This thread is dedicated to one of the greatest guitar players ever to grace our ears in my opinion.
I got most of this info from a booklet from one of his albums, but it sums up everything i want to say about him better than I ever would have.
Put at its simplest, Rory Gallagher was one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived. If that sounds like a bold statment to make, just ask his peers. Among those who cite him as a major influence on their playing are U2's the Edge, Slash , Johnny Marr, Gary Moore, Glenn Tipton and Brian May. Among the first to pay tribute to him after his untimely death was Jimmy page, while Eric Clpaton described him as " the man who got me back into the blues". Bono too offered fulsome but genuinely heartfelt praise, describing him as " one of the top ten guitar players of all time, but more importantly one of the top ten good guys".
His influence on such a diverse bunch of musicians alone earns him his place in the rock pantheon. But it wasn't only other guitar players who revered Rory's guitar playing. He many have been a " musician's musician" but he was also " the people's guitarist and the honesty and integrity of his music generated an enviably large and devoted fan base. At the height of his fame he was voted musician of the year in 1972 in the annual melody maker poll, dethroning none other than Eric Clapton.
His music was firmly rooted in the blues and in rock n roll as well as incorporated jazz, folk and Celtic influences. He died in 1995 from liver failure, at his funeral they played a million miles away. We surely will never see his like agian but his music lives on.