I tend to doubt this provides an accurate answer to the question, but I don't know what the real answer might be
What was the first number one song to feature a guitar solo?
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/first-number-one-song-to-feature-a-guitar-solo/
"... As with most things in music, pinpointing the first to do almost anything is an impossible task, mostly because of the gradual nature of things that progress and evolve. But when it comes to locating the first-ever number one to feature a guitar solo, there might have been many before, but it’s hard to think of any that had (and continue to have) as big an impact as 1954’s Bill Haley-charged ‘Rock Around the Clock’. ..."
The catch here is the first #1 song to feature a guitar solo. That was probably the Rock era such as the Bill Haley song mentioned but that may not be either as there were other #1 songs at rock and roll's beginning besides that and the electric guitar was the basis for rock and roll. Can't think of a good example right now. Well, I can think of some but they weren't #1 songs.
Change that to the first popular song to feature a guitar solo and you can go back in time to when guitars became a dominant instrument in making the music. Namely blues, country and rock. That can go back to the 1930s or before. A guitar solo could have been done on an acoustic also. All or most songs have a structure.....intro, verse, second verse, bridge, repeat verse, instrumental break, repeat bridge, verse and ending which with rock and roll more often than not was fade out.
It's that instrumental break where the solo's come in. In rock and roll that was either a saxophone or a guitar, and and not as often a piano.
@mark I can't think of a prior #1 hit of the top of my head either, but I bet something earlier could claim the first to have a guitar solo. I suppose one could look back at all the #1 hits prior to 1954 and find one,...
I just asked AI what 1940s rock and roll songs featured a guitar solo..
- "Strange Things Happening Every Day" (1944) by Sister Rosetta Tharpe: Tharpe was a pioneer of the electric guitar and her soloing style had a significant impact on early rock and roll artists. This song prominently features her energetic and distorted electric guitar playing.
- "Rock Awhile" (1949) by Goree Carter: Often cited as a strong contender for the "first rock and roll record," this track includes an aggressive, overdriven electric guitar solo that anticipates the sound Chuck Berry would later popularize.
- "The Fat Man" (1949) by Fats Domino: While Fats Domino is known for his piano playing, the session guitarist on this track, Ernest McLean, plays a solo with an octave-leaping "wah-wah" effect that influenced later guitarists.
- "Move It On Over" (1947) by Hank Williams: This country song features a guitar solo by Zeke Turner that, with its country-to-rockabilly feel, represents a major step toward rock and roll guitar playing.
Oh.. then I asked if any of those songs were number 1 hits, to which ai replied:
None of the number-one hits on the R&B charts during the 1940s featured a prominent guitar solo as the main instrumental break, according to available sources.
So... If so is right, then the above article was right. Rock Around The Clock wins!