# The guitarist Paul McCartney and Keith Richards agreed was better than Eddie Van Halen: “The best”

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/the-guitarist-paul-mccartney-and-keith-richards-agreed-was-better-than-eddie-van-halen-the-best/
- Published: 2026-11-05T15:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T17:05:43+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/guitarist-paul-mccartney-keith-richards-agreed-better-than-eddie-van-halen/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- McCartney and Richards preferred Hendrix’s expressive guitar playing.
- McCartney praised Van Halen while favouring Hendrix.
- Richards said Hendrix’s showy style was uniquely his.

## Summary

Paul McCartney and Keith Richards both held Jimi Hendrix above Eddie Van Halen as a guitarist, valuing Hendrix’s ability to make the instrument serve a song. Their views highlight a difference between expressive playing and displays of technique, while recognising Van Halen’s skill and influence.

McCartney praised Van Halen but said he preferred Hendrix, whose performance of ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ he remembered hearing in London soon after its release. Richards said Hendrix was uniquely able to play in that showy style, and argued that guitar solos need not simply wail at the high end; the article presents this as a difference in taste rather than a dismissal of Van Halen.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.