THROWBACK GAMES: Guitar Gymnastics

Night Three of the Throwback Games and tonight the competition is really fierce with Guitar Gymnastics!

Just like the high-flying flips you’ll see at the Summer Games, the riffs on the guitar can make all the difference in a hit song!

Tonight, our medal winners for the Best Guitar Solos!

#3 “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince

This 1984 song is the opening track on the Purple Rain album and in the movie. The song is known best for the opening eulogy for “this thing called life” and also for the two guitar solos, both performed by Prince.

#2 “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns ‘N Roses

This song was the first single from Guns ‘N Roses’ first studio album, and it would also be the band’s only No. 1 single in the U.S. Guitarist Slash was just warming up one day, but something in his chords caught the ear of the other guys in the band and they created a bassline, a drumbeat, and lyrics to go along with it! “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is the result.

#1 “Beat It” by Michael Jackson

You probably already know the song is from 1982 and it’s from the Thriller album. Producer Quincy Jones wanted Michael to have a rock song on the album, and “Beat It” was it. And none other than Eddie Van Halen provided the guitar solo! He did so free of charge, as a “favor.” After Jackson’s death in 2009, Van Halen said that working with him “was one of my fondest memories in my career.”