Who was the first guitarist with "singing" overdrive?

[Atomic Playboy]

In a later era Carlos Santana with his dynamo labeled Mesa Boogie MK I combo, he had a singing sustained sound that set the bar for many years to come.
The cascading gain was cheating compared to a cranked BB combo say, but then again Peter Green had much the same tone back in the mid sixties with his very early Marshall JTM-45 head and AlNiCo Celestion loaded first Marshall 4X12" cab.
Using a soupcon of reverb, especially on tracks like the Supernatural , Peter got great sustain out of his Greeny LP. That track, the guitar recorded in a enclosed car park at Decca studios, to get that ethereal sound was awesome.
Check out my mega rare FM magazine scans for all the recording data scoop:
https://s57.photobucket.com/albums/g219/ ... 2QQtppZZ36

Atomic Playboy

 

[Piero the Guitarero]

Blackmore?

Yes, agree on this

On Made in Japan there's the Lead tone which could
decades later be found in every Engl/Diezel or whatsoever
Highgain head.

Skip to 3:50

All the other names produced fuzztones

 

[Digital Jams]

Scott that was 4 years after Jimi...

Yeah well...........

Doing it in a roman coliseum with no shirt on trumps jimi.

 

[tripstan]

Hendrix, Beck, Clapton. . . 3 way tie

Nobody really did it "before" them, but a few guys may have done the pushed singing amp tone better after those 3.

Blackmore for sure and Duane Allman come to mind. Nectar tone as I like to say.