3 Riffs From the 1970s That Made Us All Want To Pick up a Guitar

Most of the time, a dream only needs a spark. In the case of musicians, it just takes one song to set you on a path to superstardom. The three songs from the 1970s below have inspired countless guitar players, thanks to their iconic riffs.

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“Smoke on the Water” (Deep Purple)

“Smoke on the Water” is the first riff many burgeoning guitarists attempt. The deceiving simplicity has made many beginner players confident enough to see themselves as potential rockers. Of course, when they get into it, it’s not as easy as it seems. Nevertheless, this song gets credit for inspiring many generations of subsequent musicians.

Though the riff is simple, it has an ingenious theory behind it. “I thought [I’d] play [Beethoven’s fifth symphony] backwards, put something to it…that’s how I came up with it,” Ritchie Blackmore, the player behind the riff, once said. “It’s an interpretation of inversion. You turn it back, and play it back and forth, it’s actually Beethoven’s fifth.”

“Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

There are few people in the U.S. (maybe even the world) who don’t instantly recognize the opening riff to Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “Sweet Home Alabama.” It has become a paradigm for southern rock and a song that has transcended genre altogether. It doesn’t matter your musical affinity; you likely know and arguably love this song.

Bassist Ed King is responsible for this timeless riff, but he credited bandmate Gary Rossington for inspiring him.

“Well, when I came to rehearsal that day Gary was playing this riff that you can hear in the verses,” King once said. “It’s not the main riff that I play; it’s a part that he plays. And as soon as I picked up the guitar I immediately bounced off his riff. And so I mean if it hadn’t been for Gary writing his part, I never would have written my part.”

It certainly speaks to the collaborative power of being in a band. This is the kind of back-and-forth that people who dream of a music career hold out hope for, which is just one more reason this song is so inspirational to burgeoning artists.

“Walk This Way” (Aerosmith)

The guitar riff in “Walk This Way” has lived several lives, from its origins in this Aerosmith classic to its sampling in Run D.M.C.’s redux version. The fact that a new generation of musicians was able to record this song and have it be just as (if not more) popular than the original speaks to the timlessness of the song itself, and the titular riff.

Created by Joe Perry, this riff is simple but effective. Perry felt as though it boiled rock down to its basic elements. “I loved that stuff because it gave me the feel of where rock music came from, you know,” he once said. “I started playing this riff and fleshed it out right there at soundcheck.”

(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Stagecoach)