Rev up your air guitars, fire up your loudest amps and get ready for new Sky Arts series, Greatest Guitar Riffs, airing over the course of three consecutive nights later this month.
This three-part documentary series unpicks the workings of some of the most famous riffs in musical history, taking audiences on an exhilarating journey which tracks the personal impact of the guitar riff on three legendary guitarists – Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, The Police’s Andy Summers and Heart’s Nancy Wilson.
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi pulls back the curtain on the creation of Sabbath’s classic riffs in the first episode. The edition also looks at the creation of heavy metal, delving into tracks including Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man. He’s also joined by Queen’s Brian May for an exclusive jam session.
Episode two sees legendary guitarist Andy Summers reflects on his favourite riffs of all time and tells the stories of the riffs that brought fame and fortune to The Police, including the opening bars of Grammy Award-winning hit Every Breath You Take. Andy also pays a visit to one of the best jazz guitar players of all time, George Benson.
Heart’s Nancy Wilson takes viewers on a very personal journey through the music and the riffs that influenced her, in the third and final edition. Tracing a through-line from the music of Heart into the grunge scene of the 1990s. Nancy is joined by Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready and Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil.
The iconic music trio will be joined by an array of guitar stars, including jazz guitarist George Benson, Dave Keuning (The Killers), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovi), Hank Marvin (The Shadows) and Orianthi (Michael Jackson/Alice Cooper). Together, they will cover riffs from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Rage Against The Machine and more.
Phil Edgar-Jones, Director of Sky Arts:
“Greatest Guitar Riffs is a treat for anyone who loves an axe-based ear worm; with this smart, thoughtful journey through the very best riffs ever written, brought to us by three guitar legends, I challenge anyone to watch without either a) humming along or b) picking up that air guitar and strumming along”.
Greatest Guitar Riffs will air on Sky Arts, Freeview and NOW from 24th November 2023
