# Baja guitar solo > The guitar solo on Baja by The Astronauts (1963). Watch from the solo, plus the story and gear. A surf classic from the 1960s. Canonical URL: The Astronauts, 1963. Solo by *The Astronauts*. A Lee Hazlewood tune the Colorado band turned into a reverb-soaked lead feature. Baja is a Lee Hazlewood tune, and the Astronauts, a band from landlocked Colorado, turned it into a full-blooded surf guitar feature. The lead line is soaked in reverb and picked with a driving, steady attack, so the melody seems to surge forward on its own momentum. There is a sunny, open feeling to the tune, though the minor-key touches give it just enough shadow to stay interesting. The Astronauts proved you did not need to live near the ocean to master the sound. Listen for the long reverb tail on each phrase, and notice how the rhythm guitar and drums lock into a galloping beat that pushes the lead melody forward. Baja by The Astronauts is featured in our Surf (#14) list. The solo is played by The Astronauts and the song was released in 1963. ## In our lists - [The 25 Greatest Surf Guitar Songs](https://greatestsolos.com/list/surf/) — #14 - [Top 20 Guitar Solos of 1963](https://greatestsolos.com/list/best-guitar-solos-1963/) — #9 ## Sources ### Who played the guitar solo on Baja? The Astronauts played the solo on The Astronauts's Baja (1963). --- 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/)