Little Wing
Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1991. Solo by Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Vaughan's instrumental reading of Hendrix's ballad treats the original as a launching pad instead of a script. He opens with the song's chordal, double-stop melody, full of embellishments and slides, then stretches it into an extended solo that moves from near-whispered passages to biting, full-throated bends. His Stratocaster tone is thick and warm, and the way he blends chord fragments with single-note lines shows how deeply he absorbed Hendrix without simply copying him. Released after his death, it became one of his most loved recordings. Listen for how he plays melody and accompaniment at the same time, filling the space a second guitarist would normally occupy.
Little Wing by Stevie Ray Vaughan is ranked #96 in our consensus of 79 guitar-solo lists. The solo is played by Stevie Ray Vaughan and the song was released in 1991. It appears on 7 lists, placing as high as #15 (Coach Guitar).
In our lists
- The Modern Canon: Best Since 1990 — #20
- The 25 Greatest Blues Guitar Solos — #19
- The 1990s — #17
- Instrumentals — #11
- Best of Stevie Ray Vaughan — #3
Sources
- Coach Guitar: Top 18 Rock Guitar Solos of All Time! — #15
- GuitarMetrics: 25 Best Guitar Solos of All Time (Ranked) — #20
- TopGuitar.pl: 25 najbardziej emocjonalnych solówek wszech czasów — #25
- Music in Minnesota: 38 Best Guitar Solos Of All Time — #28
- Radio Beat: 88 kytarových sól na Beatu — #55
- Planet Rock: The 75 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time — #60
- Digital Dream Door: 250 Greatest Rock Guitar Solos — #61
Who played the guitar solo on Little Wing?
Stevie Ray Vaughan played the solo on Stevie Ray Vaughan's Little Wing (1991).
What guitar was used on the Little Wing solo?
A fender stratocaster, according to widely reported accounts.
Where does Little Wing rank among the greatest guitar solos?
#96 in the GreatestSolos consensus of 79 published lists; it appears on 7 of them.