4. [The Sky Is Crying](https://greatestsolos.com/song/elmore-james-the-sky-is-crying/) — Elmore James · solo by Elmore James · 1960 5. [Shine On You Crazy Diamond](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pink-floyd-shine-on-you-crazy-diamond/) — Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1975 6. [Wish You Were Here](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pink-floyd-wish-you-were-here/) — Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1975 7. [High Hopes](https://greatestsolos.com/song/pink-floyd-high-hopes/) — Pink Floyd · solo by David Gilmour · 1994 8. [Say Hello 2 Heaven](https://greatestsolos.com/song/temple-of-the-dog-say-hello-2-heaven/) — Temple of the Dog · solo by Mike McCready · 1991 9. [Tuesday's Gone](https://greatestsolos.com/song/lynyrd-skynyrd-tuesday-s-gone/) — Lynyrd Skynyrd · solo by Gary Rossington · 1973 10. [Let It Be](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-beatles-let-it-be/) — The Beatles · solo by George Harrison · 1970 11. [Who Wants to Live Forever](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-who-wants-to-live-forever/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1986 12. [The Show Must Go On](https://greatestsolos.com/song/queen-the-show-must-go-on/) — Queen · solo by Brian May · 1991 13. [Knockin' on Heaven's Door](https://greatestsolos.com/song/guns-n-roses-knockin-on-heaven-s-door/) — Guns N' Roses · solo by Slash · 1991 14. [Soulshine](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-allman-brothers-band-soulshine/) — The Allman Brothers Band · solo by Warren Haynes · 1994 15. [Nothing Else Matters](https://greatestsolos.com/song/metallica-nothing-else-matters/) — Metallica · solo by James Hetfield · 1991 16. [Watching the Boats with My Dad](https://greatestsolos.com/song/buckethead-watching-the-boats-with-my-dad/) — Buckethead · solo by Buckethead · 1998 17. [Parisienne Walkways](https://greatestsolos.com/song/gary-moore-parisienne-walkways/) — Gary Moore · solo by Gary Moore · 1978 ## Quick answers ### What guitar songs are good for a funeral? Stairway to Heaven, Free Bird and While My Guitar Gently Weeps are the most common rock choices. Instrumentals like Parisienne Walkways or Buckethead's Watching the Boats with My Dad work well where you don't want lyrics. ### Can I play just the guitar solo at a memorial service? Yes, and it's often a good fit for a short tribute moment. Check with the venue or celebrant about playback and timing. Our videos start at the solo, so you can find the section you want before you choose. ### Who was Say Hello 2 Heaven written for? Chris Cornell wrote it for Andrew Wood, the Mother Love Bone singer who died in 1990. It appears on Temple of the Dog's 1991 album. --- GreatestSolos ranks the greatest guitar solos by consensus across published lists. Agent guide: [llms.txt](https://greatestsolos.com/llms.txt) · [Sitemap](https://greatestsolos.com/sitemap.xml) · [Dataset (CSV)](https://greatestsolos.com/data/greatest-guitar-solos.csv) · [How we rank](https://greatestsolos.com/method/)