Cliffs of Dover

Eric Johnson, 1990. Solo by Eric Johnson.

Pristine tone at high speed. Won a Grammy and remains a rite of passage.

Nearly the whole track is lead guitar. The free-time introduction, played on a 1954 Stratocaster, crams soaring bends, cascading pentatonic runs, string skipping and hybrid-picked pedal tones into about 25 seconds. For the band sections Johnson switched to a stop-tail Gibson ES-335, and he later replaced the opening part of the main solo with the Strat, so the tone audibly changes back to the Gibson around the three-minute mark. What sets the piece apart is its combination of speed with unusually clean, violin-like tone and a bright, major-key melody. Listen for that mid-solo shift from Strat to 335; once you hear the change in warmth you will notice it every time.

Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson is ranked #26 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Eric Johnson and the song was released in 1990. It appears on 21 lists, placing as high as #4 (ADCI).

The story of Cliffs of Dover

Eric Johnson has said Cliffs of Dover arrived almost by accident. Around 1983, back home with his parents after touring as a sideman with Carole King, he started noodling on a descending arpeggio figure and had the whole tune finished in about five minutes. He has repeatedly been reluctant to take full credit, describing the piece as something that was simply there for him one day. His mother heard it while he was rehearsing and told him it was going to be something special.

The title nods to the White Cliffs of Dover on England's southern coast. Johnson cut a quick four-track demo and began playing the piece in concert as early as 1984, where it stayed in his back pocket for several years while crowds responded warmly. A live recording even circulated on a flexi-disc bundled with Guitar Player magazine in 1986, years before a studio version existed.

The studio take was made for Ah Via Musicom, his second major-label album, after he signed with Capitol. Johnson worked on the record between March 1988 and June 1989 at several studios, including Riverside Sound and Arlyn Studios in Austin, and produced it himself. The band ran through the song two or three times before capturing the keeper. Structurally it opens with an unaccompanied, free-time guitar passage, shifts into a brisk 4/4 shuffle in G major, and ends by returning to the loose feeling of the opening.

Ah Via Musicom came out in 1990 and eventually went platinum, spending 60 weeks on the Billboard 200. Cliffs of Dover was released as a single in October 1991 and climbed to No. 5 on the Mainstream Rock chart, a rare feat for an instrumental. At the 1992 Grammy Awards it won Best Rock Instrumental Performance, beating the Allman Brothers Band, Danny Gatton, Rush and Yes.

The solo

Nearly all of Cliffs of Dover is lead guitar, and every note is Eric Johnson's. The free-time introduction, played on a 1954 Fender Stratocaster, crams soaring bends, cascading pentatonic runs, string skipping and hybrid-picked pedal-tone figures into about 25 seconds. For the band sections he switched to a stop-tail Gibson ES-335 from the early 1960s. The main solo was first tracked on the 335; Johnson then replaced its opening part with the Strat through a B.K. Butler Tube Driver, so around the three-minute mark the tone audibly changes back to the Gibson, something engineer Richard Mullen found unusual. His signal chain also included an Echoplex feeding a 100-watt Marshall and 4x12 cabinet, and he has said he wanted to make music rather than just play lots of notes.

Legacy

Cliffs of Dover is Eric Johnson's best-known work and a staple of his concerts. It won the 1992 Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, placed No. 17 on Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos and No. 62 on Rolling Stone's equivalent list, and Guitarist magazine named its sound among the 50 greatest guitar tones. Dave Mustaine called it one of the most beautiful guitar pieces he had ever heard, and its inclusion in Guitar Hero III introduced it to a new generation of players.

Top 10 facts about Cliffs of Dover

Johnson wrote the tune around 1983 while living with his parents after touring with Carole King.
Guitar Player
He says the whole song came together in about five minutes, and his mother encouraged him after hearing it during rehearsal.
Songfacts
A live version was released on a Guitar Player magazine flexi-disc in 1986, four years before the studio recording.
Rolling Stone
The intro was played on a 1954 Stratocaster, while the verse sections used a stop-tail Gibson ES-335.
Wikipedia
Around 3:03 the solo's tone shifts because Johnson swapped only the first part of his ES-335 solo for a Strat overdub.
Wikipedia
The band needed only two or three takes to capture the final studio version.
Guitar Player
It won the Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1992, beating Rush, Yes and the Allman Brothers Band.
Wikipedia
Guitar World ranked it No. 17 among the greatest solos, between Heartbreaker and Little Wing.
Wikipedia
Rolling Stone placed it at No. 62 on its 100 Greatest Guitar Solos list, noting how many players have borrowed its intro licks.
Rolling Stone
Ah Via Musicom went platinum and spent 60 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at No. 67.
Wikipedia

Live versions

Guitar Player magazine flexi-disc (1986) Early live recording distributed with the magazine years before the studio version.
Live from Austin, TX (Austin City Limits taping) (1988) Recorded December 14, 1988 and released in 2005; a celebrated pre-album performance.
Live and Beyond (with Alien Love Child) (2000) Live album with Johnson's trio Alien Love Child that includes the piece.
Live from Austin TX '84 (2010) Archival release capturing the song in its earliest years on stage.
Europe Live (2014) Later-career concert recording from Johnson's European tour.

In our lists

Deep Cuts — #1
One and Only — #2
The Modern Canon: Best Since 1990 — #3
The 25 Greatest Guitar Instrumentals — #3
The 25 Greatest Shred Guitar Solos — #3
The 1990s — #3
Instrumentals — #3
Played on a Stratocaster — #10
Fans' Picks — #21

Sources

Who played the guitar solo on Cliffs of Dover?

Eric Johnson played the solo on Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover (1990).

What guitar was used on the Cliffs of Dover solo?

A fender stratocaster through a Marshall amp, with Fuzz Face, delay, according to widely reported accounts.

Where does Cliffs of Dover rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#26 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 21 of them.

Who wrote Cliffs of Dover?

Eric Johnson wrote it alone, around 1983, saying it came to him in roughly five minutes.

What album is Cliffs of Dover on?

It appears on Johnson's 1990 album Ah Via Musicom, released by Capitol.

What guitar did Eric Johnson use on Cliffs of Dover?

A 1954 Fender Stratocaster for the intro and parts of the solo, plus a stop-tail Gibson ES-335 for the band sections.

Did Cliffs of Dover win a Grammy?

Yes, it won Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1992 Grammy Awards.

What key is Cliffs of Dover in?

The main section is in G major, following a free-time intro.