Jimi Hendrix named 'greatest guitar player' of all time

Jimi Hendrix has been named the greatest guitar player of all time by Rolling Stone magazine from a list complied by music experts and guitar players.

The panel of experts included Lenny Kravitz, Brian May and Eddie Van Halen, who came eighth in the poll.

'Purple Haze' guitarist Hendrix, who died at the age of 27 in 1970 from drug-related complications, topped the list.

Grammy-award winning guitarist Tom Morello explained why Hendrix came first in the magazine, writing: "Jimi Hendrix exploded our idea of what rock music could be: He manipulated the guitar, the whammy bar, the studio and the stage.

He cited Purple Haze and 'The Star-Spangled Banner' as key tracks by Hendrix.

The top ten list also featured Eric Clapton in second place and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) in third.

This was followed by Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, BB King, Chuck Berry, Eddie Van Halen, Duane Allman (The Allman Brothers Band) and Pete Townshend.