“I don’t know why..ay..ay…” but for some reason “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was going through my head today. I’ve thought in the past that I would learn it, because it is one of my favorite guitar songs of all time. It is for many others too, and that’s why it’s been covered so many times. I’ve seen a lot of incredible versions of this song, so for you – today, I will feature some of them for you!
This first version of My Guitar Gently Weeps is a “special edition”, and that’s because it features George Harrision, Ringo Starr, Elton John, Phil Collins, Jeff Lyne, and Eric Clapton. Clapton actually plays a sunburst Les Paul in this version – which you don’t see him do much beyond his 60’s days of playing.
If you’re a newbie guitar player, or a longtime guitarist and want to hear the original version – here’s a great montage video of the Beatles performing the original My Guitar Gently Weeps:
This next one I saw a few years back on YouTube, it’s Jake Shimabukuro from NYC performing My Guitar Gently Weeps on a Ukelele. He gives a blistering and absolutely astounding heart-wrenching rendition of the song in the middle central park on his little tiny ukelele that will just leave you floored. This video has been watched more than a few million times and he’s since played it on Conan O’Brien and many other T.V. shows. It’s just incredible.
The next version of My Guitar Gently Weeps is very different, but one of my very favorites. The Pop / Rock band “Toto” is known for their hits like “Hold the Line”, “Africa”, and “Joanna”. But their guitarist Steve Lukather is a force to be reckoned with. He has more versatility and control and than nearly any pro-guitar player you can find and one of the few that could rip Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton new a-holes. He’s known for his incredible emotive style of playing and his raw passion shines through in this incredible blistering outro solo on this version:
Paul Gilbert is featured shredding up his keyboard in this blistering video version of My Guitar Gently Weeps. If you are a shredder or a modern guitarist – just watching Paul burn at the end of this clips over and over and over and over again will make your hand want to fall off! I think that he truly has super-human muscles in his arm!
This last version if from Jeff Healey, the incredible blind guitar player from Canada who because real big in the 80’s after his appearance in the movie “Roadhouse” with Patrick Swayze. His version is also a bit different, Jeff has a very raw and bluesy style, and it’s incredible that he gets the kind of tones that he does by playing the guitar on his lap. He has more emotion in his pinky and thumb than most guitar players have in both hands!