Birthdays for July 17 include Spencer Davis who’s 71 today,drummer Mick Tucker of The Sweet (Ballroom Blitz) is 64, and Black Sabbath (Iron Man) bass guitarist Terry Butler is 63.

For a couple of men who recorded two of the greatest guitar solos of early rock and roll, July 17 is significant for opposite reasons.  Cliff Gallup, who was lead guitarist for the Gene Vincent‘s first Blue Caps line up was born on this day in 1930.  His screaming solo on Race With The Devil is still considered one of the greatest of all time.  On this day in 1954, guitarist Danny Cedrone who provided the impossible to play guitar solo on Bill Haley‘s Rock Around the Clock, died of a broken neck after falling down a stair case.  He never knew he had created one of the greatest guitar solos in rock and roll history – it wasn’t a hit until a year later.

In case you haven’t heard them listen to the musicianship of these two men with their greatest performances.