The Story of the Electric Guitar - Part 1
There are few instruments more powerful than the electric guitar\u2026when the first primitive models appeared in the 1920s, no one gave them much thought\u2026the electric guitar was brand new, unproven, and completely lacking in any of the kinds of traditions and gravitas enjoyed by the piano, the violin, or any number of brass instruments\u2026\n\nBesides, unlike all the other musical instruments in use, these required electricity, a concept that was still quite new\u2026electric household appliances were just starting to catch on\u2026and having a radio was still a novel thing\u2026\n\nBut over the next 30 years, the electric guitar found its place in music, helped along by technology, the need for volume, changing social conditions, and the ever-evolving musical tastes of the public\u2026\n\nBy the 1960s, the electric guitar was regarded as one of the most powerful musical inventions of all time\u2026it was the sound behind rock\u2019n\u2019roll and all the social and cultural changes it created\u2026it was the sound of freedom, power, rebellion, joy. heartache, aggression, and more\u2026\n\nIn short, the electric guitar defined music for the latter half of the 20th century\u2026it\u2019s still an essential part of popular culture\u2026and despite several challenges to its supremacy over the decades, it\u2019s not going away anytime soon\u2026\n\nBut how did a semi-obscure acoustic instrument get electrified in the first place? Who were the inventors and promoters? What technological innovations were needed? And of all the noisemakers you could choose, how did it become the foundation of rock\u2019n\u2019roll?...\n\nThis is the story of the electric guitar, part 1\u2026\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices