Scotty Moore

Scotty Moore (1931-2016) was the guitarist who played on virtually all of Elvis Presley's Sun Records sessions and early RCA recordings, creating the guitar sound of rock and roll. His playing on That's All Right (1954), Mystery Train (1955), Heartbreak Hotel (1956), and Hound Dog (1956) — combining country fingerpicking, blues bends, and jazz chord voicings into something entirely new — was the sonic template for rockabilly and early rock and roll. Keith Richards has said he wanted to be Scotty Moore. George Harrison cited him as his primary influence. Moore played a Gibson ES-295 and later a Gibson Super 400, running through a small EchoSonic amplifier that gave his sound its distinctive slapback echo. He largely retired from performing after 1968 but remains one of the most influential guitarists in popular music history.