Meet Georgia's real "Guitar Heroes"

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The state of Georgia has produced talented guitarists, and we take a look at them in honor of the "Guitar Hero" videogame finals held Thursday at the Loft.

TWELVE LOCALS will compete Thursday in Atlanta's "Guitar Hero" finals, and in honor of that event, we're taking a look at Georgia's actual guitar heroes. DUANE ALLMAN of the Allman Brothers Band: He wasn't born here, but he's buried here and he's inextricably linked to Georgia. But he's not just Georgia's greatest guitarist, he's one of the best, period. He's listed as No. 2 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 100 greatest guitarists, behind Jimi Hendrix.

CHET ATKINS: Chet Atkins spent much of his teens in Georgia, before dropping out of high school and heading back to his native Tennessee. No one played like Atkins, then or now. He's the king of country guitarists and was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in 1995.

JIMMY BRYANT: The electric guitar pioneer was among the first to play the Fender Telecaster; inventor Leo Fender brought it to Bryant because he was considered to be the fastest player of the postwar, pre-rock era. According to his heirs, Bryant also played the first Fender Stratocaster. In 2003, Fender issued a Jimmy Bryant Signature Telecaster. Check out his duets with pedal steel guitarist Speedy West.

PETER BUCK of R.E.M.: The singular jangle and strum that drove some of R.E.M.'s best work is back with a vengeance on the band's new album, "Accelerate."

SEAN COSTELLO: This young blues phenomenon released his latest album, "We Can Get Together," in March. His previous album amped up the soul quotient, but the new one seems refocused on the blues inspirations that drove his earlier work.

TINSLEY ELLIS: A modern-day blues master with a catalog brimming with brilliant six-string fireworks.

KAKI KING: An immensely talented rising star, this Atlanta-born singer, songwriter and guitarist released her latest album, "Dreaming of Revenge," in March.

Blind Willie McTell was one of the greatest Piedmont bluesmen to walk the planet and an influential guitarist, too. The name of the Virginia-Highland club Blind Willie's is a tribute to him. Photo: AP

STEVE MORSE: Like Allman, Morse wasn't born here, but he spent part of his youth in Augusta and he created some of his finest work with the Dixie Dregs. The Dregs were signed to Georgia's Capricorn Records. A guitarist's guitarist, Morse is one of the most respected six-string wizards among his peers.

JOHN NEFF of the Drive-By Truckers: Neff takes the pedal steel guitar far beyond its familiar country box, both with the Truckers and on the gorgeous instrumental soundscapes of Japancakes.

GLENN PHILLIPS: Phillips' passionate and powerful guitar has been one of the local music scene's greatest pleasures for 40 years, from the convention-shattering Hampton Grease Band through his long solo career. The stunning two-disc "Echoes 1975-1985" should be in every musically savvy Atlantan's collection -- no, it should be in EVERY music collection, period.

JERRY REED: His distinctive guitar playing was overshadowed by his slightly jokey hits (like "Amos Moses" and "When You're Hot, You're Hot") and his acting career, including the "Smokey and the Bandit" movies. The king of country guitarists, Chet Atkins, was a fan and collaborator of Reed's. Listen closely to "Amos Moses" or Reed's many terrific instrumentals; it's obvious he knows his way around a fretboard.

RICK RICHARDS of the Georgia Satellites: The Satellites' gritty guitar grind is due to this man, who's also played with ex-Guns N' Roses member Izzy Stradlin's Ju Ju Hounds.

JOE SOUTH: Remember that guttural guitar intro on Aretha Franklin's "Chain of Fools"? That's Grammy-winning Atlanta singer/songwriter/musician South. He later scored his own hits with "Games People Play," "Walk a Mile in My Shoes" and "Don't It Make You Wanna Go Home." He also wrote Deep Purple's "Hush" and Lynn Anderson's country-pop smash "(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden."

CURLEY WEAVER: Listen to his duets with Blind Willie McTell, recorded around 1949-1950. Sadly, he died in 1962, just before the British blues boom revived interest in many of Weaver's contemporaries. His daughter, Cora Mae Bryant, now in her 80s, carries on his blues legacy.

RICKY WILSON of the B-52s: He may not be a technical virtuoso like others on this list, but the late B-52's guitarist created his own surf guitar-influenced style. He often played the guitar strung with just four strings and created his own tunings.

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TWELVE LOCALS will compete Thursday in Atlanta's "Guitar Hero" finals, and in honor of that event, we're taking a look at Georgia's actual guitar heroes. DUANE ALLMAN of the Allman Brothers Band: He wasn't born here, but he's buried here and he's inextricably linked to Georgia. But he's not just Georgia's greatest guitarist, he's one of the best, period. He's listed as No. 2 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 100 greatest guitarists, behind Jimi Hendrix.

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