# Session Guitarists' Greatest Solos: The Hired Guns Behind the Hits > Session Guitarists' Greatest Solos: The Hired Guns Behind the Hits: #1 is Reelin' in the Years by Steely Dan, then Kid Charlemagne and Peg. 20 solos, ranked. Canonical URL: Many of the greatest solos on the radio were played by musicians most listeners could not name: studio aces booked by the hour who played on hundreds of records. Elliott Randall on Reelin' in the Years, Larry Carlton on Kid Charlemagne, Jay Graydon on Peg, James Burton on Ricky Nelson's hits, Steve Lukather all over the early-80s charts. This is their highlight reel, each video cued to the solo. 1. [Reelin' in the Years](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steely-dan-reelin-in-the-years/) — Steely Dan · solo by Elliott Randall · 1972 2. [Kid Charlemagne](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steely-dan-kid-charlemagne/) — Steely Dan · solo by Larry Carlton · 1976 3. [Peg](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steely-dan-peg/) — Steely Dan · solo by Jay Graydon · 1977 4. [My Old School](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steely-dan-my-old-school/) — Steely Dan · solo by Jeff Baxter · 1973 5. [Show Biz Kids](https://greatestsolos.com/song/steely-dan-show-biz-kids/) — Steely Dan · solo by Rick Derringer · 1973 6. [Coyote](https://greatestsolos.com/song/joni-mitchell-coyote/) — Joni Mitchell · solo by Larry Carlton · 1976 7. [Put It Where You Want It](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-crusaders-put-it-where-you-want-it/) — The Crusaders · solo by Larry Carlton · 1972 8. [Hello Mary Lou](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ricky-nelson-hello-mary-lou/) — Ricky Nelson · solo by James Burton · 1961 9. [Believe What You Say](https://greatestsolos.com/song/ricky-nelson-believe-what-you-say/) — Ricky Nelson · solo by James Burton · 1958 10. [Susie-Q](https://greatestsolos.com/song/dale-hawkins-susie-q/) — Dale Hawkins · solo by James Burton · 1957 11. [Guitar Man](https://greatestsolos.com/song/elvis-presley-guitar-man/) — Elvis Presley · solo by Jerry Reed · 1968 12. [Breakdown Dead Ahead](https://greatestsolos.com/song/boz-scaggs-breakdown-dead-ahead/) — Boz Scaggs · solo by Steve Lukather · 1980 13. [Nothin' You Can Do About It](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-marx-nothin-you-can-do-about-it/) — Richard Marx · solo by Steve Lukather · 1989 14. [Talk to Ya Later](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-tubes-talk-to-ya-later/) — The Tubes · solo by Steve Lukather · 1981 15. [Have Mercy](https://greatestsolos.com/song/richard-marx-have-mercy/) — Richard Marx · solo by Michael Landau · 1987 16. [Runaway](https://greatestsolos.com/song/bon-jovi-runaway/) — Bon Jovi · solo by Tim Pierce · 1984 17. [Loan Me a Dime](https://greatestsolos.com/song/boz-scaggs-loan-me-a-dime/) — Boz Scaggs · solo by Duane Allman · 1969 18. [Strawberry Letter 23](https://greatestsolos.com/song/the-brothers-johnson-strawberry-letter-23/) — The Brothers Johnson · solo by Lee Ritenour · 1977 19. [Luxury Liner](https://greatestsolos.com/song/emmylou-harris-luxury-liner/) — Emmylou Harris · solo by Albert Lee · 1977 20. [Physical](https://greatestsolos.com/song/olivia-newton-john-physical/) — Olivia Newton-John · solo by Steve Lukather · 1981 ## Quick answers ### Who played the guitar solo on Reelin' in the Years? Elliott Randall played the solo on Steely Dan's Reelin' in the Years (1972). It is #41 in our Consensus Top 100. ### Who played the guitar solo on Kid Charlemagne? Larry Carlton played the solo on Steely Dan's Kid Charlemagne (1976), #54 in our Consensus Top 100. Carlton also played on Joni Mitchell's Help Me, Coyote, Amelia and Black Crow. ### Which session guitarist appears most often in the catalog? Steve Lukather has 11 solos on other artists' records in our catalog (plus his Toto work), including Physical, Dirty Laundry and Running with the Night. Larry Carlton has 9, including Kid Charlemagne and four Joni Mitchell songs. Michael Landau has 7 and James Burton 6. --- 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/)