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10 must-see movie cameos by rock star guitar players

Guitar players have featured in movies for almost as long as there have been movies. But they're usually played by actors. In a few cases, however, rock star guitar players have turned up on set, axe in hand.

1. Keith Richards - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Perhaps the most famous guitar player movie cameo in recent years, Richards turns up in At World's End as Captain Jack Sparrow's father, Captain Teague. Richards was the only person who could possibly play the part, after providing the influence for Depp's character in the first place. Richards reprised his role in the fourth Pirates film, On Strange Tides.

2. Steve Cropper - The Blues Brothers

The Blues Brothers was stuffed full of musician cameos, from Aretha Franklin to Joe Walsh (see below). But Cropper, along with Matt 'Guitar' Murphy, was particularly memorable as part of Jake and Elwood's band.

3. Steve Vai - Crossroads

Even for guitar nuts, Crossroads was a tough watch, Ry Cooder's guitar playing aside. The dramatisation of the old Robert Johnson legend just didn't cut it on the big screen. The sight of Steve Vai in a shred-off with the film's hero at the end was a bright spot, however.

4. Bruce Springsteen - High Fidelity

The Boss appears as a figment of John Cusack's imagination in the movie version of Nick Hornby's novel. Seeking advice, Cusack's character wonders what he should do next. 'Just move on down the road,' says Bruce.

5. Joe Satriani - Moneyball

Satriani turns up in the Brad Pitt movie about the Oakland Athletics baseball coach, Billy Beane, playing the Star Spangled Banner on guitar.

6. Tom Morello - Iron Man

Only the briefest of cameos for The Nightwatchman and Rage Against the Machine guitar player. Morello played a terrorist and was credit as 'musician: additional electric guitar.' Morello also contributed metal riffs to the soundtrack for Iron Man 2.

7. Jeff Healey - Roadhouse

The late, great Jeff Healey had not long released his break-through album, See the Light, when he turned up in the Patrick Swayze vehicle. Healey played a blind blues guitar player (what else?) who gigged at the rough roadhouses Swayze tried to turn into respectable bars. The version of Hoochie Coochie Man from the film is particularly memorable.

8. Tom DeLonge - American Pie

DeLonge and his Blink 182 bandmates capitalised on the success of breakthrough album Enema of the State and hit single, All the Small Things, by appearing in the now infamous webcam scene in American Pie. The band haven't said whether they now think it was a good career move or not.

9. Jack White - Walk Hard

Perhaps the most bizarre of all musician movie cameos, White turns up as Elvis Presley in this spoof biopic of fictional musician Dewey Cox. Heavily referencing the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk the Line, the movie parodies the whole genre. 

10. Joe Walsh - Zachariah

Walsh and the other members of James Gang played a Wild West rock band in the 1971 movie, Zachariah. Around the same time, his future Eagles band mates were donning their own Wild West gear for the shooting of the cover of the Desperado album. Walsh also turned up in The Blues Brothers, as an inmate during the Jailhouse Rock scene.