April is International Guitar Month, dedicated to the contribution this versatile instrument is in the hands of talented musicians worldwide.

In celebration of one of the guitar here are a few amazing performance videos to get your week started.

Roy Clark Plays “Malangueña” on The Odd Couple

My dad had an old 8-track of Roy Clark Live he played to death in our old LTD…and I didn’t appreciate the talent that man had until I started playing guitar myself. Here’s a clip of a guest appearance on the sitcom The Odd Couple that has no business being as amazing as it is.

Brian Setzer’s Rendition of “Sleep Walk”

There were two musicians who inspired me to take up guitar in the 80s: one of them was my big teen crush, Brian Setzer of the Stray Cats. In February of this year, he announced his battle with autoimmune disease making it almost impossible for him to play the guitar. Since then, he has been slowly recovering and regaining his abilities. I wish him a full recovery, because Setzer is a talent for the ages. The Santo & Johnny instrumental is beautiful enough as it is, but in the hands of a guitar master like Setzer, it is mesmerizing.

Stanley Jordan’s Dreamy “Stairway to Heaven”

When was recovering from a pretty nasty dental procedure as a teenager, my brother bought me a vinyl of a new guy named Stanley Jordan who “played the guitar like a piano”. I was in pain from the procedure and put this jazzy eclectic guitar record on and laid down on the floor. For the entirety of the album I felt no pain…I just felt the music. Jordan’s technique was that impressive. Take a look at how he handles this Led Zepplin classic:

The Vaughan Brothers Share a Doubleneck

The other guitarist who inspired me to take up guitar in high school was the one and only Stevie Ray Vaughan, who was taken from us in a helicopter crash way too soon. I was lucky enough to see him in concert twice, but wish I could have been there to see him and his also incredibly talented big brother Jimmie Vaughan of the Fabulous Thunderbirds play “Pipeline” together on one doubleneck guitar.

MIYAVI Shredding on the Strat

About a year ago, I got to feature the man known as the “Samurai Guitarist”, MIYAVI, on Sunday Jams. Hopefully, everyone who saw it is a fan by now. If not, here’s a reminder of what this man can do with something like an Acoustasonic Stratocaster. I’m about 100 percent certain that guitar had to have a cigarette after this performance.

Sungha Jung’s Gorgeous Pachabel

There are some guitarists who will make you believe in God given talents, no matter what your affiliation. Korean fingerstyle acoustic guitarist Sungha Jung sounds like flowing water over a stream no matter what type of genre he covers, from Queen to Stevie Wonder to his own compositions. This beautiful arrangement of George Winston’s version of Pachabel’s Canon just popped up this month. Fair warning: once you start listening to his playing, it is hard to stop.

Rosetta Tharpe Raising the Bar on Blues and Gospel

You might not know who Sister Rosetta Tharpe is, but many of the more well known guitar greats and rock ‘n roll and blues pioneers did. This “Godmother of Rock and Roll” influenced everyone from Carl Perkins to Chuck Berry to Elvis Presley. Her mix of blues, gospel and rock mixed with her electric guitar prowess made her one of the most powerful sounding performers of her time…and even today. I can’t think of a better way to conclude my celebration of guitar than with this amazing woman.

Get up! Testify! Raise your hands…and enjoy the guitar!