Famous Guitarists from South Carolina

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Updated July 3, 2024 19 items

List of famous guitarists born who were born in South Carolina, listed alphabetically with photos when available. Many of these guitar players from South Carolina are legends in the music world, each with their own innovative styles of play. If you play guitar, whether acoustic or electric, then these famous South Carolina guitar players should be people you look up to. These are some of the best guitarists that have ever picked up the instrument, and whether they play rock, blues, metal or folk, these men and women are considered legends.

List items include James Brown, Iron & Wine and more.

This list answers the questions, "What guitar players are from South Carolina?" and "Who are famous South Carolina guitarists?"
  • James Brown
    James Brown, often dubbed "the Godfather of Soul," was a seminal figure in the evolution of rhythm and blues into soul music and funk. Born on May 3, 1933, in Barnwell, South Carolina, Brown's early life was marked by extreme poverty and abandonment. Despite the hardships, he discovered his love for music and performance at a young age, which propelled him to rise above his circumstances and become one of the most influential musical icons of the 20th century. Brown began his career as a gospel singer with the group The Gospel Starlighters. However, his breakthrough came in the mid-1950s when he joined The Famous Flames as a lead vocalist. His electrifying performances and unique blend of rhythm and blues, gospel, and jazz elements soon grabbed international attention. His hit singles such as "Please, Please, Please" and "Try Me" set the stage for a new era of soul music. By the 1960s, Brown had also pioneered funk music with hits like "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)," earning him another title - "the Hardest Working Man in Show Business." Brown's influence extended beyond music. He was an active figure during the Civil Rights Movement, using his platform to advocate for black empowerment and social change. His song "Say It Loud - I'm Black and I'm Proud" became an anthem for the movement. Despite personal struggles and legal troubles later in life, Brown's legacy as a trailblazer in music and social activism remains intact. His groundbreaking sound and dynamic performances continue to inspire generations of musicians across various genres. James Brown passed away on December 25, 2006, but his music and his message continue to reverberate, underscoring his enduring impact on the world of music and beyond.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, Barnwell
  • Hank Garland
    Walter Louis Garland (11 November 1930 – 27 December 2004) professionally Hank Garland, was an American guitarist and songwriter. He started as a country musician, played rock and roll as it became popular in the 1950s, and released a jazz album in 1960. His career was cut short when a car accident in 1961 left him unable to perform.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Cowpens, South Carolina, USA
  • Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with him as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members. He released a solo R&B album, Back to Then in 2002 on Hidden Beach Recordings but no singles from it charted. Six years later, Rucker signed to Capitol Nashville as a country music singer, releasing the album, Learn to Live that year. Its first single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", made him the first black artist to reach number one on the Hot Country Songs charts since Charley Pride in 1983. (Ray Charles hit number one in March 1985 in a duet with Willie Nelson with "Seven Spanish Angels".) It was followed by two more number one singles, "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright" and the number three hit "History in the Making". In 2009, he became the first black American to win the New Artist Award from the Country Music Association, and the second black person to win any award from the association. A second album, Charleston, SC 1966, was released on October 12, 2010. The album includes the number one singles, "Come Back Song" and "This".
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, Charleston
    • True Believers
      1True Believers
      18 Votes
    • Charleston, SC 1966
      2Charleston, SC 1966
      17 Votes
    • Learn to Live
      3Learn to Live
      14 Votes
  • Josh White
    Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. He became a prominent race records artist, with a prolific output of recordings in genres including Piedmont blues, country blues, gospel music, and social protest songs. In 1931, White moved to New York, and within a decade his fame had spread widely. His repertoire expanded to include urban blues, jazz, traditional folk songs, and political protest songs, and he was in demand as an actor on radio, Broadway, and film. However, White's anti-segregationist and international human rights political stance presented in many of his recordings and in his speeches at rallies were subsequently used by McCarthyites as a pretext for labeling him a communist to slander and harass him. From 1947 through the mid-1960s, White was caught up in the anti-communist Red Scare, and as a consequence his career was damaged. However White's musical style would go on to influence several generations of musical artists.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Greenville, USA, South Carolina
  • Iron & Wine
    Samuel "Sam" Ervin Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). He occasionally tours with a full band. Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Virginia and then Florida to attend school. He now resides in Durham, North Carolina. The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef, Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.
    • Nationality: USA
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, Columbia
  • Donald Wesley Reno (February 21, 1926 – October 16, 1984) was an American bluegrass and country musician best known as a banjo player in partnership with Red Smiley, and later with guitarist Bill Harrell.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Buffalo, South Carolina
  • David Mckee Barnes (born June 20, 1978) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter from Nashville, Tennessee. He has released eight studio albums, including two Christmas albums. His most recent full-length album, Who Knew It Would Be So Hard To Be Myself, was released February 9, 2018.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: South Carolina
  • Reverend Gary Davis
    Reverend Gary Davis, also Blind Gary Davis (born Gary D. Davis, April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. His fingerpicking guitar style influenced many other artists. His students include Stefan Grossman, David Bromberg, Steve Katz, Roy Book Binder, Larry Johnson, Nick Katzman, Dave Van Ronk, Rory Block, Ernie Hawkins, Larry Campbell, Bob Weir, Woody Mann, and Tom Winslow. He influenced Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Wizz Jones, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb' Mo', Ollabelle, Resurrection Band, and John Sebastian (of the Lovin' Spoonful).
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, Laurens
  • James "Blood" Ulmer (born February 8, 1940) is an American jazz, free funk and blues guitarist and singer. Ulmer plays a Gibson Byrdland guitar. His guitar sound has been described as "jagged" and "stinging". His singing has been called "raggedly soulful".
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: USA, South Carolina, St. Matthews
  • Arthur Smith (April 1, 1921 – April 3, 2014) was an American musician, songwriter, and producer of records, as well as a radio and TV host. Smith produced radio and TV shows; The Arthur Smith Show was the first nationally syndicated country music show on television. After moving to Charlotte, North Carolina, Smith developed and ran the first commercial recording studio in the Southeast.Born in Clinton, South Carolina, Arthur Smith was a textile mill worker who became a celebrated and respected country music instrumental composer, guitarist, fiddler, and banjo player. One of his early hits was the instrumental "Guitar Boogie," which he wrote and recorded in 1945. It sold over three million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA. The song earned him the moniker Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith (to differentiate him from Tennessee fiddler and 1930s Grand Ole Opry star Fiddlin' Arthur Smith). It was recorded by numerous other musicians, including Tommy Emmanuel, and became known around the world. Renamed "Guitar Boogie Shuffle", it became a rock and roll hit by Frank Virtue and the Virtues. Virtue served in the Navy with Smith and counted him as a major influence. Other musicians who have been influenced by Smith include Nashville studio ace Hank "Sugarfoot" Garland, Roy Clark, and Glen Campbell.Smith was also noted for his "Feudin' Banjos" (1955), which was also recorded by Lester Flatt. It was revived as "Dueling Banjos" and used as a theme song in the popular film, Deliverance (1972). Released as a single, it became a hit, played on Top 40, AOR, and country stations alike. It reached the Top Ten and hit #1 in the US and Canada. Because he was not credited in the film for the song, Smith sued Warner Brothers, and gained a settlement. Smith asked Warner Bros. to include his name on the official soundtrack listing, but reportedly asked to be omitted from the film credits because he found the film offensive.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Clinton, South Carolina
  • George McCorkle (October 11, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a founding member and guitarist for the Marshall Tucker Band. He wrote "Fire on the Mountain", the band's first top 40 hit, though had hoped that Charlie Daniels would record the song. He left the band in 1984 and later worked as a songwriter. He released a solo album, American Street, in 1999. McCorkle was diagnosed with cancer in early June 2007 and died soon afterward, in Lebanon, Tennessee.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Chester, South Carolina
  • Jesse Everett Hughes (born September 24, 1972) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the frontman of the rock band Eagles of Death Metal, with whom he has recorded four studio albums and a live album.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Greenville, South Carolina
  • Karl Sanders (born June 5, 1963) is an American musician, most widely known as the founding member of the American ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. He was born in California, and lives in Greenville, South Carolina. Sanders is endorsed by Dean Guitars, and currently has a signature guitar with the company.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Greenville, South Carolina
  • Ed Sloan

    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: South Carolina
  • Pink Anderson
    Pinkney "Pink" Anderson (February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974) was an American blues singer and guitarist.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Laurens, South Carolina
  • Frederick William Green (March 31, 1911 – March 1, 1987) was an American swing jazz guitarist who played rhythm guitar with the Count Basie Orchestra for almost fifty years.
    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina
  • J. B. Hutto (April 26, 1926 – June 12, 1983) was an American blues musician. He was influenced by Elmore James and became known for his slide guitar playing and declamatory style of singing. He was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame two years after his death.
    • Birthplace: Blackville, South Carolina
  • Thomas Moody

    Thomas Moody

    • Birthplace: Charleston, South Carolina
  • Michael White

    • Nationality: United States of America
    • Birthplace: Columbia, South Carolina