A love triangle. A slide guitar. A riff that broke hearts and speakers. Eric Clapton wrote Layla while secretly in love with George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd and you can feel every ounce of obsession in that opening lick. Duane Allman joined the sessions, plugging his Les Paul into a cranked Fender amp and weaving that unforgettable slide line around Clapton’s rhythm. Two guitars — one pleading, one crying. The sound of love, lust, and absolute madness. When that riff hits, it doesn’t just play it aches.
Sweet Home Alabama” – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1974)
It’s impossible to think of Southern rock without this anthem. Gary Rossington and Ed King cooked up that instantly recognizable opening riff in the studio, a three-chord powerhouse that’s as sunny as it is swaggering. It wasn’t just music, it was a statement. A Southern pride anthem, playful yet proud, that hit the charts and stuck like molasses in your speakers. The guitar tone? Thick, warm, and effortless, like a breeze blowing through a backroad in Alabama.
“Barracuda” – Heart (1977)
Ann and Nancy Wilson didn’t just join the boys’ club, they burned it down. After a record exec made a disgusting remark about the sisters, Nancy picked up her Gibson and unleashed pure fury. That galloping, chugging riff, part Zeppelin, part venom and it became one of the fiercest opening statements in rock history. It’s slick, dangerous and unapologetically female. “It was our answer to all the sleazy talk,” Nancy said later. “We wanted it to snarl.” When that first note hits, you can practically hear the cigarette smoke and see the spotlight cutting through it.
Would you like the next “Behind the Riff” to jump into the ’60s roots (Hendrix, Cream, Stones) — or move forward into the ’90s grunge era (Cobain, Morello, Cornell)?
