Why the songs we play at guitar stores, onstage, and in the studio still shape guitar culture

Guitar culture has always lived in the space between imitation and reinvention, and this week’s stories show just how active that tension remains. In one corner, Mick Jagger was back telling the story of the strange, chance moment that helped lead to a Rolling Stones collaboration, using a Tuesday chat with Conan O’Brien in Brooklyn to announce the band’s new album, Foreign Tongues. In another, Guitar Center revealed the riffs customers most often play when trying out guitars, based on a nationwide survey of store staff. And elsewhere, St. Vincent made the argument that some recorded guitar parts are so definitive they should be played exactly as they were laid down in the studio, with no reinterpretation at all. Taken together, the stories point to a familiar but powerful truth: guitar players are constantly negotiating between the songs they love, the sounds they chase, and the ones they believe should remain untouched.

The most immediate of these conversations may be the Guitar Center list. According to CEO Gabe Dalporto, the company asked staff around the country which riffs they hear most often from customers. The result was a reminder that certain songs never leave the room, even if players have heard them a thousand times already. The story notes that “Stairway to Heaven” is not No. 1, which is enough to spark debate in any guitar shop. More importantly, it underscores how store culture still functions as a live test of guitar mythology. These are the licks players reach for when they want to feel the instrument in their hands, benchmark themselves against a classic, or simply see whether the guitar they are trying out has the right voice. For guitar players, that matters because the first few notes played in a shop are often about identity as much as sound.

St. Vincent’s comments bring that same idea into sharper artistic focus. Speaking about Larry Carlton’s Steely Dan solo, she argued that some parts are “sacrosanct” and should always be played note-for-note. That position may sound strict, but it speaks to a long-standing reality in guitar music: certain performances become part of the composition in the listener’s mind. Once a solo is inseparable from the record, changing it can feel less like interpretation and more like erasing part of the song’s history. For players, the debate is practical as well as philosophical. Do you honor the original arrangement exactly, or do you claim space for your own voice? St. Vincent’s answer suggests that the best course sometimes is restraint.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Rolling Stones’ latest headline, with Jagger revisiting the unexpected circumstances that led to a collaboration. Even without the full details of the new recording, the story reinforces a classic theme in rock history: some of the most memorable musical outcomes begin with a chance meeting, an odd remark, or a split-second decision to say yes. That kind of spontaneity is part of what keeps electric guitar music vital. It is not only about preserving the canon. It is also about being ready when a new moment arrives.

That same balance between reverence and exploration appears in Joe Walsh’s recent stage appearance with a Yamaha Revstar at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The guitar, already admired by players such as Matteo Mancuso and Chris Buck, has now been placed in a very different kind of spotlight: one of America’s biggest bands, on a major stage, with an icon like Walsh in the frame. Gear stories like this matter because they show how a modern instrument can gain credibility not just through marketing, but through association with working musicians in real-world contexts. When a high-profile player chooses a guitar for a major performance, it becomes part of the ongoing conversation about what instruments are capable of, and what kinds of players are willing to trust them.

And then there is the studio legend side of the guitar world, represented by Robben Ford’s recollection of wild all-night sessions with George Harrison during the troubled Dark Horse era. Ford said joining Harrison’s 1974 band after playing with Joni Mitchell exposed him to chaotic nights in the studio, a window into a period that was as intense as it was historically significant. Those stories remind players that guitar history is not only built on polished album covers and famous riffs. It is also shaped by personalities, circumstances, and the unpredictable atmosphere of recording sessions where great playing can emerge from disorder.

For SixString readers, the thread connecting all of these stories is simple: guitar playing is never just technical. It is cultural memory, personal taste, and artistic judgment all at once. Whether a player is hammering out a familiar riff in a guitar store, insisting on note-for-note accuracy, choosing a new stage instrument, or chasing a spontaneous studio breakthrough, the same question keeps returning. How do you respect the past without getting trapped by it? This week’s headlines suggest there is no single answer, but the best guitar players know how to live inside that tension.