Ok...it's true. I'm a sucker for lists. It's one of the reasons I've been a subscriber to Guitar Player and Rolling Stone and various music magazines for decades. I can never get too many takes on the 50 greatest rock albums or 100 greatest songs or top 25 avant-garde open-tuned guitar solos of 1975-1985, I don't care what style or era it's from I'm probably interested if I just give it a chance. That has been my philosophy as a guitar/music student since the age of fourteen or so. I've discovered a large percentage of the music I love by reading about it first or seeing it on a list and being curious enough to give it a listen.
                             
     This is exactly how I've come up with the desire to create a list of essential guitar instrumentals. This summer I was using the June issue of Guitar Player and it's list of The 40 Most Influential Rock Solos Ever (a controversial list I would say) as a basis for some guitar lessons with a couple of my students. We were exploring the list together and then picking out a few key favorites for the student to focus on. During this time I rediscovered my love and appreciation for Hank Marvin and The Shadows and especially the song Apache. While working on this song with students I realized just how perfect it was for most students of all levels. It is a simple song and arrangement, yet it is an intricate and dynamic rock song that is fun and challenging to play well. First of all the acoustic guitar part is classic and should be an essential part of learning rhythm guitar. Great chiming open chords like Am, D, F, Dm, G, C, C7. Chords that every serious guitarist should be able to play or needs to learn right now. These are simple chords but they need to be changed fast and in time. To play the piece correctly requires a dexterous right hand as well. This tune is a great strummer.
             
      The melody or lead part is played on electric guitar, most likely a Stratocaster because of the obvious use of the whammy bar. Hank Marvin plays this with class and sophistication. The feeling created by the double timed refrain and the dramatic climbs on the dominant 7th chord changes are a timeless mix of surf and southwest tex mex tricks that sound just right. Learning this song will require you to polish your alternate picking with the right hand.
     The cool thing is that when you learn the chord changes and a couple of the melodic turns you can teach this one to a friend and jam until it's your own. There are a lot of things you can do with a song like this. You can turn up the power notch and growl it out with a heavier vibe. You could take into a free-form space jam ala Grateful Dead, deconstruct it into a jazz arrangement or you can just stay true to the acoustic/electric classic rock instrumental. 

      If you want to be a great guitar player or think you already are, then be sure to learn this song and play it well. You'll be glad you did. If you're a reader who takes on this challenge be sure to let us know in the comment section. In the coming weeks I'll be sharing more of the essential guitar instrumentals that make it on to my list. Be sure to share your suggestions in the comments section!
There are several good videos of Hank Marvin playing Apache on Youtube. You can learn a lot by just watching his hands and listening close.