by  George Loveridge  | | 5,0 / 5,0 |  Approximate reading time: 5 Minutes
The Magic of Slide Guitar: 5 Iconic Songs You Must Know

The Magic of Slide Guitar: 5 Iconic Songs You Must Know  ·  Source: Islandstock / Alamy Stock Photo

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Slide guitar is such a mythical art that can only be tamed by the greats. Potentially less of a mainstream device and technique, let’s look at 5 songs that use it beautifully.

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What is Slide Guitar?

Slide guitar is a technique that involves holding a small cylindrical object, a slide, over the strings of a guitar and moving it up and down the fretboard. If you haven’t heard of the term, slide guitar, then you’ve definitely heard it on the radio over the years. There are two schools of thought when it comes to slide guitar.

When referring to this style of playing, we’re either looking at a dedicated *upright pedal steel guitar, or a regular guitar played with a *slide. Both aim to achieve the same effect; however, the result can be very different. Furthermore, it all depends on what genre you’re looking at.

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Country music typically features a pedal steel guitar, which is an upright device that is played exclusively sitting down and horizontally. Whereas Classic Rock and Blues music would lean more towards a slide on a regular electric guitar. How about we check out some of the best examples?

What is slide guitar?
The Magic of Slide Guitar – Upright & Slide · Source: Thomann

Sleep Walk – Santo & Johnny

What are we listening to first? Here, we’ve got one of the first examples of slide guitar being used in popular music. Notice, I said one of the first, not the first. *wink wink*.

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Released in 1959, this purely instrumental track is one of the most explicit examples that you’ll ever hear. Taking the spotlight, the Fender Stringmaster Triple Neck sings away throughout the track. Note, Santo Farina is still using a slide to make the dreamy sound that we can hear.

Just like a regular electric guitar, the Stringmaster would have gone into something like a Magnatone 280. Whatever it was, it had great warmth, vibrato and reverb. This track is timeless, and can always be heard in a period 1950s piece of film, as it captures the sound of a bygone era.

My Sweet Lord – George Harrison

Harrison had a troubled time whilst he was in The Beatles, and therefore spent a lot of time studying under Ravi Shankar. This debut solo hit has elements of his spiritual restoration and features some wonderful slide guitar work.

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The opening F#m and B major chords have a wonderfully haunting feel, and this is accomplished by Harrison’s own work with the slide. This is an example where a physical slide is used on a regular guitar. Specifically, his famed *1961 Fender Stratocaster, Rocky.

Both Lennon and Harrison were gifted identical blue Stratocasters during the Rubber Soul sessions. Harrison later painted it himself during the summer of love that was 1967. Reflecting the vibes of the time, it’s good to hear him using it in his solo work.

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Fade Into You – Mazzy Star

We’ve worked from the ’50s to the ’70s and now up into the 1990s. With a simple three-chord progression throughout, the slide work here sets the moody tone for the record.

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With My Sweet Lord, the slide guitar is a defining feature of the record; however with this example, it’s more of an alternate melody that provides an extra level of sophistication.

The melody is simple, it’s always the same, and it repeats throughout. It highlights just how versatile this technique can be. From vibrato-driven country lines to atmospheric ambience drenched in delay and compression.

Tie Your Mother Down – Queen

Back to our regular bread and butter of classic rock! Grab your treble booster, it’s time to look at some of Brian May’s wonderful work.

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Our focus here is on the final bars of the guitar solo. This a textbook example of how slide guitar techniques can be used to add a little bit of blues and spice to a regular guitar solo.

I wouldn’t describe May’s playing as blues-influenced, however the high octave slide runs could have been played by one of the early pioneers of blues slide music. It’s powerful, punchy, and provides a nice contrast to the rest of the track.

Bad To The Bone – George Thorogood & The Destroyers

Next up, we’ve got this villainous entry from George Thorogood. So far, we’ve only really looked at clean-cut slide guitar. So, let’s turn up the gain, switch on our overdrive pedals, and go Bad To The Bone.

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Most people will recognise this from the opening scene in the 1991 Terminator film. For me, I think of the haunted car, Christine from 1983. Regardless, there is such a lurking, evil feel thanks to the slide guitar.

Along with the blues verse form, that slide motif comes back again and again. If you’re looking for a song to associate with a villain, this should be one of your first choices!

Honourable Mention – Derek Trucks

We can’t talk about slide guitar without at least mentioning the virtuoso that is Derek Trucks. It takes a lot to leave B.B. King speechless, and John Mayer stunned. Trucks’ vibrato and effortless glides on the slide are beautiful, and are enough to make any guitarist green with envy. Do have a listen, you won’t regret it.

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The Magic of Slide Guitar: 5 Iconic Songs You Must Know

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