# Highway 61 Revisited guitar solo

> The guitar solo on Highway 61 Revisited by Johnny Winter (1969) starts at about 1:00. From the album Second Winter. Ranked #229 of all time across 80 lists.

Canonical URL: <https://greatestsolos.com/song/johnny-winter-highway-61-revisited/>

Johnny Winter, 1969, from *Second Winter*. Solo by *Johnny Winter*.

Johnny Winter takes Bob Dylan's wry, rambling song and turns it into a slide-guitar stampede. His slide lines are fast, jagged and relentlessly loud, sliding into notes from far below and skidding off them just as quickly. There is little in the way of careful melody here; the thrill is in the attack, the rhythmic drive and the sense that the whole thing could come off the rails at any second. Winter's version became a fixture of his live shows and a model for how aggressive electric slide could sound in a rock setting. The Firebird's bright, biting tone helps each note cut. Listen for the way his slide phrases mimic a shouting voice, answering the vocal lines almost word for word.

Highway 61 Revisited by Johnny Winter is ranked #229 in our consensus of 80 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Johnny Winter and the song was released in 1969. It appears on 3 lists, placing as high as #87 (Bombay Lives (Substack)).

## In our lists

- [One and Only](https://greatestsolos.com/list/one-and-only/) — #35
- [The 25 Greatest Blues Rock Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/blues-rock/) — #15
- [Slide Guitar](https://greatestsolos.com/list/slide/) — #6
- [The Best Johnny Winter Guitar Solos](https://greatestsolos.com/list/johnny-winter-guitar-solos/) — #1
- [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1969](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1969/) — #11

## Sources

- [Bombay Lives (Substack): 100 Greatest Guitar Solos](https://bombaylives.substack.com/p/100-greatest-guitar-solos) — #87
- [Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos](https://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_guitarsolo.html) — #150
- [Guitarhabits: 50 of The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time](https://www.guitarhabits.com/50-of-the-greatest-guitar-solos-of-all-time/)

### Who played the guitar solo on Highway 61 Revisited?

Johnny Winter played the solo on Johnny Winter's Highway 61 Revisited (1969).

### What guitar was used on the Highway 61 Revisited solo?

A gibson firebird, according to widely reported accounts.

### Where does Highway 61 Revisited rank among the greatest guitar solos?

#229 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 80 published lists; it appears on 3 of them.

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