JOAN JETT

Rebel Rebel David Bowie
"I like it when there's a melody in the rhythm: the riff is basically what David Bowie is singing. It's the sort of thing I try to write."

Monkey Man/Satisfaction/Jumping Jack Flash Rolling Stones
"I had to choose a medley, couldn't decide on just one. These strike you in the stomach, grab you right away. I still haven't figured out whether 'Monkey Man' is one guitar or two. And the 'Satisfaction' riff Keith Richards apparently thought was stupid."

Foxy Lady Jimi Hendrix
"He innovated so much, and a lot of people don't recognise him as a rhythm guitar player. But he was excellent. Everyone always thinks of him as this guy that played the wild lead. And he's so melodic."

Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin
"Driving stuff, gets to you right away. This ; one came to mind... pretty quickly."

All Day And All Of The Night The Kinks
"I like this because it sounds like something I'd like to have written. Real power, barre chords, simple, stops, jerks — very interesting."

PUNKY MENDOZA/HEAVY PETTIN'

Beat It Michael Jackson
"I love the total rockness of the sound of this but mingled with a dancey rhythm. The riff combines those two things really well."

Talk To You Later The Tubes
"So catchy. It's a strong part but it's done with a really clean guitar sound, no sustain or distortion. Punchy, though."

God of Thunder Kiss
"Kiss were the band that got me into music: this riff reminds me of the old days. Gene Simmons is meant to be the demon guy in Kiss, and this riff is just so demonic-sounding."

Round And Round Rat
"A new American band, off their album called 'Out Of The Cellar'. The guitar sound on the riff isn't so good, but it's dead American and catchy."

Paramour Van Halen
"I love his guitar sound. This riff has very simple chords but it's so strong. I can imagine the valves burning away in the studio, you can hear them working to bring this out."

GRAHAM OLIVER/SAXON

Purple Haze Jimi Hendrix
"Unique chording, it's a sort of backwards E-shape. You can't really use it on anything else. Hendrix played like no-one else."

Highway To Hell AC/DC
"Soon as I hear the intro it makes me want to start playing: it's so simple when it comes in, A to G and so on, but works so well."

Stargazer Rainbow
"Very powerful, and I like the way it fits in with the drums. I remember seeing Rainbow first at Manchester and this intro has always stuck in my mind from then."

Ride My Chevrolet Stray Dog
"One of the classic riffs, played by Snuffy Walden. Talk to a lot of guitarists — Ritchie Blackmore, say — and you'll find Snuffy Walden is well liked."

The Stealer Free
"Just great when it comes in, this riff. And it's from about the last album they did before they started coming apart."

PAUL QUINN/SAXON

Communication Breakdown Led Zeppelin
"This I regard as the birth of heavy metal."

Manic Depression Jimi Hendrix
"The ultimate unison riff. And it has an odd drum beat which I like — the riff sounds like he wrote it on bass to go with the rhythm part and then sorted out a lead part."

Speed King Deep Purple
"The fastest in the era, and well-structured to boot. It was Ritchie Blackmore's finest period — in the breakdown section they're almost playing jazz."

Yours Is No Disgrace Yes
"The best riff from a techno-rock group. The riff doesn't actually do a lot, but again I like the guitar/drum interplay."

China Grove Doobie Brothers
"Happy but meaty. A great amount of ambience so it sounds bigger than it actually is."

MICK RALPHS

You Really Got Me The Kinks
"This was the first one that sprang to mind."

Lucille Little Richard
"These old ones live on, don't they?"

Whole Lotta Love Led Zeppelin
"I had to have this one. It's the riff, really."

Sunshine Of Your Love Cream
"The inevitable one that everyone else will nominate, probably. It's the one that bands always had to struggle through in the early days."

Wild Thing The Troggs
"I don't know whether this is a riff or a chord sequence, really. Good old Reg, the lesser-known brother..."

PAUL SAMSON/SAMSON

The Grange ZZ Top
"A great riff that fits anything, and definitely their finest moment, live or studio."

New Rising Sun Jimi Hendrix
"The intro, that descending riff. A beautiful feeling. It's one of my favourite pieces of music, and Hendrix is my main man."

Heaven And Hell Black Sabbath
"I thought I'd put a heavy one in: you can pinch any aspect of these sort of riffs and they'll go over anything. Lots of power."

Pali Gap Jimi Hendrix
"I love the scales in this, I love it — particularly for the oriental sequence in the middle."

Power Of Soul Jimi Hendrix
"I love this kind of riff that turns over on itself. I actually used this on our last album, on 'Burning Up', on the solo fade-out. No-one's ever mentioned it, I suppose they don't know Hendrix to the degree that I do."