History of Twin Lead Guitar

I was interested in knowing where the twin guitar sound was first used/made up. The only bands that I've known that do that are Wishbone Ash and Iron Maiden.  Anyone care to explain the history behind this? 

My first knowledge of it was a late 60's (67-69) San Franciso group called Quicksilver Messanger Service who had Gary Duncan and John Cippolina on lead guitar.  Not as heavy as some others later but that was the first one I knew aobut.  Maybe there were others before? 

I think the Allman's had to be one of the first... after all, "lead guitar" as we know it didn't really exist until the mid 60's. Thin Lizzy also employed twin leads very effectively I might add.

Castroph wrote: I've heard Allman Brothers also had twin lead guitars, but I want to know the roots of it.

Kansas may not have been the first, but there are plenty of Kansas songs with dual lead that Maiden seem to have been heavily influenced by (though they probably wouldn't admit it).

Harry, that last post went right over my head!

Well, let me see... you're correct, Wishbone Ash, Thin Lizzy, Allman Brothers Band, Fleetwood Mac and Quicksilver Messenger Service all had twin guitars.

What about twin acoustic in a rockier context?  I'm thinking of Pentangle here.  Of course, twin acoustic have been used for centuries.  In the 1930s you had Eddie Lang playing with other acoustic guitarists, as well as Leadbelly also playing with others.

Also, Juicy Lucy kind of had twin guitars in the late 1960s.


Edited by James - June 03 2008 at 00:07

From an interview with Laurie Wisefield of Wishbone Ash:

Where did the dual guitar sound originate?

Laurie:  A long time ago before I was with Wishbone Ash I played with a band called Home, who did a couple of albums and then split.  Home did a lot of touring with Wishbone in those days and both bands were using the twin lead guitar sound, so I’d definitely say that Home and Wishbone Ash were the first.  There are several bands using the twin lead guitar sound now but I shan’t mention any names.

Addendum: that was around 1973, so I'd say Fleetwood Mac were one of the pioneers.


Edited by James - June 03 2008 at 00:13

I think we can add Savoy Brown to the list...

A quick check of the internet has Mac forming in 67, Allmans 69 and Ash in 70.

I keep wondering about the possibility of some older RnB or blues band out there that did it first.

i dont know if they were the first but... Judas Priest did it in 1973