Top Ten Songs Featuring an Electric Twelve String Guitar
The electric guitar is the guitar most commonly used when guitar players are in need of a little jangle. Although most guitar manufacturers have made an electric 12-string guitar at some point or another, the most popular electric 12-string guitar is the Rickenbacker 360/12. Feel free to add more stuff to this list; I also plan to make one for the acoustic 12-string guitar, so keep a look out for that.
Who can talk about the twelve-string guitar without talking about Roger McGuinn? He's probably the most dedicated 12-string guitar player in the history of rock, using his Rickenbacker for over 50 years.
George Harrison got a Rickenbacker 12-string prototype from the company in 1964, and this is the first hit song of theirs where he properly used it.
Tom Petty was tremendously influenced by The Byrds and The Beatles; that influence manifests itself here.
Peter Buck played Rickenbacker guitars all the time, but most of the time, he would be using a six string. Not here. Watch their live performance of this song in Germany in 1985 and compare it to here. You can clearly see that Peter used a 12-string.
All the rhythm parts are done on a Burns 12-string. Brian originally intended to use a Rickenbacker, but he didn't like the thin neck.
Jimmy Page quite frequently used 12-string guitar (both electric and acoustic) in Zeppelin's work, particularly in "Stairway to Heaven". I picked this song, though, because the 12-string is more prominent here.
Believe it or not, their guitar player (Hilton Valentine) actually had a Rickenbacker. He used it most prominently here.
Carl Wilson bought a Rickenbacker 12-string similar to his contemporaries. You can hear it in the short break that occurs in the middle; he plays a short guitar lick that is sorta reminiscent of "Ticket to Ride".
Pete Townshend frequently used Rickenbacker 12-string guitars in their early work. This is a great example of that.
Guitarist Dave Gregory played the Rickenbacker on this song. Apparently, he had just bought it before recording the English Settlement album.