ChasingGuitars

Here is the long timeline for the history of the modern guitar, musical instruments and important influencers.

1500 – The Lute (frets added to the oud) is popularly used in Europe
1547 – Henry VIII of England had 21 guitars-like instruments in his collection
1581 – Earliest Surviving guitar built by Belchior Dias in Lisbon, Portugal
1598 – The first Italian opera is produced, Jacopo Peri’s Dafne.
1660 – Antonio Stradivari set up shop in Cremona making small number of early guitars between 1680 & 1688
1672 – Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer paints Lady With a Guitar
1674 – “La Guitarre Royal” by F. Corbetta dedicated to Louis XIV published increases guitar popularity
1725 – Antonio Vivaldi composes “The Four Seasons”
1773 – Earliest six string guitar made by Francois Lupot in Orleans, France
1779 – Early 6-string guitar was built by Gaetano Vinaccia in Naples, Italy
1820 – Raised fingerboards improve the instruments
1827 – François René Lacote lays the groundwork for the modern guitar in France
1827 – Johann Anton Stauffer working with guitar virtuoso Rinaldo Luigi Legnani developed a guitar design
1827 – Christian Frederick Martin entered an apprenticeship with Johann Anton Stauffer and later becomes foreman
1833 – Christian Friedrich Martin arrives in NYC opens shop
1833 – Samuel Colt perfected the 1st handgun with a revolving cylinder: the legendary 6-shooter
1837 – Antonio Torres Jurado enlarges, refines a pattern of fan bracing resulting in the formation the Spanish Guitar
1839 – C.F. Martin moves guitar building to Nazareth, PA
1940 – Oliver Ditson establishes the Ditson Company
1842 – C.F. Martin creates the X-bracing for guitar tops to handle the pressure of taut strings and heavy playing
1850 – Flamenco rises as an art form prompting demand for better guitars
1852 – Antonio de Torres Jurado starts building is “classical” guitars
1853 – Johann Georg Stauffer most important Viennese luthier of his time dies
1854 – C.F. Martin introduces the 0 model guitar
1857 – Hohner founded by Matthias Hohner in Trossingen, Germany
1859 – Charles Darwin first published
1861 – American Civil War begins
1864 – Oliver Ditson bankrolls the start of Lyon & Healy
1865 – President Lincoln shot
1868 – Scott Joplin born
1871 – Oscar Schmidt founded in Jersey City by Oscar and Otto Schmidt
1873 – Epiphone begins in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire
1873 – C.F. Martin, Sr. passes away and C.F. Jr. takes command. Sales records for 00 guitar appear.
1875 – Thomas Organ Company founded by Canadian Edward G. Thomas in Woodstock, Ontario
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone
1877 – Thomas Edison invents the phonograph
1878 – Regal started in Indianapolis by Emil Wulschner
1879 – Thomas Alva Edison invented the incandescent lamp
1883 – Washburn line of guitars introduced made by Lyon & Healy
1883 – Gretsch founded by Friedrich Gretsch in Brooklyn, NY
1885 – Henri Selmer Paris company founded begins manufacturing reeds and mouthpieces
1887 – Höfner is founded by Karl Höfner
1879 – Edison’s Light Bulb
1889 – Joseph Kekuku invents the steel guitar in Hawaii
1889 – The Vega Company established by Julius and Carl Nelson Swedish born brothers
1890 – Groeschel Mandolin Company (or Groeshl Instrument Company) established in Chicago
1890 – Orville H. Gibson settles in Kalamazoo Michigan and takes up the hobby of making musical instruments
1891 – V.C. Squire Company makes violins and strings
1891 – Carnegie Hall Opened in New York City
1892 – Harmony Company was founded in 1892 by Wilhelm Schultz after leaving Lyon & Healy
1892 – First concert at the Union Gospel Tabernacle (later known as the Ryman Auditorium) with The Theodore Thomas Orchestra
1892 – Francisco Tarrega began the tradition adopted by all Classical Guitarist by using the finger-nails to pick the strings
1893 – First use of the word Ragtime appears in the song title Ma Ragtime Baby by Fred Stone
1893 – Andrés Segovia born in the small Spanish Andalusian village of Linares
1893 – “Happy Birthday” is composed by 2 teachers in Louisville, Kentucky
1894 – Orville Gibson produces the earliest documented Gibson instrument in Kalamazoo, Michigan
1895 – Thomas Edison invents the motor-driven gramophone
1896 – On May 11th Orville Gibson filed for his first and only patent
1897 – In Japan Nippon Gakki – precursor to Yamaha Corporation starts with pianos
1900 – Carl and August Larson started building Mauer branded guitars and mandolins
1902 – Gibson company releases the first L-1 guitar
1903 – Anastasios Stathopoulos moves Epiphone to US – Long Island City, Queens in New York
1904 – Regal assets and name are bought by Lyon & Healy
1904 – Union Gospel Tabernacle renamed in Thomas Ryman’s honor upon his death
1905 – Albert Einstein’s first theory of relativity is published
1905 – Twelve string guitarist Blues man Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter meets Blues man Blind Lemon Jefferson
1905 – Columbia produces the first two-sided disc
1906 – Stromberg Guitars founded by Charles Stromberg, a Swedish immigrant to Boston, Massachusetts
1906 – Bacon Banjo Company founded by Fredrick Bacon
1907 – The Tango is introduced to America
1907 – Epiphone opens shop in New York City – the House of Strathopoulo
1907 – Lee De Forest’s invention of the three-terminal “audion” tube to become the triode vacuum tube or valve
1908 – The first production Ford Model T rolled off the line in Detroit
1908 – New Regal Musical Instrument manufacturing company started by Frank Kordick, a longtime Lyon & Healy employee
1909 – Andrés Segovia has debut recital in Granada Spain performing pieces by Francisco Tárrega, Albéniz and Chopin
1909 – Chris J. Knutsen develops Hawaiian style lap steel guitars that were played with a slide
1909 – Stella and Sovereign brands trademarked by Oscar Schmidt
1909 – Gibson first promotes Gibson Brand strings as an accessory item
1911 – Mario Maccaferri apprenticed to luthier Luigi Mozzani at age 11 taking up classical guitar
1911 – Lawrence Wright was the first music publisher to set up premises on Denmark Street, London
1911 – Fingerprints admitted as evidence for the first time
1912 – Huddie William Ledbetter “Lead Belly” writes song “The Titanic” on the 12-string guitar
1912 – Titanic sinks after hitting iceberg on maiden voyage
1912- Slingerland founded by Henry Heanon “H.H.” Slingerland producing banjos, ukuleles and eventually guitars, then drums
1913 – The Panama Canal opens
1914 – Freddie Keppard turns down offer from RCA to be the first Jazz performer recorded as he fears his style will be copied
1914 – W.C. Handy, who composed “St. Louis Blues”, the first commercial blues to be published
1914 – The first traffic light in the nation was installed in Cleveland Ohio on August 5th
1914 – Irving Berlin’s 1st musical “Watch Your Step” opened on Broadway
1915 – Anastasios dies and his son, Epaminondas (“Epi”), takes over at Epiphone
1915 – Silvertone brand used by Sears, Roebuck and Company from 1915 to 1972
1915 – The ‘Chicago Automatic Machine & Tool Company’ invents the jukebox
1916 – Fred Jr. moves Gretsch into a large 10-story building in Williamsburg Brooklyn
1916 – Sears, Roebuck and Co. purchases Harmony Company
1916 – Louis Armstrong begins playing the bars in Storyville for $1.25 a night
1916 – Martin uke production takes off as the ukulele boom begins
1916 – Martin also begins to build for Oliver Ditson Co. of Boston and New York and he first “Dreadnought” guitar is produced
1918 – Low-budget mandolin and guitars sold on military posts under the Army & Navy Special made by Gibson
1919 – Lloyd Loar comes to Gibson to work
1919 – Charlie Christian is born in Dallas, Texas
1919 – Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) started
1920 – Giuseppe Virzi applies for patent for Tone Producer suspended soundboards in instruments
1920 – Marconi invented of the first practical radio signaling system
1920 – The “Volstead Act” goes into effect starting Prohibition
1920 – The first recorded Blues appears when Mamie Smith records Crazy Blues
1920 – Django Reinhardt’s mother gives him a banjo, teaches him the rudiments and within weeks, he is playing cafes with his father
1921 – Gibson employee Ted McHugh innovates adjustable truss rod and the height-adjustable bridge
1921 – Groeschel Mandolin Company renamed Stromberg-Voisinet
1922 – On May 30th, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington D.C.
1922 – Giuseppe Virzi, a Sicilian violin maker, was awarded U.S. Patent for the Tone Producer
1922 – Lloyd Loar outfits his personal Viola with a Virzi Tone Producer (spruce disc)
1922 – First Selmer saxophone is finished
1923 – Henry Kay “Hank” Kuhrmeyer joins Stromberg-Voisinet
1923 – Gibson Bill Monroe’s F-5 Lloyd Loar designed Mandolin
1923 – Mario Maccaferri has an established reputation as player and maker of classical guitar
1923 – Duke Ellington makes first recording on a cylinder – stride piano piece called Jig Walk
1924 – Lloyd Loar at Gibson designs crude electrostatic pickup that attaches to viola and string bass
1924 – Louis Armstrong marries piano player and composer Lil Hardin and joins the Fletcher Henderson band
1924 – Django Reinhardt settles upon the guitar as his primary instrument for playing the clubs of Paris
1924 – Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin was performed for the first time
1925 – Texas born Blind Lemon Jefferson records in Chicago
1925 – O.W. Appleton attaches a Victrola tone arm to his guitar
1925 – Shure founded in Chicago by Sidney N. Shure
1925 – The Grand Ole Opry starts radio broadcast in Nashville
1925 – Blind Lemon Jefferson is first recorded
1926 – Blind Blake signs with Paramount and records 8 tracks with the label, including 7 hits
1926 – Gibson makes the L-1 flattop guitar that Robert Johnson ends up playing
1927 – Texas born Blind Willie Johnson records in Dallas, TX
1927 – National produces the first resonator instruments
1927 – John Dopyera applies for patent for tricone resonator guitar
1927 – Philo Farnsworth’s image dissector camera tube transmitted its first image
1927 – “The Jazz Singer” released the first full length “Talkie” – motion pictures with sound
1927 – Americans will buy more than 100,000,000 phonograph records
1927 – Bing Crosby joins the Paul Whiteman band
1927 – Andrés Segovia makes his first recording on 78 rpm disc
1927 – First signature guitar (L1 with extra depth) issued by the Gibson for Nick Lucas – a popular singer and musician
1928 – Maybelle Carter introduces playing melody on bass strings and the higher strings for rhythm on her new Gibson L-5 guitar
1928 – Henry Kay “Hank” Kuhrmeyer buys Stromberg-Voisinet
1928 – Mississippi John Hurt records for Okeh records in New York and Memphis
1928 – Georgia Born Tampa Red records “It’s Tight Like That”
1928 – Django Reinhardt severely injured is a fire
1928 – WRGB (then W2XB) started the world’s first television station in Schenectady, NY
1928 – Walt Disney 1st Mickey Mouse silent film “Plane Crazy”, and “Steamboat Willy”, the 1st animated cartoon with sound
1928 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Boston with 2 passengers in her airship “Friendship”
1928 – Vega introduces an electric banjo
1928 – George Eastman demonstrated the 1st color motion pictures
1928 – Andrés Segovia debuts at the New York City Town Hall
1928 – Gibson introduces the Nick Lucas guitar model, first endorsement deal
1928 – John Dopyera leaves National to start Dobro company
1929 – Mississippi Born Charlie Patton records 14 songs for Paramount Records in Richmond, Indiana
1929 – Stromberg-Voisinet (Kay) of Chicago – first commercially advertised electric guitar
1929 – Martin introduces the OM (orchestra model) size flat-top guitar
1929 – Martin introduces the their first 14-fret neck-body joint
1930 – George Beauchamp files patent for single cone resonator while at National
1930 – Duke Ellington records first big hit called Dreamy Blues (aka Mood Indigo)
1930 – Harmony Musical Instruments sell over 500,000 units
1930 – Rhythmicon (rhythm machine) was developed by Léon Theremin
1930 – Kel Kroydon budget banjo built by Gibson
1931 – Great Depression begins
1931 – Gibson makes wooden toys during depression lasting to 1933 under Kel Kroydon and Kalamazoo Playthings names
1931 – “The Star Spangled Banner” was formalized as the National Anthem by Congress
1931 – Rickenbacker (Electro String Company) Electro A-22 “frying pan” Electric Lap Steel
1931 – Gretsch Company begins guitar production in the early 1930s
1931 – Kay Musical Instrument Company established in Chicago by Henry Kay “Hank” Kuhrmeyer
1931 – Martin starts selling Dreadnaught guitars under its own name after making them for Ditson since 1916
1932 – John D’Angelico opens shop in NYC
1932 – Ro-Pat-In’s AKA Rickenbacker first Spanish Electric guitars
1932 – Vega Company makes the world’s first electric banjo
1932 – Selmer partners with Mario Maccaferri to produce acoustic guitars (played by Django Reinhardt)
1932 – George Beauchamp ousted by board at National joins Adolph Rickenbacker at Electro String
1932 – John Dopyera receives patent for Dobro with inverted resonator cone
1933 – First recording of electric guitar by Hawaiian music artists Andy Iona and Bob Dunn
1933 – Lloyd Loar starts his own company, Vivi-Tone, makes electric hollow-body archtop guitar
1933 – Mario Maccaferri injures his right hand in accident ending his concert career
1933 – RCA introduced the model 77A cardioid pattern dual ribbon microphone for recording and radio broadcast
1933 – National and Dopro resophonic companies merge
1934 – Gibson factory goes back to full time instrument making after depression
1934 – Paul Tutmarc founds Audiovox Manufacturing Company for Lap Steel guitars
1934 – Gibson Super 400 introduced the inspires Stromberg and D’Angelico
1934 – Gibson launches complete line of lower-priced quality instruments under Kalamazoo brand
1934 – Gibson debuts Roy Smeck guitars
1935 – Alvino Rey hired by Gibson to produce a prototype guitar pickup (used on ES-150)
1935 – T-Bone Walker starts playing electric guitar
1935 – Gibson Bar Magnet pickup By Walter Fuller
1935 – Doc Kauffman patented one of the first mechanical vibrato units – Vibrola
1935 – Manny Goldrich opens “Manny’s” Musical Instruments on West 48th Street NYC
1935 – Epiphone introduces Emperor Masterbuilt bigger than Gibson Super 400 in competition for biggest and fanciest for guitars
1935 – The Rickenbacker “Electro String” bakelite guitars
1935 – Mahalia Jackson made her first Gospel recordings
1935 – First Gibson Advanced Jumbo flattop guitar
1936 – Robert Johnson records for the first time in San Antonio, Texas
1936 – Gibson advertises EH-150 6-string lap steel and amp for $150
1936 – Gibson releases the ES-150 its first electric Spanish styled guitar
1936 – Montgomery Ward contracts Gibson (and other makers) to build instruments under Recording King brand
1937 – Rickenbacker Teamed with Doc Kauffman introduces the electric Vibrola Spanish guitar
1937 – W1XOJ was the first FM radio station, granted a construction permit
1937 – Count Basie releases One O’clock Jump, a cross of swing and R&B
1937 – Gibson introduces the Super Jumbo flat-top acoustic guitar for Ray Whitley and Gene Autry
1937 – Gibson ES-150 (Electric Spanish) immediately successful with 504 units shipped
1938 – Robert Johnson dies
1938 – All American coins now bear the motto: “In God We Trust”
1938 – Leo Fender opens “Fender Radio Service”
1938 – Bill Monroe forms the Blue Grass Boys, creating a fusion of Appalachian folk music with blues, polka and other genres
1938 – Bill Monroe made his first appearance on WSM radio in Nashville
1938 – Roy Acuff joined the Grand Ole Opry
1938 – Leo Fender opens “Fender’s Radio Service” in Fullerton, CA repairing radios, phonographs and public address systems
1938 – Gibson ES-250 fancier 17-inch electric guitar arrives
1939 – Les Paul Trio makes first recordings
1939 – Harry DeArmond first commercially available attachable guitar pickup
1939 – 225,000 jukeboxes were in operation and were said to be responsible for the sale of 13,000,000 records a year
1939 – Slingerland Songster – earliest commercial marketed solid-body Spanish-style electric guitar
1939 – Gibson introduces EH-185 Electric Hawaiian lap steel
1939 – The Grand Ole Opry begins affiliation with NBC that lasts until 1957
1939 – Oklahoma City native Charlie Christian joins Bennie Goodman
1939 – Charlie Christian writes for Downbeat Magazine “Guitar men, Wake Up and Pluck! Wire for Sounds; Let ’em hear you play”
1940 – Les Paul builds “log guitar”
1940 – Les Paul signs endorsement first deal with Gibson, appearing in ads with the ES-300 electric archtop model
1940 – Donald Leslie prototypes Leslie rotating speaker
1940 – Billboard Magazine introduces the ‘Hot 100’ popularity chart
1940 – Bob Wills with the recording of “San Antonio Rose” starts Western Swing Era
1940 – Dizzy Gillespie begins an innovative style called ‘BeBop’
1940 – Gibson first pickup with adjustable pole pieces designed by Walter Fuller replaces bar pickup
1941 – Alan Lomax records Muddy Waters for the first time
1941 – Leo Fender meets and talks to Clayton Orr “Doc” Kauffman
1941 – O. W. Appleton APP solid body electric guitar is built
1941 – Les Paul shows his “log” guitar to Gibson
1941 – K & F Manufacturing Company is founded to build Lap Steel guitars and amplifiers
1941 – Death of Henri Selmer and Maurice Selmer becomes president of the Selmer company
1941 – Mario Maccaferri patented a plastic woodwind reed
1941 – Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) becomes exclusive distributor for National guitars
1942 – Valco by former owners of the National Dobro Company- Victor Smith, Al Frost, Louis Dopyera
1942 – David “Honeyboy” Edwards recorded by Alan Lomax
1942 – Chet Atkins lands job at WNOX-AM radio in Knoxville playing fiddle and guitar
1942 – Epimanondas (Epi) Strathopoulo of Epiphone dies at age 49 and replaced by his brothers Orpheus and Nicol
1942 – Billboard debuts the Harlem Hit Parade for top singles in the “race” field, a precursor to rhythm & blues
1942 – Herman Lubinsky and Savoy Records start operations in Newark, New Jersey, focusing on recording black artists
1942 – Charlie Christian dies of Tuberculosis at only 26 on March 2nd
1942 – Bing Cosby hits with Irving Berlin’s White Christmas
1943 – O. W. Appleton takes APP solid body electric guitar to Gibson and it gets rejected
1943 – K & F builds prototype lap steel with round neck
1943 – Lloyd Loar dies
1943 – King Records run by Syd Nathan opens in Cincinnati, Ohio to record hillbilly music
1943 – Grand Ole Opry was first broadcast from the Ryman
1944 – Paul Bigsby starts building instruments in his spare time
1944 – Leo Fender patents the Direct String Pickup design
1944 – Chicago Musical Instrument Company (CMI) acquires Gibson
1945 – K & F Hawaiian Lap Steel
1945 – Electro String becomes exclusive distributor for K & F Manufacturing Company
1945 – Joaquin Murphy plays Bigsby new D-8 lap steel in Three Stooges film, “In the Rockies”
1945 – Richard D. Bourgerie makes electric guitar pickup and amplifier for George Barnes
1945 – Les Paul builds first headless guitar made from aluminum
1945 – August 14th WWII ends
1946 – Chet Atkins makes debut on Grand Ole Opry with Red Foley’s band
1946 – L. C. Kiesel Company winding pickups for Electric Lap Steel
1946 – Gibson patents P-90 pickup
1946 – Doc Kauffman and Leo Fender part and Fender Electric Instrument Company is founded
1946 – Don Randall starts work for Francis “F.C.” Hall in Santa Ana sets up distribution with Fender
1946 – Fender “woodie” series amps, built in 1946 through 1948
1946 – Fender Tweed first used on amps up to 1960
1946 – Django Reinhardt rejoined Stéphane Grappelli and tours US
1946 – “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie” by Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five becomes the big hit in the increasingly popular jump blues
1946 – Yamaha Founded in Japan
1946 – Nylon strings replace gut strings on most classical instruments
1947 – Chet Atkins makes first RCA Victor recordings in Chicago
1947 – Paul Bigsby builds small prototype octagon shaped solid body electric
1947 – Paul Bigsby meets Merle Travis
1947 – Paul Bigsby builds experimental solid body guitar with likely collaboration with Les Paul
1947 – Muddy Waters starts recording Leonard and Phil Chess
1947 – Bluesman T-Bone Walker plays electric guitar on the recording of his standard “Call it Stormy Monday.”
1947 – Gibson’s GA-50T first guitar amp marketed to feature a built-in tremolo effect
1947 – New York’s Carnegie Hall welcomes Ernest Tubb and Grand Ole Opry stars acknowledging country music
1947 – Nathan Daniel creates the guitar amplifier with vibrato gets patent in 1949
1947 – Transistor is invented at Bell Labs by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley
1947 – Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson start Atlantic Records
1947 – Ampex 1st commercially available magnetic tape recording machine in the US (developed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s)
1948 – Columbia launched the vinyl 12-inch 33-1/3 rpm album
1948 – Gibson purchased by Chicago Musical Instruments
1948 – Ted McCarty hired at Gibson
1948 – Epiphone Emperor Electric Hollow body archtop guitar
1948 – Paul Bigsby delivers his first pedal steel guitar to Speedy West
1948 – Paul Bigsby completes Merle Travis Guitar stamped ‘52548’ first solid body electric guitar
1948 – Paul Bigsby completes second standard solid body electric for George Grohs stamped ‘81848’
1948 – Paul Bigsby completes third standard solid body electric for Tommy ” Butterball” Paige
1948 – Forrest White meets Leo Fender and Paul Bigsby on same day in June
1948 – Don Randall suggests to Leo Fender that he design a Fender Spanish style guitar
1948 – Teisco Japanese manufacturer of affordable musical instruments from 1948 until 1969
1948 – Louisiana Hayride first broadcast on April 3rd from the Municipal Auditorium in downtown Shreveport
1948 – The Ed Sullivan Show starts on CBS every Sunday until cancellation in 1971
1948 – Ted McCarty era being is at Gibson
1949 – First Fender “Snakehead” Prototype – Leo Fender and George Fullerton
1949 – Paul Bigsby finishes Tenor Guitar for Eschol Cosby serial #4
1949 – Paul Bigsby Catalog guitar #51649
1949 – Paul Bigsby finishes Grady Martin guitar stamped ‘7179’
1949 – Paul Bigsby stamped ‘8749’
1949 – Paul Bigsby Smokey Rogers/Hank Garland guitar stamped ‘92749’
1949 – Paul Bigsby Smokey Stoltenberg guitar stamped ‘10149’
1949 – Paul Bigsby first double cutaway guitar Jimmy Bryant/Billy Byrd stamped ‘10749’
1949 – Paul Bigsby Eschol Cosby ‘102649’
1949 – B.B. King begins recording with Los Angeles-based RPM Records
1949 – Mario Maccaferri plastic “Islander” ukuleles in collaboration with TV star Arthur Godfrey
1949 – RCA Victor introduces the 45 RPM Record which is easier to produce, smaller and cheaper than 78’s
1949 – The electric guitar takes hold with the blues recordings of T-Bone Walker, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters
1949 – Hank Williams makes his debut on the Grand Ole Opry
1949 – Bing Crosby presents gift to Les Paul: An Ampex Model 300 reel-to-reel tape recorder which he tinkers with
1949 – Now over 500 TV stations and over 70,000 TV sets in US
1949 – North Korea invades South Korea
1950 – V.C. Squier Company begins supplying Leo Fender with strings for his new electric guitars
1950 – Mario Maccaferri introduces plastic guitars with little commercial success
1950 – Paul Bigsby Kent Kistler ‘62950’
1950 – Chess Records founded and run by Polish immigrant brothers Leonard and Phil Chess
1950 – Sam Phillips opens the Memphis Recording Service
1950 – Fender Esquire single pickup model
1950 – Leo Fender Broadcaster “first mass produced” solid body
1951 – Fender Electric Instrument Company becomes a corporation
1951 – Fender “no-caster”
1951 – Fender Precision Bass
1951 – Les Paul & Mary Ford record “How High The Moon” with Bigsby pickup on Les’ Epiphone “clunker”
1951 – Gibson introduces the Super 400CES (Cutaway Electric Spanish) 18-inch archtop
1951 – Sam Phillips recorded several songs by Howlin’ Wolf
1951 – Rocket 88 recorded in Memphis
1951 – The first jukebox that plays 45 RPM records is introduced
1951 – Paul Bigsby Merle Travis/Jack Parsons hollow body electric guitar ‘102951’
1951 – Paul Bigsby helps Dale & Harry Granstrom build solid body electric guitar
1952 – Paul Bigsby Double Neck made for Grady Martin ‘10152’
1952 – Jimmy D’Aquisto starts as apprentice to John D’Angelico
1952 – Sun Records founded by Sam Phillips
1952 – B.B. King has his first major rhythm and blues hit with a version of “Three O’Clock Blues.”
1952 – DJ Alan Freed puts on the ever rock ‘n’ roll show – “The Moondog Coronation Ball” in Cleveland
1952 – First Peterson tuner, the Model 150, was released
1952 – Fender Telecaster
1952 – Gibson Les Paul Goldtop
1952 – Roger Rossmeisl master guitar maker moves to US and takes job at Gibson but leaves in 1953
1952 – Gibson sends letter to O.W. Appleton acknowledging they should have listened in 1943
1952 – Paul Bigsby files for patent for Bigsby vibrato tailpiece
1952 – Valco introduces its first solidbody Spanish guitars under the National and Supro brand
1953 – Kay subcontracts amplifier production to Chicago music industry rival Valco
1953 – Gretsch Duo Jet
1953 – Don Randall becomes president of Fender Sales
1953 – Paul Bigsby Hezzy Hall solid body ‘11553’
1953 – Paul Bigsby Keith Holter solid body ‘21553’
1953 – Freddie Tavares who played the Looney Tunes theme is hired by Fender
1953 – Freddie Tavares Hawaiian musician/guitar player helps on Fender Stratocaster design
1953 – Ted McCarty designs Tune-o-matic bridge first used on Gibson Super 400
1953 – Les Paul & Mary Ford release “Vaya Con Dios (may God Be With You)”
1953 – Django Reinhardt dies
1954 – The first national color broadcast was the Tournament of Roses Parade on January 1st
1954 – Roger Rossmeisl comes to work at Rickenbacker
1954 – Semie Mosley apprentices for Roger Rossmeisl at Rickenbacker
1954 – Scotty Moore records “That’s All Right (Mama)” with Elvis at Sun
1954 – Fender Telecaster goes Whiteguard
1954 – Fender Stratocaster
1954 – Eldon Shamblin’s gold Stratocaster, dated 6/1954
1954 – Leo Fender files for patent for Fender synchronized tremolo
1954 – Gibson Les Paul Junior
1954 – Gibson introduces ABR-1 bridge without retainer wire: 1954-1962
1954 – Paul Bigsby Jim Webb solid body ‘8254’
1954 – Danelectro starts production of line of guitars with “lipstick” pickups
1954 – Ralph Keller Valco single coil pickups (used on Airline, Supro, National models)
1954 – Ray Butts sells Chet Atkins the Echosonic amp with built-in tape-loop technology
1954 – Ray Butts connect two single-coil pickups out of phase – first humbucker
1954 – Semie Mosley builds triple-neck guitar in his garage
1954 – Elvis Presley makes his recording debut on Sun Records with “That’s All Right.”
1954 – Carl Perkins successfully auditions for Sam Phillips at Sun Records
1954 – Regency releases the TR-1, the world’s first consumer transistor radio
1954 – 10,000 fans attend Alan Freed’s first east coast Rock ‘n’ Roll Show held in Newark, New Jersey
1954 – Gretsch Jimmie Webster big G brand, orange finish and other Western motifs added
1954 – Gibson introduces the J-160E which becomes a major instrument when used by the Beatles later in the 1960s
1955 – Chet Atkins hired as design consultant for Gretsch
1955 – Ray Butts sells Scotty Moore Echosonic amp after he heard Chet Atkins on the radio
1955 – Chuck Berry first records at Chess Records
1955 – Johnny Cash first recordings at Sun Records
1955 – Bo Diddley appears on Ed Sullivan Show
1955 – Kay company was taken over by Sidney M. Katz after Kuhrmeyer retires
1955 – Valco introduced the National model 1104, also called the Town and Country
1955 – Fender Tremolux first Fender amp with a built in tremolo effect
1955 – Fender Musicmaster
1955 – Gibson Les Paul TV
1955 – Gibson Les Paul Special
1955 – Seth Lover designs Gibson P.A.F Humbucker pickup
1955 – Paul Bigsby hired to design guitars for Magnatone (1955 – 1957)
1955 – Carl Perkins first records at Sun Records
1955 – Bill Haley & his Comets releases “Rock Around the Clock”
1955 – Chuck Berry’s Maybellene is Top 5 on Pop Charts with descending pentatonic double-stops the essence of rock guitar
1955 – Little Richard recorded Tutti Frutti
1955 – First Rock-n-Roll long playing record (LP) is released by Bill Haley & His Comets
1955 – Bo Diddley debut record tops the R&B Charts and introduces the tribal “Bo Diddley” beat
1955 – The Blackboard Jungle film helps Bill Haley & The Comets Rock Around The Clock to become first rock record to top the Pop Charts
1955 – Eddie Cochran’s first “solo artist” single was released
1955 – Disneyland opened in Anaheim, CA
1955 – Elvis Presley first television appearance on the Louisiana Hayride on March 3rd
1955 – Elvis Presley’s contract is bought by RCA for an unheard of price of $35,000
1955 – Patsy Cline first records for Four Star Records
1956 – The Girl Can’t Help It movie released that original music score influences many
1956 – Paul Bigsby Jodie Pilliod solid body ‘2_3156’
1956 – Buddy Holly first recording session
1956 – Elvis Presley releases “Hound Dog” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Heartbreak Hotel”
1956 – Everly Brothers signed by Acuff-Rose music publishers after being introduced by Chet Atkins
1956 – Freddie King cuts his first record as a leader, for El-Bee Records
1956 – Gretsch White Penguin
1956 – Fender Duo-Sonic
1956 – Danelectro introduces 6-string bass guitar (Tic-Tac Bass)
1956 – Rickenbacker Toaster-Top pickups
1956 – First Rickenbacker Combo 400 with Neck-Through-Body Construction
1956 – Gibson Skylark Lap Steel
1956 – Cliff Gallup records Gene Vincent with Gretsch Duo-Jet with two DeArmond single coil pickups
1956 – Gene Vincent top ten hit with his Blue Caps, “Be-Bop-A-Lula”
1956 – Paul Bigsby J.B. Thomas double neck solid body ‘11556’
1956 – Paul Bigsby Luke Charpentier solid body ‘121556’
1956 – Feedback is used by The Johnny Burnette Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio on their record The Train Kept A Rollin
1956 – Hartley Peavey builds his first amplifier
1956 – Jennings shown prototype guitar amplifier made by Dick Denney
1956 – Mosrite guitars founded by Semie and Andy Mosley with investment from Reverend Ray Boatright
1956 – Lonnie Donegan version of Leadbelly’s Rock Island Line flies up the English charts
1957 – John Lennon forms a skiffle group called The Quarrymen meets Paul McCartney and adds him to the group
1957 – On October 4, 1957 Soviet Union launched the orbiting of Sputnik 1
1957 – Ray Butts received a U.S. patent for his tape echo technology
1957 – James Burton records with Ricky Nelson
1957 – Gibson acquires Epiphone
1957 – Gretsch Filter’Tron pickup mass produced
1957 – Buddy Guy meets Muddy Waters in Chicago
1957 – Chamberlin Rhythmate allowing to select between 14 tape loops of drum kits and percussion instruments
1957 – Ernie Ball opens arguably first music store in US selling guitars exclusively
1957 – Roy Orbison records at Sun Records
1957 – Jerry Lee Lewis weds Myra Gale Brown – his 3rd wife, his cousin, and 13 years old
1957 – Wandre Guitars by Italian Antonio Vandrè Pioli – aluminum necks, unique switches up to 1968
1957 – Ibanez guitars founded in Japan
1957 – The first test of FM broadcasting was performed by NHK in Japan
1957 – The stroll becomes the first dance associated with rock
1957 – The Everly Brothers hit “Wake Up Little Susie” is banned from the airwaves in Boston for lyrical content
1957 – Atlantic Records began to record and release stereo records
1957 – Gulbransen released the first transistorized electric organ Model B (Model 1100)
1957 – Clarence White and brother Roland start the Kentucky Colonels to join and expand the tradition of Bluegrass music
1957 – In England, guitar sales reached 250,000 units
1958 – Fender Jazzmaster
1958 – Airline guitars made by the Valco and sold through the Montgomery Ward mail-order
1958 – Buddy Holly on Ed Sullivan Show
1958 – Elvis Presley is inducted into the Army in March for a two-year hitch overseas
1958 – Gibson changes the Les Paul Model (Gold top) to the Les Paul Standard (Cherry Sunburst)
1958 – Gibson Les Paul Burst with Humbuckers
1958 – Gibson Flying V and Explorer
1958 – Gibson Les Paul SG Junior
1958 – Gibson ES-335 semi-hollow thin electric guitar
1958 – Danelectro Guitarlin
1958 – Hagstrom starts making electric guitars and basses
1958 – Duane Eddy “Rebel ‘Rouser”
1958 – Link Wray records the instrumental “Rumble”
1958 – Rodgers Instruments Corporation an American manufacturer of classical and church organs founded
1958 – The Ventures instrumental band formed
1958 – Roy Buchanan makes his recording debut with Dale Hawkins
1958 – Andrés Segovia wins his first Grammy
1958 – Jerry Lee Lewis’s first English tour results in scandal when it’s learned his 3rd wife is his 13-year-old cousin
1958 – The power chord first appears in records by guitarists Link Wray and Eddie Cochran
1959 – Gibson Melody Maker
1959 – Vox AC-30 amplifier arrives
1959 – Harold Rhodes enters a joint venture with Leo Fender for Fender Rhodes Piano
1959 – Cliff Richard imports Red Stratocaster purchased at Manny’s NYC for Hank Marvin of The Shadows
1959 – Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper killed in a plane crash – The Day the Music Died
1959 – Fender Brownface series was introduced in 1959 and discontinued in 1963
1959 – Congress opens “payola” hearings to squash DJ’s who receive money from record distributors in exchange for airplay
1959 – Berry Gordy starts Tamla-Motown Record
1959 – Wurlitzer Sideman released which generates rhythm sounds mechanically by a rotating disc
1959 – Gibson ships only 643 Les Paul “Bursts” during the year
1960 – Eddie Cochran tours UK
1960 – Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and songwriter Sharon Shelley in car accident – Eddie Cochran dies
1960 – Fender Blonde amplifiers were produced between 1960 and 1964
1960 – Scotty Moore records with Elvis
1960 – Gibson Les Paul re-designed SG shape
1960 – Fender Jazz Bass
1960 – Fender Lucite Duo-Sonic
1960 – Teisco starts importing inexpensive guitars to USA under many brand names
1960 – Ernie Ball Slinky Strings offered
1960 – Stuart Sutcliffe joins the Quarrymen on bass suggests the name “The Beetles” as a tribute to Buddy Holly and The Crickets
1960 – Beatles invited Pete Best to become their drummer forming the Beatles
1960 – George Harrison deported for having lied to the German authorities about his age
1960 – Rhythm Synthesizer constructed by Raymond Scott
1960 – Muddy Waters performs at the Newport Jazz Festival
1960 – Gibson ships only 635 Les Paul Bursts during this year before ceasing production of the model
1961 – Paul McCartney purchases a Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass in Hamburg
1961 – Columbia Records releases selections of Robert Johnson’s recordings on LP
1961 – Regent Sound Studio at No. 4 was founded on Denmark Street, London
1961 – Country Music Association established the Country Music Hall of Fame
1961 – Dick Dale is credited with the creation of the surf music phenomenon
1961 – Gibson Les Paul SG style
1961 – Gretsch Double Cutaway Jet (featured a chambered body)
1961 – Fender Bass VI 6-string bass guitar
1961 – The Beach Boys formed in Hawthorne, CA
1961 – Valco ceases production of most archtop models and revamps its amplifier line
1961 – National and Supro guitars debut with hollow fiberglass bodies (res-o-glas)
1961 – FM broadcasts begin in the United States
1961 – The Beatles sign with manager Brian Epstein
1961 – Tommy Emmanuel at age seven hears Chet Atkins playing on the radio
1962 – The Rolling Stones formed in London
1962 – Jim Marshall founds Marshall Amplification
1962 – Fender Jaguar
1962 – Chet Atkins records EP album: ‘Down Home’ inspiring many young players to take up the guitar
1962 – Maestro Fuzz Tone pedal
1962 – Les Paul issued US Patent for a pickup which the coil was physically attached to the strings
1962 – The Ventures song “The 2000 Pound Bee” one of the first to use a homemade fuzz box
1962 – Gibson introduces ABR-1 bridge with retainer wire: 1962-1975
1962 – Roger Rossmeisl comes to work at Fender
1962 – Takamine Founded in Sakashita, Japan
1962 – Kay brings first solid state amp to market
1962 – The Tornados “Telstar” goes number one in U.S. – The British Invasion begins
1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe dies from a brain hemorrhage
1962 – Producer George Martin signed the Beatles to EMI’s Parlophone label for a one-year renewable contract
1962 – Brian Epstein dismissed Pete Best from the Beatles replaced with Richard Starkey, known as Ringo Starr
1962 – EMI recording sessions with the Beatles produced a minor UK hit “Love Me Do”
1962 – The Beatles first televised performance was on the ‘People and Places’ program, live from Manchester England
1962 – Davy Graham releases his folk instrumental, Anji
1962 – Bob Dylan reaches New York City and plays the Gaslight Cafe transforming himself from a singer to a songwriter
1963 – The first compact cassette recorder is released by Phillips
1963 – John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers formed
1963 – Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds record John Lee Hooker’s “Boom Boom”
1963 – Magic Sam releases single “Feelin’ Good (We’re Gonna Boogie)”
1963 – Fender Vibroverb 40-watt combo guitar amp – first incorporate on-board reverb
1963 – Gibson SG
1963 – Gibson Firebird designed by Ray Dietrich
1963 – Gibson Thunderbird Bass
1963 – Mosrite Ventures Model
1963 – Guild S-100 and S-200 (with built-in stand) solid body electric guitars
1963 – Eric Clapton joins the Yardbirds
1963 – Dr. Robert Moog begins to develop his synthesizer
1964 – Beatles ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand’ by the Beatles went to number 1 on the U.S. Billboard Chart
1964 – Beatlemania begins
1964 – Beatles on Ed Sullivan Show
1964 – Rolling Stones record first album at Regent Sound Studio
1964 – Seeburg/Gulbransen first fully solid-state rhythm machine
1964 – Thomas Organ Company imports Vox combo amps to the US
1964 – Fender Blackface amplifiers were produced between 1964 and 1967
1964 – Fender Mustang
1964 – Don Randall negotiations for Fender for sale to CBS
1964 – Kay company moved to a new factory in Elk Grove Village, Illinois
1964 – Hartley Peavey founds Peavey Electronics
1964 – The Byrds formed in Los Angeles, CA
1964 – John D’Angelico NY Luthier dies
1964 – Roger “Jim” McGuinn takes up Rickenbacker 360 12-string guitar after seeing George Harrison
1964 – The Who are formed
1964 – Andertons Music in Guildford, UK started
1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric met with cheering and booing at Newport Folk Festival
1965 – Fender acquires V.C. Squire Company shortly before the CBS buyout
1965 – Fender sells to CBS
1965 – Fender Bass V
1965 – Fender Electric XII
1965 – Mosrite Ventures II
1965 – Rolling Stones hit “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” using Maestro Fuzz Tone pedal
1965 – The Paul Butterfield Blues Band first album
1965 – Simon and Garfunkel record the Sounds of Silence EP album
1965 – Jeff Beck recruited by Yardbirds to succeed Eric Clapton on recommendation of Jimmy Page
1965 – Eric Clapton buys his first Gibson Les Paul ‘Burst’ and plays it live with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
1965 – A young Peter Green buys a sunburst Les Paul after seeing Clapton with one
1965 – Fender Musical Instruments was sold to CBS for $13,000,000
1965 – Katz sells Kay company to Seeburg Corporation
1965 – Thomas Organ makes deal with JMI to build Vox amps for the U.S. and Canada
1965 – Dolby A noise reduction is developed
1965 – 8 Track Players are introduced and start finding their way into the cars
1965 – George Harrison stumbles upon a sitar on the set of the Beatles’ movie Help! and later buys one
1965 – George Harrison plays sitar in studio on John Lennon song, Norwegian Wood starting Raga-Rock
1966 – Rolling Stones, Paint It, Black first number one hit with a song that showcased the sitar played by Brian Jones
1966 – Flagship solid-state Vox Super Beatle produced by Thomas Organ
1966 – The Monkees TV show
1966 – Fender Mustang Bass
1966 – Mosrite Ventures V
1966 – Yamaha first made in Japan folk guitar FG180 followed by first electric guitar, bass and amps
1966 – Ted McCarty retires from Gibson and becomes president of the Bigsby Company
1966 – Eric Clapton forms Cream with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce
1966 – Hallmark Guitars founded by Joe Hall, formerly of Mosrite
1966 – Beach Boys record Pet Sounds
1966 – Peter Green fills in for Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
1966 – Albert King signs with Stax Records
1966 – Wah pedal was created by Bradley J. Plunkett at Thomas Organ Company
1966 – Clarance White meets Gene Parsons
1966 – The Monkeys debut on the NBC Television Network
1966 – The Monkeys success force a young English singer to change his name from David Jones to David Bowie
1966 – Carlos Santana plays Fillmore West replacing Paul Butterfield that launches his career
1966 – The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations” features an instrument that sounds much like a theremin
1966 – Fender’s first transistor amplifiers were introduced
1966 – Danelectro sold to MCA
1967 – Seth Lover moves to Fender
1967 – Fender Silverface amplifiers were built between 1967 and 1981
1967 – Clyde McCoy Wah-wah pedal named after trumpeter Clyde McCoy
1967 – Clive Davis became president of Columbia records
1967 – Peter Green plays Gibson Les Paul on John Mayall’s Blues Breakers’ A Hard Road
1967 – Brian Jones uses Theremin “Between the Buttons” and “Their Satanic Majesties Request” albums
1967 – Baldwin buys Gretsch
1967 – Fender Bronco
1967 – Danelectro Coral Electric Sitar
1967 – Fleetwood Mac is formed in London
1967 – Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opens on April 1st on Music Row Nashville
1967 – The Moog synthesizer was demonstrated at the Monterey International Pop Festival
1967 – Jimi Hendrix at Monterey Pop Festival
1967 – The Beatles releases Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album
1967 – Beatles Manager Brian Epstein dies at the age of 32
1967 – Mostrite Strawberry Alarm Clock guitar
1967 – David Gilmour asked to join Pink Floyd
1967 – Kay was resold and merged with Valco
1967 – Cream releases Disraeli Gears
1967 – Yamaha first classical guitar series
1967 – Moog synthesizer featured on the Diana Ross & the Supremes single, “Reflections”
1968 – Univox begins marketing its Uni-Vibe pedal
1968 – Electro-Harmonix Muff Fuzz pedal
1968 – Box Tops, score a #2 hit with the sitar-infused Cry Like a Baby
1968 – Dolby B magnetic tape noise reduction system was released
1968 – Fender Telecaster Bass
1968 – Gibson Les Paul model returns
1968 – Parsons-Whte B Bender invented by musicians Gene Parsons and Clarence White
1968 – Clarence White joins the Byrds after Gram Parsons leaves the band
1968 – Fender Telecaster Thinline (actually semi hollow)
1968 – Paul Bigsby dies
1968 – Dan Armstrong designs clear Plexiglas guitar for Ampeg
1968 – Univox started selling the Uni-Vibe Pedal
1968 – Electro-Harmonix founded by Mike Matthews
1968 – Led Zeppelin formed in London
1968 – The Beatles release the double album known as The White Album
1968 – Mosrite files bankruptcy close doors in 1969
1968 – Yamaha introduces its first hollow body electric guitars
1969 – Woodstock Festival attracts over 400,000 people for three days in Upstate New York
1968 – Duane Allman gets as hired as session players by Rick Hall at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals
1968 – The Elvis ’68 Comeback Special brings the return of the King with Scotty Moore
1969 – Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon, on the 20th of July
1969 – Gibson parent company gets taken over by ECL
1969 – Don Randall departs Fender
1969 – Assets of Kay/Valco are auctioned off
1969 – Univox U-250 Uni-Fuzz used by Pete Townshend
1969 – Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Fuzz pedal which Manny’s Music NYC sold to Jimi Hendrix
1969 – Fender Swinger also know as Musiclander or Arrow
1969 – ZZ Top formed in Houston, Texas
1969 – Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock
1969 – Pignose amp battery-powered, 5-watt portable guitar amplifier with one 5″ speaker
1969 – Clapton forms Blind Faith
1969 – Optical guitar pickups first shown at the NAMM in Chicago, by Ron Hoag
1969 – B.C. Rich founded
1969 – Emmett Chapman modifies homemade 9-string “Freedom Guitar” that leads to Chapman Stick
1969 – The Allman Brothers Band formed in Jacksonville, Florida
1969 – Black Sabbath formed
1969 – Fernandes Guitars started production in Osaka, Japan
1969 – Gibson produces their first Low Impedance guitars, Les Paul Personal and Professional models
1969 – Hee Haw premiered on CBS as a summer 1969 replacement
1969 – The Beatles performed their last public concert on the rooftop of the Apple Building at 3 Savile Row, London
1969 – Free Concert at the Altamont Speedway organized by The Greatful Dead, The Rolling Stones and others
1970 – The Beatles break up
1970 – George Gruhn opens Gruhn Guitars in Nashville
1970 – Schaller Wide travel Tune-o-Matic aka “Harmonica bridge”: 1970-1980
1970 – Phase Linear an audio equipment manufacturer is founded by Bob Carver and Steve Johnston
1970 – Duane Allman records Layla with Eric Clapton
1970 – Eric Clapton releases Layla with Derek and the Dominos
1970 – Eric Clapton switches from Gibson to a 1956 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster nicknamed “Brownie
1970 – Semie Mosley gets Mosrite name back and starts building guitars again
1970 – Stevie Ray Vaughan made his first studio recordings
1970 – James Taylor releases Fire and Rain
1970 – Sigma Guitars by Martin introduced made in Japan to cut costs. Moved to South Korea in the 1980s.
1971 – Mandolin Brothers established in 1971 by Stan Jay and Harold “Hap” Kuffner
1971 – Seth Lover designs Fender Wide Range Humbucker while working at Fender
1971 – Randall Smith starts Mesa/Boogie
1971 – Paul McCartney forms Wings
1971 – Bonnie Raitt releases her debut album
1971 – Duane Allman dies
1971 – Numark Industries manufacturer of audio equipment for disk jockeys founded
1971 – John Denver released Take Me Home Country Roads
1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh
1971 – Les Paul’s Favorite Les Paul – The Recording Model arrives
1971 – Richard Nader’s Rock ‘n Roll Revival concert Madison Square Garden – Ricky Nelson gets booed for looking different
1972 – Ricky Nelson gets even with Garden Party hit song
1972 – The Roland Corporation founded in Japan
1972 – Mu-tron III envelope filter used by Jerry Garcia
1972 – MXR founded and then releases MXR dyna comp, phase 45, phase 90, distortion +, carbon copy
1972 – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band released Will The Circle Be Unbroken
1972 – Eric Clapton wanders into Sho-Bud Guitar Shop in Nashville and sees a rack of used Fender Stratocasters for $100 each
1973 – Eric Clapton performs with his new (used) Stratocaster ‘Blackie’ for the first time at the rainbow concert in London
1973 – Hamer Guitars founded
1973 – Kay name is used on Teisco products
1973 – CBGB New York City music club opens
1973 – Cort Guitars founded – factories in Indonesia, South Korea and China
1973 – Paul McCartney’s Wings brings out Red Rose Speedway album
1973 – Heil High Powered Talk Box invented
1973 – John Monteleone starts restoring and building stringed musical instruments
1973 – Clarence White is killed by drunk driver
1974 – Grand Ole Opry moves to new venue at Opryland USA
1974 – Gibson Les Paul Special Reissue
1974 – Gibson Marauder
1974 – Gibson Norlin era begins
1974 – Gibson opens Nashville plant
1974 – Music Man founded
1974 – The Ramones formed in Queens, NY
1974 – Gary Moore joins Thin Lizzy
1974 – Clive Davis became the president of Arista records
1974 – Nancy Wilson joins older sister Ann Wilson in band Heart
1974 – Taylor Guitars founded by Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug
1974 – RE-201 Space Echo introduced
1974 – MXR Phase 90 was released
1975 – Norman’s Rare Guitars opened by Norm Harris
1975 – Harmony Guitar Company ceases operations
1975 – Gibson introduces the Modern TOM aka “Nashville” bridge
1975 – ESP guitars founded
1975 – Roland Jazz Chorus solid-state amp with built-in analog Chorus effect
1975 – Squier name was retired as the strings had taken the Fender name
1975 – Betamax videocassette tape recording format was released by Sony
1975 – Marshall brings their first Master Volume amps
1976 – VHS Videocassette tape recording format was released by JVC
1976 – Apple Computer Company founded on April 1st by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne
1976 – Chester & Lester collaborative album by guitarists Chet Atkins and Les Paul released
1976 – Seymour Duncan builds Tele-Gib for Jeff Beck
1976 – Music Man StingRay Bass
1976 – Yamaha SG2000 designed with Carlos Santana
1976 – Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers formed
1976 – U2 Irish rock band from Dublin formed
1976 – Heet Sound introduced the first EBow at the NAMM Show
1977 – Apple II invented by Steve Wozniak was introduced on April 16th
1977 – Jimmy Page uses a Theremin during performances of “Whole Lotta Love” and “No Quarter”
1977 – Floyd Rose locking vibrato
1977 – Mark and David Knopfler form Dire Straits
1977 – Sex Pistols release “Never Mind the Bollocks”
1977 – The film “Saturday Night Fever” starts the Disco era
1977 – Elvis Presley dies at age 42 at Graceland
1977 – Dana Bourgeois establishes one man guitar repair and estoration shop
1978 – LaserDisc technology was released
1978 – Rudy Pensa opens “Rudy’s Music Stop” on 48th Street in New York City
1978 – Boss DS-1 distortion pedal arrives
1978 – Guitar Monsters album by Chet Atkins and Les Paul, released
1978 – Washburn Falcon Wing Series
1978 – First Ibanez Tube Screamer TS-808 overdrive pro introduced
1978 – EMG Active Pickups designed
1978 – Eddie Van Halen – Van Halen first album released
1978 – Prince records first album and plays all the instruments himself
1978 – Boss DM-1 Delay Machine introduced
1978 – Roland Cube
1979 – Stray Cats American rockabilly band formed
1979 – Ozzy Osbourne forms new band with Randy Rhoads on guitar
1979 – G&L Musical Instruments founded
1979 – Ned Steinberger builds first Basses
1979 – Steinberger “Headless” Guitar
1979 – Carver Corporation founded by Bob Carver
1979 – Eddie Van Halen “frankenstrat”
1979 – Kahler Tremolo System invented by Gary Kahler and Dave Storey
1979 – Roger Rossmeisl dies in Germany at 52
1979 – Sony Walkman arrives
1980 – John Lennon dies
1980 – Jackson Guitars founded by Grover Jackson
1980 – A.R. Enterprises (Tony Blair) purchases the Kay trademark
1980 – AC/DC’s singer Bon Scott dies
1980 – LinnDrum LM-2 introduced and designed by Roger Linn first drum machine to use digital samples
1980 – Roland Corporation launched the TR-808 Rhythm Composer one of the earliest programmable drum machines
1981 – IBM model number 5150 was introduced on August 12th
1981 – MTV launches
1981 – EMG Active Pickups standard on Steinberger Bass
1981 – Baldwin shuts down Gretsch production
1981 – CBS makes William Schultz President of Fender
1981 – Phillips and Sony join forces to establish a standard for compact disc
1981 – Rane Corporation an American pro audio equipment manufacturer founded
1981 – Boss DM-2 Delay arrives
1982 – The CD is launched in Japan
1982 – Fender Bullet Bass
1982 – Squier brand reactivated by Fender for its lower priced versions of Fender guitars
1982 – Fender Rivera era amplifiers produced until 1986
1982 – Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival
1982 – Randy Rhoads dies
1982 – dbx tape noise reduction systems were released
1982 – Commodore 64 desktop computer released
1982 – Michael Jackson releases “Thriller” which quickly became the largest selling album in history
1983 – Norlin bought by Rooney Pace and Piezo Electric Products, Gibson is put up for sale
1983 – Eddie Van Halen Kramer 5150 guitar
1983 – Muddy Waters dies
1983 – Merle Travis dies
1983 – The CD is launched worldwide
1983 – Boss DD-2 Digital Delay released
1983 – MIDI technology gets standardized
1983 – ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ by Pink Floyd becomes the longest running album ever on the Billboard chart at 491 weeks
1984 – Apple’s Steve Jobs introduces the original Macintosh computer on January 24th
1984 – This Is Spinal Tap movie opens
1984 – Ernie Ball buys Music Man
1984 – Alesis Studio Electronics founded by Keith Barr who had co-founded MXR
1984 – Boss DM-3 Delay released
1984 – Roland G707 Synth Guitar
1984 – Gibson sells original manufacturing facilities in Kalamazoo Michigan to former employees that start Heritage Guitars
1985 – Amiga computer line arrive in July
1985 – Fender CBS era ends
1985 – Fender flagship U.S. factory in Corona, CA opens
1985 – Ernie Ball opens facility in San Luis Obispo, CA
1985 – Don Lace brings Lace Sensor pickup (used exclusively by Fender from 1987 to 1996)
1985 – PRS Guitars founded
1985 – PRS Custom 24 first model brought to the public at the company’s first NAMM
1985 – Fred W. Gretsch regains control of Gretsch
1985 – Eric Clapton retired his Fender Stratocaster ‘Blackie’
1986 – Gibson purchased and saved by guitar enthusiasts Henry Juszkiewicz and David Berryman
1986 – Joe Maphis dies
1986 – Boss DD-3 Digital Delay released
1986 – Alesis produced the first under-$1000 16-bit professional effects processor, the MIDIverb
1986 – Fender Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster using used Gold Lace Sensors
1987 – Fender opens factory in Ensenada, Mexico
1987 – Fender Custom Shop founded with John Page and Michael Stevens
1987 – Ibanez JEM
1987 – Alesis HR-16 drum machine
1987 – Tommy Emmanuel tours with band for Tina Turner
1987 – G&L Comanche with Magnetic Field Design Z-Coil pickups
1987 – Gibson Chet Atkins SST (steel string) and CE (nylon string) solid body models
1987 – DAT (Digital Audio Tape) was released by Sony as a recording and playback system
1987 – Boss RV-2 Digital Reverb world’s first digital reverb pedal
1987 – Andrés Segovia dies at the age of 94
1988 – 40th Anniversary Fender Custom Shop Telecaster first limited production run of 300 guitars
1988 – The Beatles are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their 1st year of eligibility
1988 – The Traveling Wilbury’s record first album
1988 – Roy Buchanan dies
1988 – Epiphone Les Paul Standard affordable LP
1988 – Boss ME-5 arrives
1988 – Fender honors Eric Clapton as the first artist to have a Stratocaster signature model
1988 – Vinyl records are outsold by CD
1989 – Fender Stratocaster Ultra and Plus series
1989 – Joe Bonamassa opens for B.B. King when he was only 12
1989 – National Reso-Phonic was founded to build National-brand resonator guitars
1989 – B. Andrew Barta invents the original Tech 21 SansAmp
1989 – MTV launches “UnPlugged” with fresh performances of major and minor acts to the acoustic world
1990 – Freddie Tavares passes away
1990 – Eddie Van Halen Music Man EVH guitar
1990 – The Danny Gatton Signature Telecaster released
1990 – Stevie Ray Vaughan dies
1990 – Taylor first acoustic guitar company to use computer numerically controlled (CNC) mills
1990 – The birth of the Internet
1990 – Yamaha Pacifica first bolt-on guitars introduced
1990 – The Klon Centaur guitar overdrive pedal developed by Bill Finnegan between 1990 and 1994
1990 – Steve Vai signature Ibanez first mass-produced seven-string electric guitar
1991 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) moves HQ from Corona,CA to Scottsdale, AZ
1991 – Leo Fender dies
1991 – PRS Dragon guitar
1991 – DigiTech Whammy WH-1 arrives
1991 – Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier arrives
1991 – MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3) developed as a digital audio recording format
1991 – Grunge goes mainstream with the release of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.
1991 – Alesis ADAT was announced at the NAMM
1992 – Semie Mosley dies
1992 – Parker Fly
1992 – Breedlove guitars launches at NAMM by Larry Breedlove and Steve Henderson
1993 – Matchless DC30 arrives boosting the boutique amplifier industry
1993 – Yamaha Pacifica 112 guitar
1993 – Nirvana film their MTV Unplugged session
1993 – plek, the first shop in Berlin servicing customer instruments with a functioning trial machine
1994 – The Klon Centaur released with about 8,000 units built between 1994 and 2000
1994 – Gibson Nighthawk
1994 – Fender factory in Ensenada, Mexico burns down
1994 – PRS McCarty Model – Ted McCarty was a mentor to Paul Reed Smith
1994 – Fender honors Freddie Tavares with 150 limited-edition “Freddie Tavares Aloha Stratocasters
1994 – Cello-Guitar Brahms guitar invented by guitarist Paul Galbraith with the luthier David Rubio
1994 – Danny Gatton dies
1994 – Taylor Guitars Grand Auditorium medium-size body style arrives
1994 – Klon Centaur pedal designed and hand-built by Bill Finnegan introduced
1994 – Ibanez 7-String Guitar
1995 – Jimmy D’Aquisto NY luthier dies
1995 – Introduction of eBay
1995 – Vince Cunetto starts the Fender Relic series
1995 – The clip-on tuner invented by Mark Wilson marketed it as The Intellitouch Tuner Mode
1995 – Fender Hot Rod Deluxe introduced
1995 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame grand opening was held in Cleveland
1995 – Selmer takes ownership in the Steinway Piano Company
1995 – Boss DD-5 Digital Delay pedal released
1995 – Roland V-Guitar System VG-8
1995 – Taylor pioneers UV-Curable Finish allowing for thin durable finishes with less solvents
1995 – Huss and Dalton Guitar Company takes root by Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton
1996 – Eddie Van Halen Peavey EVH Wolfgang guitar
1996 – Peavey 5150 Eddie Van Halen original signature amp
1996 – Line 6 launched with their first digital modeling guitar amplifier, the original Flextone
1996 – Smokey Amplifier created by Bruce Zinky
1996 – The DVD standard is established and released
1996 – Ella Fitzgerald dies
1996 – Taylor uses lasers to cut wood parts quietly & accurately
1997 – Seth Lover dies
1997 – Tommy Emmanuel & Chet Atkins records as a duo a The Day Finger Pickers Took Over The World
1997 – Line 6 POD arrives
1997 – RainSongs guitars world’s first all-graphite acoustic guitars
1997 – Sarah McLachlan starts the Lilith Fair Festival – with an all-female line-up
1998 – Boss TU-2 chromatic tuner released
1998 – Francis Albert Sinatra dies at the age of 82
1998 – The X Series Martin DXM guitars are introduced utilizing mostly composite materials
1998 – Carr Amps founded
1999 – First Crossroads Guitar Festival founded by Eric Clapton
1999 – Derek Trucks becomes formal member of Allman Brothers
1999 – Napster created
1999 – Bob Taylor developed and patented the NT (New Technology) neck joint for Taylor acoustic guitars
1999 – Gretsch Buys Bigsby
1999 – Chet Atkins calls Tommy Emmanuel a “fearless” fingerpicking guitar player
1999 – Chet Atkins awards Tommy Emmanuel, John Knowles, Marcel Dadi, Jerry Reed, and Steve Wariner the “Certified Guitar Player” title
2000 – Tommy Emmanuel and his brother Phil performs live in Sydney at the closing ceremony of the Summer Olympics
2001 – Robert Keeley starts Keeley Electronics from his home in Oklahoma City
2001 – PRS Single Cut Guitar
2001 – Ted McCarty dies
2001 – Alesis filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy – Later restructured and acquired by Jack O’Donnell
2001 – Chet Atkins dies
2001 – George Harrison dies
2001 – Apple iPod and iTunes introduced
2001 – Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened in downtown Nashville
2001 – XM Satellite Radio launches
2001 – Gibson Buys Bankrupt Baldwin Piano from GE Capital
2001 – Yamaha introduces their Silent guitars
2002 – Boss DD-6 Digital Delay pedal arrives
2002 – Line 6 Variax
2002 – Selmer Company merged with United Musical Instruments (UMI) to form Conn-Selmer
2002 – Sirius Satellite Radio launched
2003 – Fender signs deal for distributing new Gretsch guitars
2003 – Ernie Ball relocates string manufacturing to Riverside County, CA
2003 – Boss DD-20 Giga Delay twin pedal
2003 – Apple unveiled the iTunes Music Store
2004 – Fender Jaguar Baritone or Jaguar Bass VI Custom
2004 – Ernie Ball dies and sons take over company
2004 – Fishman Aura Imaging pedals arrive
2004 – Yamaha buys Cubase maker Steinberg
2005 – Gibson sues PRS over single cut model
2005 – Electro-Harmonix POG – Used by Jack White
2005 – Guitar Hero/Rock Band Controller
2005 – YouTube introduced
2005 – Bruce Zinky purchases the Supro name
2005 – Guitar Hero franchise begins
2005 – Blackbird Guitars makes acoustic guitars & ukuleles from carbon fiber
2006 – Fender Jaguar Bass
2006 – Fractal Audio Systems Axe-Fx arrives
2006 – Ahmet Ertegun dies
2007 – Fender acquired Kaman Music Corporation
2007 – Orange’s miniature 15-watt valve head starts lunchbox amp craze
2007 – Eddie Van Halen 300 replicas of Frankenstein guitar made by Fender under the EVH brand
2007 – Gibson Robot Guitar limited run
2007 – Welcome to the Andertons Music YouTube channel that changes the marketing game
2007 – Gibson Acquires Garrison Guitars in Newfoundland
2007 – Martin discontinues Sigma Guitar line
2007 – JHS Pedals launched
2007 – Roland RE-20 Space using Boss COSM technology to fully capture the classic RE-201 Space Echo in a digital pedal
2008 – New Kay reissues 12 models of vintage Kay guitars & basses manufactured by Fritz Brothers
2008 – Bo Diddley dies
2008 – XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio merge
2008 – Guitar Hero Controller introduced
2008 – Boss DD-7 Digital Delay pedal released
2008 – Kramer brand was sold out of bankruptcy to Gibson
2009 – George Fullerton dies
2009 – Les Paul dies
2009 – TC Electronic PolyTune pedal
2009 – Bob Bogle (Ventures) dies
2009 – Strymon starts developing guitar pedals
2010 – Apple iPad introduced
2010 – Apple iPod sales rose to 52.3 million units from only 381,000 in the year 2000
2010 – Jeff Beck joined by Imelda May and her band to honor Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club in NYC
2010 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) live album by Jeff Beck
2010 – Nashville Flood due to the Cumberland River overflowing its banks drowns many guitars
2011 – Volkswagen partners with Fender to manufacture premium sound systems for its vehicles
2011 – Kemper Profiling Amplifier
2011 – Yamaha THR desktop amps introduced
2011 – Gary Moore dies
2011 – Gibson raided multiple times by Justice Department with claimed violation of Lacey Act
2011 – Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition”Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York” opens
2011 – Gibson buys DJ Equipment maker Stanton
2011 – Ed Sheeran and his Little Martin has a Number 1 album
2011 – Jerry Jones retires and the Nashville factory closes
2012 – Reverb.com is launched
2012 – Gibson Buys 51 percent of Onkyo, USA for $8.9 million & $10.7 million for 15.5 percent stake Onkyo, Japan
2012 – Alesis, together with the rest of Jack O’Donnell’s companies, was acquired by inMusic Brands
2012 – Christie and Walter Carter founded Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville
2012 – Jim Marshall, who pioneered guitar amplifiers dies at 88
2013 – Hatch Show Print opened to the public
2013 – Conn-Selmer and Steinway changed from public companies to private with new owner
2013 – Line 6 bought by Yamaha Corporation
2013 – Gibson buys TEAC for $52 million
2014 – Gibson introduces Min-ETune™ automatic tuning unit
2014 – New line of USA-made, vintage-inspired Supro tube amplifiers ship
2014 – Gibson agrees to buy Phillips AV division for $135 million
2014 – Stan Jay, owner and founder of the Mandolin Brothers dies
2015 – Fender sells Kaman Music Corporation
2015 – Yamaha Revstar guitar series arrives and THR Head series guitar amps
2015 – Boss DD-500 Digital Delay most powerful stompbox delay from Boss
2015 – Flux Guitars brings double-neck Guitar that comes apart for two separate guitars
2015 – Gibson acquires Deckdance/Stanton
2016 – Sir George Henry Martin dies
2016 – Prince dies
2016 – Glenn Frey dies
2016 – Roland Corporation agreed to acquisition of Rodgers Instruments
2016 – Scotty Moore dies
2016 – Lonnie Mack dies
2016 – Yamaha TransAcoustic
2017 – TV Jones releases the Ful-Fidelity Filter’Tron guitar pickup based on Ray Butts exact specs
2017 – Chuck Berry dies
2017 – John Warren Geils Jr (J. Geils) dies
2017 – Songbirds Guitar Museum opens in Chattanooga, TN
2017 – Allan Holdsworth dies
2017 – Gregg Allman dies
2017 – Boss MS-3 Multi Effects Switcher arrives
2017 – Butch Trucks dies
2017 – Line 6 Helix arrives
2017 – Glen Campbell dies
2017 – Walter Becker dies
2017 – Tom Petty dies
2017 – The death of the electric guitar published by the Washington Post
2017 – Gibson puts Memphis Factory up for sale
2017 – Gibson is discontinuing all development of Cakewalk products
2017 – German company Tronical Sues Gibson for $50 Million for unpaid licensing fees its “robo-tuning” devices
2018 – Nokie Edwards dies
2018 – BandLab Acquires Cakewalk Assets from Gibson
2018 – New York-based Somera Road and Miami-based Tricera Capital buys Gibson Memphis Factory for $14.1 million
2018 – Memphis development firm buys stake in Gibson Guitar Factory from new owners
2018 – Taylor Guitars introduces V-Class bracing
2018 – Jack – the first wireless guitar cable using wifi
2018 – Gibson sues toy maker Funko in California over trademark for Les Paul guitar that likeness used in toys
2018 – Gibson to sue Tronical as it brands auto-tuning firm’s lawsuit “a public relations stunt”
2018 – Gibson files for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
2018 – Fender, Yamaha, Korg, Casio and Roland raided over alleged price fixing in UK
2018 – Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz ousted & company saved from bankruptcy
2018 – New era for Gibson starts
2018 – New Gibson CEO appointed, James ‘JC’ Curleigh, former president of Levi Strauss & Co.
2018 – Gibson appoints Cesar Gueikian as CMO; Kim Mattoon as CFO; and Christian Schmitz as CPO
2018 – Yamaha buys Ampeg
2018 – Roy Clark: 1933–2018
2019 – Fender Musical Instruments Corp (FMIC) acquires Bigsby brand from Fred Gretsch Enterprises
2019 – Electro-Harmonix wins copyright infringement case against Mooer in China courts
2019 – Jim Dunlop Sr., Guitar Effects Pioneer, Dead at 82
2019 – T-Rex Engineering gets taken back by original owner
2019 – Dick Dale dies
2019 – Gibson Mark Agnesi posts YouTube video threatening trademark infringement which is quickly removed
2019 – Gibson files multi-million dollar lawsuit against Dean and Luna Guitars in a Texas alleging trademark infringement
2019 – Dean Guitars and Luna Guitars, Armadillo Enterprises claim Gibson allegations entirely baseless
2019 – David Gilmour’s guitar collection smash auction records at Christie’s
2019 – Gibson loses Flying V trademark case in EU court
2019 – REVERB announces they signed and agreement to be acquired by Etsy
2019 – Gibson loses Firebird guitar body shape trademark in the EU
2020 – Heritage Guitars files lawsuit against Gibson Brands
2020 – Little Richard dies
2020 – D’Angelico acquires Supro and Pigtronix
2020 – Country music legend, session guitarist, fiddler Charlie Daniels dies at 83
2020 – Peter Green passes at 73
2020 – Trini López dies at 83
2021 – Christian Frederick Martin IV steps down from CF Martin & Co. marking the first time by someone outside of the Martin family will lead the company.
2021 – Fender acquires music technology company PreSonus
2021 – Gibson Announces Acquisition of Mesa/Boogie
2021 – Gretsch honors it’s 135-year history by opening museum in Savannah, Georgia
2021 – Gibson Acquires GWW Guitar Case Company
2022 – Dean guilty of trademark infringement and counterfeiting in Gibson Flying V case
2022 – Gibson must face antitrust litigation in Heritage case, US judge rules
2022 – Western Electric confirms plans to tackle the tube crisis with its Georgia factory
2023 – Gibson and Heritage agree to end trademark and antitrust legal battle
2023 – Jeff Beck: 1944-2023
2023 – David Crosby: 1941-2023
2023 – Guild Guitars, Cordoba and DeArmond pickups now owned by Yamaha
2023 – Harmony acquires of Stella, bringing the two brands back since 1973
2023 – Willie Nelson turns 90 and celebrates with a star studded concert
2023 – Tim Bachman, guitarist, co-founder of Bachman–Turner Overdrive, dies at 71
2023 – Gibson’s Board of Directors has appointed Cesar Gueikian as new interim CEO
2023 – Taylor Guitar CEO/Designer Andy Powers launches his own guitar brand, Powers Electrics
2023 – Robbie Robertson R.I.P. at 80
2023 – Avid maker of Pro Tools, Media Composer and Sibelius acquired by STG equity for $1.4 Billion
2023 – Bernie Marsden, former Whitesnake guitarist, dead at 72
2023 – Josh Scott at JHS revives vintage ROSS pedal line
2023 – Denny Laine, founding member of Moody Blues and Wings passes at 79
2024 – Gibson amps return with Falcon 5 and Falcon 20 – first amps since 1967
2024 – Dickey Betts of Allman Brothers passes at 80
2024 – Guitar legend Duane Eddy dies at 86
2024 – Blues legend John Mayall dead at 90
2024 – Mesa/Boogie Founder Randall Smith departs from Gibson
2024 – Gibson Hits Trump Guitars With Cease And Desist Order