Emily Hastings’ Epic Cover Of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb

Known for their diverse take on rock music, Pink Floyd are the inspiration for many talented artists. And this includes Emily Hastings, a 33-year-old guitarist from America.

Her cover of “Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb” is described by viewers as technically perfect and one of the finest covers of all time over on her Youtube channel. With more than 8.7 million views, this impressive performance, which Emily dedicated to her Dad Bob Hastings, is a firm favourite with her fans.

Comfortably Numb was composed by Pink Floyd’s guitarist, David Gilmour with the lyrics written by bassist, Roger Waters, for the band's eleventh album, “The Wall” back in 1979. Whilst many fans assumed the song was about drugs, Waters tells the story of a night on stage (unaware he had contracted hepatitis) and a comfortably numb feeling from sedatives prescribed by a doctor for what he believed was a stomach ache so that he could still perform.

The song ranked 314th in the Rolling Stone magazine’s top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. And in 2021, it was re-ranked and climbed to number 179.

Emily has also played covers for the Pink Floyd songs Time, High Hopes, Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamon but to name a few. And this comes as no great surprise given the band ranks high in her favourites along with Metallica, Guns n' Roses and Black Label Society.

But Emily doesn’t just play Pink Floyd songs. 12-years ago, she rocketed to Youtube stardom with her “Stairway To Heaven Lead” cover. The 1-minute video received over 3 million views and received more than 12k likes, with supporters commending her Jimmy Page solo interpretation.

This phenomenal guitarist currently has over 263k subscribers on Youtube alone, which is a testament to her passion for music and desire to pursue a musical career. She grew up listening to a vast collection of noteworthy artists, including Eddie Van Halen from the rock band Van Halen, Al Pitrelli, who was Alice Cooper's guitarist and the legendary Eric Clapton.

Emily first performed in musical theatre at the tender age of 10-years-old. She was part of an all-sister band called Hastings for many years and played at gigs across America. But surprisingly, Emily didn’t learn to play the guitar until she was around 16-years-old. This was initially self-taught, but she later went on to study the acoustic guitar with a local teacher, followed by college and a classical route.

Her move to electric guitars was again a self-taught journey until she met Brazilian guitarist Warleyson Almeida, who helped Emily explore her love for rock and metal music. The pair have since dueted and married – a beautiful partnership on every level.

Emily is always working on new projects, primarily for her Youtube channel, which her fans are thrilled about. She also has a website full of merchandise available to purchase, as well as her Patreon account, where Emily shares exclusive tutorials and behind-the-scenes clips. If you want to see more from this very talented guitarist, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel or follow her on Facebook.

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