|
When did I say Fahey invented open tunings?
I said he invented a new style of playing... that doesn't necassarily mean his tunings, that's a combination of fingerpicking, the open tunings, and a lot more. Not to mention that he was the first person to really use an acoustic guitar as a solo concert instrument. And again, he has like 250 great songs that almost exclusively use acoustic guitar (electric guitar on the later recordings and there are some overdubs of other instruments on maybe 15 other songs)... to me, that speaks for itself. Find another artist who has HOURS of brilliant work just featuring a single guitar.
Obviously, Fahey's style can be traced back to influences like Walter "Buddy Boy" Hawkins, Carl Perkins, Robert Johnson, Blueberry Hill, Hank Williams, Pete Seeger, traditional Christmas music, Charley Patton, and even Stravinsky (!)... or how about Brij Bhusan Kabra, the first person to play ragas on a guitar? I'm not saying Fahey was the most revolutionary guitarist in history, but he's definitely one of the most important. Name one great acoustic guitarist who plays fingerstyle in open tunings who isn't inspired by Fahey.
I think Hendrix was good, and maybe it's wrong to even compare electric and acoustic guitar players since they are wildly different instruments... but I only see him being considered the "best" because he's the most well-known.
__________________
|