10 Classic Rock Acoustic Songs

There's an old joke in rock and roll that you can't do anything that the Beatles haven't already done better first. Though that's not necessarily true, the Fab Four do deserve all the credit in the world for covering as many bases as they could, going from psychedelia to pop to hard rock and even folk rock in their time. Even though the White Album alone juggles many different genres at once, Blackbird is where the beauty really shines through.

Working outside of their normal wheelhouse, Paul McCartney originally conceived of this song in India, where the Fabs were supposed to be practicing transcendental meditation. Taking a few cues from fellow musician Donavon at the same site, McCartney structured this soothing guitar melody as an homage to a Bach piece that he had learned when he was just starting out on the guitar.

By the time Blackbird got back to England, McCartney had come through with a passionate melody, with words that reflected the unrest that was taking place in America as a result of the Civil Rights movement. In just a few short phrases, McCartney sculpted Blackbird as a beacon of hope, knowing that equality would win out in the end. Regardless of its message though, Blackbird is still one of the most beautiful melodies to come out of the rock genre and absolute mandatory learning if you're even slightly interested in the acoustic guitar.