31 Oct 2019

October 2019 – The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts – Part VIII

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Introduction

Hello and welcome to the 8^th article in this particular magnum opus of modern music history. I hope by now, you know the way this works, so I won’t say much more, other than welcome to the 1980s. If not by the start of the ‘80s, at least by the end of the decade, most readers will likely have some experience of living through the many events documented here, although I cannot assume that to be the case. I hope you have some fond memories of the time – personally, I can’t believe how long ago it was, as it seems like almost yesterday to me.

As always, if you would like to (re)visit any or all of the first seven parts (and well over 375 years) of the story to‑date, you can do so here (each link opens a new browser tab):

Once again, although notably shorter than the last four articles, this month is dedicated to a single decade, if only to ensure that it is given sufficient focus.

The Story of Modern Music Part VIII 1980-1989

While arguably not quite hitting the heady heights of the previous three decades, the 1980s (or simply, ‘the eighties’) still had much to relate both about the human condition and musical variety. The 1980s were notable for many catchy, sing‑along‑able chart choons and the emergence of commercial pop videos, along with accompanying fashion trends. One personal observation is that, perhaps, there were the first real signs of divergence between what was happening culturally and the music being produced. Interdependence between society and its music were still there but, maybe, not quite as strongly intertwined as previously.

Historical Context 1980-1989

The 1980s were sometimes called the ‘greed decade’ or the ‘old school days’. There was a worldwide move away from planned economies and towards laissez‑faire capitalism, allied to a western post-industrial move to supply side economic policies. This shift had a destabilizing effect on international trade that led to many developing countries being faced by crippling debt crises. Following the 1970s’ oil crisis, crude oil was in over supply, resulting in a glut during the 1980s. The start of the 1980s saw widespread economic recession and damaging labour disputes that hit the less well‑off disproportionately hard. Downturn was followed by a period of rapid capitalist growth towards the end of the decade. Increased economic prosperity facilitated the ‘yuppie’ boom, epitomised by hot hatchback/sports cars, wine bars and early ‘brick’ mobile phones, accompanied by an insatiable appetite for designer fashion. Western society’s affluence further polarised the wealth divide between rich and poor. Fervent materialism and a status driven desire for exposure acted as a catalyst for the start of the vapid public fascination with the ‘celebrity’ phenomenon and subsequent emergence of banal reality TV ‘entertainment’. Fundamental industrial restructuring took place in the developed world that migrated many countries away from traditional manufacturing towards economies based on IT, finance, tourism and service sectors. A rapid growth in digital technology and consumerism began that would change how people would live, work and play forever, including the advent of the ‘information superhighway’ that we now call the Internet. During the 1980s, the world’s population grew at the fastest rate yet, causing heightened fears about unsustainable human expansion and its impact on the planet’s fragile ecosystem.

Year	Global Events
1980	The massively popular maze video game Pac-Man was released by Japanese software company Namco. The bitter war between Middle East neighbours Iran and Iraq began, which would last until 1988. American volcano Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted violently killing 57 people and causing widespread damage. Former actor and Republican politician Ronald Reagan was elected to become the 40^th President of the U.S.A.
1981	American President Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded by attempted assassin John Hinckley Jr. in Washington D.C. An assassination attempt on the life of Pope John Paul II took place in Vatican City, when he was shot and wounded by Mehmet Ali Ağca. The IBM 5150 Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC was introduced, soon establishing it as an industry standard. American actress Jane Fonda published her hugely successful book, ‘Jane Fonda’s Workout’, which spawned multiple videos and an album. NASA’s Space Shuttle programme began with the first launch of the Earth orbiter Columbia. Heir to the British throne, Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The retrovirus that causes HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) was identified. The life‑threatening condition spread rapidly, becoming a global public health threat and causing widespread hysteria.
1982	King Henry VIII’s Tudor warship and flagship of the British Navy, the Mary Rose, which sank in 1545 during a battle against the French, was raised from the bed of the Solent off the south coast of England. Britain defeated Argentina to regain control of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, following an unprompted Argentinian invasion and occupation.
1983	American telecommunications company Motorola introduced the first mobile telephones to North America. The final episode of the Korean War‑set comedy drama ‘MAS*H’ was broadcast, achieving the record for most watched television episode to‑date.
1984	English policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was shot and killed by an unknown gunman in the Libyan Embassy in London, prompting an 11‑day siege of the embassy resulting in Libyan citizens being expelled and diplomatic relations between the UK and Libya being severed. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, at her residence in New Delhi. American network TV aired the first episodes of crime drama series Miami Vice, produced by Michael Mann for NBC. It was notable for its ground breaking amalgamation of music and visuals. The show ran until 1989.
1985	Politician Mikhail Gorbachev became Russian Premiere and began leading major political and social reform across the USSR. Technology company, Microsoft released the first version of its PC‑based Windows operating system. Acclaimed American screenwriter, director and producer John Hughes released, ‘The Breakfast Club’, followed up a year later by ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ and ‘Pretty In Pink’. The shipwreck of the ocean liner RMS Titanic was discovered in the North Atlantic Ocean, 73 years after it sank in 1912 following a collision with an iceberg.
1986	The American Space shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launch at Cape Canaveral, Florida, killing all seven astronauts aboard. The nuclear power plant at Chernobyl in Ukraine, Russia suffered a catastrophic meltdown, causing global pollution and resulting in devastating radioactive environmental damage. The Soviet Union’s Mir project became the first modular manned space station in low Earth orbit. It was used predominantly as a scientific research laboratory. Mir broke up on re‑entry into the Earth’s atmosphere in 2001.
1987	The animated American family comedy, The Simpsons, first appeared on American television as a series of shorts. The film ‘Wall Street’ was released, typifying the zeitgeist of the 1980s and its ‘greed is good’ power of money mentality, directed by Oliver Stone and starring Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. The antidepressant medication Fluoxetine, commonly known as Prozac, was approved for use in the U.S.A.
1988	A Pan-Am 747 airliner exploded as a result of a Libyan terrorist bomb, which caused the plane to crash into the village of Lockerbie in Scotland, killing a total of 270 people.
1989	Republican politician George H.W. Bush became the 41^st President of the U.S.A. The pro‑democracy protest in Tiananmen Square, Beijing was brutally crushed by Communist Chinese authorities, resulting in many deaths and widespread international criticism over the state’s human rights violations. Russian military forces pulled out of Afghanistan 10 years after invading the country. Significant environmental pollution occurred when the Exxon Valdez oil tanker struck a reef in Prince William Sound off the coast of Alaska, spilling nearly 11 million gallons (37,000 metric tonnes) of crude oil into the coastal waters. The Berlin Wall in Germany, built in 1961 to divide the city and prevent movement between east and west, was demolished, marking massive political change in Europe, including in Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Rumania. British computer scientist and engineer, Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, now known as the Internet, while he was employed at CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) near Geneva, Switzerland.

Musical Genre Development 1980-1989

After the creative revolutions of the 1950s (rock ‘n’ roll), 1960s (rock and pop) and the 1970s (heavy metal, punk, reggae, disco, rap), the 1980s was largely a decade of reflection, consolidation, cross‑fertilisation and diversification. In short, quite a lot happened but, conversely, there was not a lot that was genuinely new in musical genre subversion. Pop was, erm, as popular as ever with artists such as Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, New Kids on the Block, Wham!, New Edition and Kylie Minogue.

Punk rock’s implosion left a vacuum that needed to be filled and the answer came in post‑punk diversity at the beginning of the 1980s. New wave is associated with the birth of MTV and the music video phase and was seen as a more commercial sub‑genre of post‑punk performed by artists such as Blondie, Talking Heads, Devo, The Cars, The Police, Jam, Elvis Costello, The Smiths, Ian Dury, Adam & The Ants, New Model Army, The Fall, Echo & The Bunnymen, and the Pretenders. Also deriving from post‑punk and encompassing a number of different styles was the new romantic sub‑genre heavily influenced by glam rock from the early 1970s, as exemplified by bands like Duran Duran, Culture Club, Visage, Spandau Ballet, Thompson Twins and Eurythmics. Synth pop also came and went in the post‑punk period of the early‑mid 1980s with electronica‑driven artists like Gary Numan, Kraftwerk, Japan, Human League, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) and Ultravox. These highly produced music fads dominated the charts before beginning to decline by the mid‑1980s, followed by a revival of guitar‑driven music, often harking back to previous decades.

World and new age music became popular during the 1980s after being heavily promoted by record companies, even though neither has its roots in the decade. World music (not to be confused with third world music) isn’t really a genre but rather a broad marketing categorisation for a very wide and diverse range of traditional and contemporary music from around the globe including western music that doesn’t fall easily within more clearly defined genres. It also covers music that fuses ethnic influences from other genres to create something different. The umbrella term may also be used to promote niche music that was potentially under threat from music’s big business. Since 1987, World Music Day has become an annual celebration of the global music scene. Two of the leading artists associated with world music are African bands Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Savuka. Western artists such as Paul Simon and Peter Gabriel have embraced world music, fusing it with their own material. New age music is another loose marketing category for music that aims to promote positive mental wellbeing, spirituality and meditation. It is also used to complement physical activities such as yoga and massage. It has also been used to enhance inspiration and to manage stress. New age music is often acoustic or electronic and predominantly ambient (i.e. not having an obvious beat, rhythm or structure), regularly instrumental and minimalist or comprising recorded sound effects from nature. Popular western new age artists include Tangerine Dream, Vangelis, Jean Michel Jarre, Mike Oldfield, Klaus Schulze, Enya, Enigma and Clannad. Both world and new age music have influenced numerous subsequent musical ventures and projects.

Other established genres experienced revivals during the 1980s. For instance, hip hop’s ‘golden era’ spawned a plethora of artists, including LL Cool J, Run–D.M.C., Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys. Jazz also made a concerted comeback of sorts starting in the ‘70s and continuing into the ‘80s with jazz/rock fusion artists like Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report and Pat Metheny. Partly driven by MTV and ubiquitous pop videos, the 1980s saw the rise of success of mega‑pop stars like Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lionel Ritchie, Billy Joel, Prince and Whitney Houston. Heavy metal saw a 1980s resurgence that lasted well into the 1990s including artists like, Pantera, Queensrÿche, Extreme, Marilyn Manson and Danzig, while Iron Maiden led the charge of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) genre along with Def Leppard and Judas Priest. Nu‑metal pioneers began to appear at the very end of the decade including, Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind and Linkin Park.

Musical Facts 1980-1989

Day	Month	Year	Music Fact
3	January	1980	American lo-fi indie/rock singer, songwriter, guitarist, former member of indie rock band The War On Drugs and successful solo artist, Kurt Vile was born in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania.
26	January	1980	American guitarist, singer and songwriter Prince made his first U.S. television appearance on the show ‘American Bandstand’.
19	February	1980	Scottish singer with Australian hard rock band AC/DC, Bon Scott died from acute alcohol poisoning in a friend’s car in London at the age of 33.
14	March	1980	Renowned American music producer Quincy Jones received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street.
14	April	1980	English heavy metal rock band, Iron Maiden released their storming debut studio album, the self-titled ‘Iron Maiden’ in the UK.
22	April	1980	English indie rock icons, The Cure released their 2^nd studio album, ‘Seventeen Seconds’ in the UK.
23	April	1980	English heavy metal band Judas Priest released their classic 6^th studio album, ‘British Steel’.
2	May	1980	English alternative post-punk rock band Joy Division played their final live gig with singer Ian Curtis, two weeks before he committed suicide.
18	May	1980	English singer, songwriter and driving force behind post‑punk rock band Joy Division, Ian Curtis was found hanged at this home in Macclesfield, Cheshire at the age of 23.
7	July	1980	English hard rock band Led Zeppelin played their final live concert with John Bonham as drummer in Berlin, Germany.
10	July	1980	Jamaican reggae giants, Bob Marley & The Wailers released their final studio album before Marley’s untimely death, ‘Uprising’.
18	July	1980	English post-punk rock band Joy Division released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘Closer’.
25	July	1980	Australian heavy rock band, AC/DC, released their career-redefining 7^th studio album, ‘Back In Black’.
12	September	1980	English rock singer and songwriter David Bowie released his standout studio album, ‘Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)’ in the UK.
20	September	1980	English heavy metal singer and ex-member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne released his debut solo studio album, ‘Blizzard Of Ozz’ in the UK.
23	September	1980	Jamaican reggae star Bob Marley made his final live concert performance in Pennsylvania, USA, during which he collapsed on stage.
25	September	1980	English drummer with rock band Led Zeppelin, John Bonham, died tragically of alcohol-induced asphyxia in Clewer, Berkshire at the age of 32.
3	October	1980	English post-punk rock band The Police released their 3^rd studio album, ‘Zenyattà Mondatta’ in the UK.
8	October	1980	American alternative rock band Talking Heads released their exceptional career-best studio album produced by Brian Eno, ‘Remain In Light’.
10	October	1980	American singer, songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen released his 5^th studio album, ‘The River’.
20	October	1980	Emerging Irish rock band, U2 released their debut studio album, ‘Boy’, to critical acclaim in the UK.
8	November	1980	English rock band Motörhead, released their massive 5^th studio album, ‘Ace Of Spades’ in the UK.
8	December	1980	English former member of The Beatles, John Lennon was murdered by gunman Mark Chapman outside the Dakota hotel in New York City at the age of 40.
12	December	1980	English punk rock band, The Clash released their follow up to the epic ‘London Calling’ with their even more ambitious 4^th studio triple album, ‘Sandinista!’.
15	December	1980	English guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Kasabian, Sergio Pizzorno was born in Newton Abbot, Devon.
16	January	1981	American guitarist, singer, songwriter and founding member of indie/alternative rock band The Strokes, Nick Valensi was born in New York City.
2	February	1981	English heavy metal rock band, Iron Maiden released their sophomore studio album, ‘Killers’ in the UK.
9	February	1981	American Rock ‘n’ Roll pioneer, Bill Haley, having been diagnosed with a brain tumour, died at his home in Harlingen, Texas at the age of 55.
15	February	1981	American blues/rock guitarist Mike Bloomfield died from an accidental drug overdose and was found in his car in San Francisco, California at the age of 37.
4	April	1981	UK pop group Bucks Fizz won the 26^th Eurovision Song Contest with, ‘Making Your Mind Up’.
14	April	1981	Legendary English indie rock band, The Cure released their classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Faith’ in the UK.
11	May	1981	Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter and guitarist, Robert Nesta ‘Bob’ Marley died from cancer in Miami, Florida at the age of 36.
21	May	1981	Rastafarian reggae legend Bob Marley received a state funeral in his home town of Kingston, Jamaica.
6	June	1981	The very first issue of weekly heavy metal music magazine ‘KERRANG!’ was published, featuring AC/DC on the front cover.
1	August	1981	Revolutionary 24 hour music video channel, MTV (Music Television), broadcast for the very first time in the USA at 12:01am Eastern Time, introduced by creator John Lack with, “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll”
8	October	1981	English post-punk rock band Joy Division released their 3^rd and final studio album, ‘Still’.
7	November	1981	English singer and former member of heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne released his sophomore solo studio album, ‘Diary of a Madman’.
30	January	1982	Legendary American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Sam ‘Lightnin’’ Hopkins died from cancer in Houston, Texas at the age of 69.
14	March	1982	American thrash metal band, Metallica performed their debut live concert at Radio City, Anaheim, California, taglined, ‘Metalus Maximus’.
19	March	1982	American heavy metal guitarist Randy Rhoads, best known as member of Ozzy Osbourne’s band died tragically in a plane crash in Leesburg, Florida at the age of 25.
22	March	1982	English heavy metal rock band, Iron Maiden released their 3^rd studio album, ‘The Number Of The Beast’ in the UK.
3	May	1982	English indie rock icons, The Cure released their dark and brooding masterpiece 4^th studio album, ‘Pornography’ in the UK.
6	May	1982	American singer and actress, Diana Ross received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.
14	May	1982	English punk rock legends, The Clash released their 5^th and penultimate studio album, ‘Combat Rock’ in the UK.
16	June	1982	English guitarist, songwriter and founding member of The Pretenders, James Honeyman-Scott died of drug‑related heart failure in London at the age of 25.
14	July	1982	English heavy metal rock band Judas Priest released their classic 8^th studio album, ‘Screaming for Vengeance’.
17	August	1982	Company executives from Philips, Sony and Polygram announced the pressing of the first commercial digital Compact Disc (CD).
20	September	1982	American singer, songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen released his 6^th studio album, the often‑overlooked haunting and elegiac, ‘Nebraska’.
1	October	1982	Technology giant, Sony released the first ever digital Compact Disc (CD) player, the CDP-101, to the eager public in Japan.
27	October	1982	Legendary American singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer, Prince, released his top-selling 5^th studio album, ‘1999’.
5	November	1982	UK TV broadcaster Channel 4 aired its edgy music and lifestyle programme, ‘The Tube’ for the first time. Presenters included Jools Holland and the late Paula Yates. The show ran for 5 series until April 1987.
30	November	1982	American singer, Michael Jackson released his career‑defining mega‑hit 6^th studio album, ‘Thriller’. It is estimated that sales have well‑exceeded 50 million copies worldwide.
11	December	1982	English punk rock and mod revival band, The Jam played their final live concert in Brighton, UK before splitting up for good.
29	December	1982	The Jamaican Post Office released a set of postage stamps commemorating the life and music of reggae legend Bob Marley.
18	January	1983	English guitarist, singer and member of indie pop duo The Ting Tings, Katie White was born in Lowton, Greater Mancester.
28	February	1983	Irish mega-rock band U2 released their highly acclaimed chart-topping gold 3^rd studio album, ‘War’.
2	March	1983	The digital Compact Disc (CD) was launched in Europe and America by Philips, Sony and Polygram, 7 months after it had debuted in Japan.
23	March	1983	American Texas blues/rock giants ZZ Top released their massive 7^th studio album, the classic, ‘Eliminator’.
14	April	1983	English rock singer David Bowie released his 15^th and perhaps most commercial studio album, the great Nile Rodgers‑produced, ‘Let’s Dance’.
30	April	1983	Renowned American Chicago blues guitarist, Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) died from a heart attack at his home in Westmont, Illinois at the age of 70.
16	May	1983	Pioneering English heavy metal rock band Iron Maiden released their massively successful 4^th studio album, ‘Piece Of Mind’.
23	May	1983	Jamaican reggae legends Bob Marley & The Wailers released their studio album, ‘Confrontation’ posthumously, after Bob Marley’s death in 1981.
12	June	1983	Influential American blues slide guitarist and singer J.B. Hutto died from cancer in Harvey, Illinois at the age of 57.
13	June	1983	Emerging American blues/rock guitarist and singer, Stevie Ray Vaughan with his band Double Trouble released their debut studio album, ‘Texas Flood’.
25	July	1983	Up-and-coming American thrash metal band Metallica released their standout debut studio album, ‘Kill ‘Em All’.
20	October	1983	American country music guitarist Merle Travis died of a heart attack at his home in Tahlequah, Oklahoma at the age of 65.
10	November	1983	English singer, songwriter and one-time member of punk rock band Generation X, Billy Idol released his highly popular 2^nd studio album, ‘Rebel Yell’.
15	November	1983	English singer and former member of heavy metal rock band Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne released his 3^rd solo studio album, ‘Bark At The Moon’ in the UK.
2	December	1983	Music television channel MTV aired the full 14-minute pop video to Michael Jackson’s massive hit single, ‘Thriller’ for the first time.
1	January	1984	Widely regarded as the founding father of British Blues, guitarist and broadcaster Alexis Korner died of lung cancer in London at the age of 55.
21	January	1984	American rock band Bon Jovi released their debut studio album, the self-titled ‘Bon Jovi’ in the U.S.
1	April	1984	American soul singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father in Los Angeles, California at the age of 44.
26	April	1984	Eleven years after the famous original Cavern Club in Liverpool, UK was demolished in 1973, it was rebuilt and the new venue opened its doors.
4	May	1984	The classic music rock/mock/documentary film about the experiences of an English rock band, ‘This Is Spinal Tap’, directed by Rob Reiner, was released in the UK.
15	May	1984	American blues rock guitarist, Stevie Ray Vaughan with his band Double Trouble released their 2^nd studio album, ‘Couldn’t Stand the Weather’.
19	May	1984	American southern rock band ZZ Top released their hit single, ‘Legs’ with the B-Side ‘Bad Girl’, both from their career‑defining album, ‘Eliminator’.
21	May	1984	Emerging indie rock band, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their impressive debut album, ‘From Her to Eternity’.
4	June	1984	American singer, songwriter and guitarist Bruce Springsteen released his massive 7^th studio album, ‘Born In The U.S.A.’.
14	June	1984	American country singer Dolly Parton received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard.
25	June	1984	Legendary flamboyant American musician Prince released the massive original soundtrack album for the film, ‘Purple Rain’.
30	July	1984	American thrash metal rock band Metallica released their sophomore studio album, ‘Ride The Lightning’.
3	September	1984	English heavy metal rock band Iron Maiden released their classic 5^th studio album, ‘Powerslave’ in the UK.
16	September	1984	Talented Georgian/British singer, songwriter and guitarist Katie Melua was born in Kutaisi, Georgia.
24	September	1984	English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their 4^th studio album, ‘Some Great Reward’ in the UK.
27	September	1984	Canadian pop-punk singer, songwriter and guitarist, Avril Lavigne was born in Ontario.
1	October	1984	Irish rock band U2 released their classic 4^th studio album, ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ in the UK.
20	November	1984	American pop singer, Michael Jackson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard.
3	December	1984	Assembled super group Band Aid released their massive Christmas charity single, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ in response to the famine in Ethiopia.
15	December	1984	Charity super group, Band Aid entered the UK singles chart at number 1 with their song, ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ in aid of Ethiopian famine victims.
22	January	1985	Australian guitarist, famous for working with Alice Cooper and Michael Jackson, Orianthi Panagaris was born in Adelaide, South Australia.
13	May	1985	English rock band Dire Straits released their massive hit 5^th studio album, ‘Brothers In Arms’.
4	June	1985	American guitarist with heavy rock band Black Stone Cherry, Chris Robertson was born in Kentucky.
29	June	1985	English rock singers David Bowie and Mick Jagger recorded their version of the classic Martha Reeves and the Vandellas’ soul hit, ‘Dancing In The Street’ in support of the Live Aid charity.
13	July	1985	Two Live Aid fundraising concerts took place in London and Philadelphia to benefit the plight of Ethiopian famine victims.
30	September	1985	American blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan with his band Double Trouble released their 3^rd studio album, ‘Soul to Soul’.
9	October	1985	Japanese artist Yoko Ono dedicated the Strawberry Fields memorial in New York City’s Central Park to her late husband, John Lennon on what would have been his 45^th birthday.
28	October	1985	American Texas blues/rock trio, ZZ Top released their 9^th studio album, ‘Afterburner’, the follow up to their massive 1983 hit, ‘Eliminator’.
30	October	1985	American thrash metal masters Anthrax released their career classic 2^nd studio album, ‘Spreading The Disease’.
4	January	1986	Irish bass guitarist with rock band Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott died of complications due to septicaemia in Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK, at the age of 36.
6	January	1986	English singer, songwriter and guitarist of indie/rock bands Arctic Monkeys and The Last Shadow Puppets, Alex Turner was born in Sheffield.
3	March	1986	American heavy metal band Metallica released their 3^rd studio album, the last with Cliff Burton playing bass guitar in the line-up, ‘Master Of Puppets’.
14	March	1986	The classic film inspired by the mythology surrounding blues guitarist Robert Johnson, directed by Walter Hill, ‘Crossroads’ was released in the USA.
17	March	1986	English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their 5th studio album, ‘Black Celebration’ in the UK.
19	May	1986	English singer, songwriter and former member of progressive rock band Genesis, Peter Gabriel released his commercially successful 5^th solo studio album, ‘So’.
20	July	1986	The feature film ‘Sid And Nancy’ focusing on the tragic lives of Sex Pistols’ bass guitarist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen premiered in London. The film was directed by Alex Cox and starred Gary Oldman.
25	August	1986	American singer and songwriter Paul Simon released his classic 7^th solo studio album, ‘Graceland’.
28	August	1986	American pop singer, Tina Turner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 North Vine Street.
27	September	1986	American bass guitarist and songwriter with thrash metal rock band Metallica, Cliff Burton was tragically killed in a tour coach crash in Dörarp, Sweden at the age of 24.
29	September	1986	English heavy metal band Iron Maiden released their 6^th studio album, ‘Somewhere In Time’ in the UK.
7	October	1986	American thrash metal band Slayer released their huge genre classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Reign In Blood’.
15	November	1986	American hip-hop group from NYC, Beastie Boys, released their debut studio album, ‘Licensed To Ill’, including their massive hit single, ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)’.
2	December	1986	Supremely talented Australian bass guitarist and singer, Tal Wilkenfeld was born in Sydney.
21	January	1987	American soul legend Aretha Franklin became the first woman inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
22	February	1987	American pop artist and manager of experimental rock band Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol died following gall bladder surgery in New York at the age of 58.
9	March	1987	Irish rock band U2 released their 5^th studio album, the massive ‘The Joshua Tree’ in the UK.
22	March	1987	American thrash metal masters Anthrax released their career classic 3^rd studio album, ‘Among The Living’.
30	March	1987	Diminutive American singer, songwriter and guitarist Prince released his ambitious, epic change of direction 9^th studio album, ‘Sign ☮ The Times’.
2	April	1987	Highly acclaimed American jazz drummer Buddy Rich died from respiratory and heart failure following treatment for a brain tumour in Los Angeles, California at the age of 69.
5	May	1987	English indie rock icons The Cure released their lip‑smacking 7^th studio double album, ‘Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me’ in the UK.
2	June	1987	Virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist Andrés Segovia died from a heart attack in Madrid at the age of 94.
14	July	1987	American rock group The Steve Miller Band received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street.
21	July	1987	American hard rock band, Guns N’ Roses released their storming debut studio album, ‘Appetite For Destruction’.
3	August	1987	English heavy metal rock band Def Leppard released their best-selling classic 4^th studio album, ‘Hysteria’.
25	August	1987	American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson released his 7^th solo studio album, ‘Bad’, as a follow up to his massive 1982 LP, ‘Thriller’.
11	September	1987	Jamaican reggae artist Peter Tosh was shot dead along with two others by a gang of three armed robbers at his home in Kingston, Jamaica at the age of 42.
12	September	1987	English alternative rock singer and songwriter Morrissey left his band, The Smiths to pursue a successful solo music career.
21	September	1987	American bass guitarist and member of jazz fusion band Weather Report from 1976-1981, the inimitable Jaco Pastorius died from injuries following an altercation at a club in Wilton Manors, Florida at the age of 35.
28	September	1987	English electronic/alternative rock band Depeche Mode released their 6^th studio album, ‘Music For The Masses’ in the UK.
8	October	1987	Legendary American rock ‘n’ roll guitarist Chuck Berry received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1777 North Vine Street.
15	October	1987	American virtuoso instrumental rock guitarist Joe Satriani released his classic 2^nd studio album, ‘Surfing With The Alien’.
1	December	1987	Puerto Rican guitarist and singer, Jose Feliciano received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard.
31	December	1987	After 17 years and 445 episodes, British TV broadcaster, the BBC aired the final edition of contemporary music show, ‘The Old Grey Whistle Test’.
20	January	1988	Legendary English pop/rock band The Beatles were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
11	April	1988	English heavy metal band Iron Maiden released their 7^th studio album, ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’.
5	May	1988	Highly successful English singer and songwriter Adele MBE was born in London.
5	July	1988	American thrash metal rock band, Slayer, released their mega hit 4^th studio album, ‘South Of Heaven’.
14	August	1988	American blues/rock guitarist Roy Buchanan was found hanged (a disputed suicide) in a jail cell after he was arrested for public intoxication in Fairfax, Virginia at the age of 48.
25	August	1988	American heavy metal rock band Metallica released their classic 4^th studio album, ‘… And Justice For All’.
19	September	1988	Alternative rock band Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds released their highly acclaimed 5^th studio album, ‘Tender Prey’.
30	September	1988	English former member of The Beatles, John Lennon received a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street.
10	October	1988	Irish rock band U2 released their classic 6^th studio album (and complementary ‘rockumentary’ film), ‘Rattle and Hum’ in the UK.
18	October	1988	American alternative rock band Sonic Youth released their landmark 6^th studio album, ‘Daydream Nation’.
19	October	1988	Legendary American delta blues guitarist and singer, Son House died of cancer of the larynx in Detroit, Michigan at the age of 86.
6	December	1988	American singer, songwriter and musician, Roy Orbison died of a heart attack in Hendersonville, Tennessee at the age of 52.
18	January	1989	Music greats, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Otis Redding and others were inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
2	May	1989	English indie rock group The Stone Roses released their eponymous debut studio album, ‘The Stone Roses’.
2	May	1989	English indie rock icons, The Cure released their near‑perfect career-defining 8^th studio album, ‘Disintegration’ in the UK.
29	May	1989	American guitarist, John Cipollina of rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service died of alpha‑1 antitrypsin deficiency in San Francisco at the age of 45.
1	June	1989	Underground American grunge band, Nirvana released their debut studio album, ‘Bleach’ to an unsuspecting public.
6	June	1989	Legendary American blues/rock guitarist and singer, Stevie Ray Vaughan with his band Double Trouble released their 4^th and final studio album before SRV’s tragic death, ‘In Step’.
15	July	1989	English progressive rock band Pink Floyd performed a live concert on a floating stage at Venice, Italy, watched by over 200,000 people.
25	July	1989	American rap rock band, Beastie Boys released their classic sophomore studio album, ‘Paul’s Boutique’.
12	September	1989	English virtuoso instrumental rock guitarist Jeff Beck released his impressive 6^th studio album ‘Jeff Beck’s Guitar Shop’ in the UK.
26	November	1989	British pop/rock band, Squeeze performed in concert for the very first broadcast of ‘MTV Unplugged’ in the US.
13	December	1989	One of the best‑selling artists of all time, American country/pop singer and songwriter Taylor Swift was born in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Tailpiece

Well that’s the eighties for you in a (sizeable) nutshell. We are now getting much closer to the end of the story (at least as far as I am able to document it) and the new millennium beckons tantalisingly out of reach. However, before that, we will fill in the gap with the 1990s next month. Will it be a Brave New World or just more of the same? To discover the facts behind the memories, please return here next month for some more manic music history. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “Never trust your memories but cherish the good ones regardless”

← Return to ‘Musings’ page

Like it? Why not share it?

30 Mar 2019

March 2019 – The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts – Part I

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Introduction

Welcome to springtime in the northern hemisphere! Starting this month (March 2019), we are about to do something a bit different and embark on a new historical music journey. This isn’t the major writing project that I was going to embark upon this year – the original idea for 2019 requires much more research than I am able to undertake currently and has had to be postponed, probably until 2020 at the earliest. This decision left a bit of a quandary as to what was going to keep me writing this year and then I had this idea to do something a bit different. Little did I know how much work this alternative project was going to take either!!!

The story covers approximately 350 years of ‘modern’ musical from the end of the European Renaissance to the current day. To some extent, this music‑centric sojourn also reflects humankind’s broader cultural development. I hope you’ll join me on this ‘new’ melodious expedition and hope you enjoy whatever bits and pieces you want to gain from it over the coming months.

If you waded through CRAVE Guitars’ 9‑part exploration of the ‘Potted History of the Guitar’ series throughout 2018, you’ll have some background to the instrument’s development from ancient times to today (and an imaginary look forward into the future). Some learned researchers believe (NB. I don’t) that the story of the guitar and the music produced by this remarkably popular instrument really begins around the end of the Renaissance (c.1600 CE) with the Spanish vihuela. Standardisation of the guitar’s structural form developed over time with the Renaissance and baroque guitars and the Italian chitarra battente. By the middle of the 19^th Century during the Romantic period (c.1830-1900 CE), the now‑familiar guitar outline had appeared with the refinement of the aptly named romantic guitar. Read the relevant part here (“ A Potted History Of The Guitar Part II) Thereafter, modern classical and folk acoustic guitars became well‑established and its development has been well‑documented during the course of the 20^th Century, including the introduction of electric guitars from the 1930s.

Having looked at the impact of the instrument itself, it now seems appropriate to look at some of the people, innovations and events that have been directly or indirectly related to the evolution of guitar. As you might expect, what happens in music is closely interwoven with the progress of western civilisation during the same period.

In addition, if you’ve been following CRAVE Guitars’ social media output, you’ll know that I have regularly posted ‘Music Facts of the Day’, musician birthdays and other interesting trivia over the last 4+ years. However, trawling back through social media timelines to pick these out doesn’t give a chronological perspective, just an ‘on this day’ one. So, having done most of the hard work (I thought naively) of collecting the data for another use, it seemed to be a straightforward exercise to present this same information as a historical chronology of ‘facts’, over 1,530 of them in all. As it turned out, this was a much more onerous task than originally envisaged.

Inevitably, the ‘Story of Modern Music’ arranged in this way, it is just a list of seemingly unrelated things that happened over time. However, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture, the chronology does bestow a sense of how modern music unfolded over the years. Hindsight, it turns out, really is a wonderful thing!

The earliest dates in the story are quite scant, so what we’ll do is to cover an extended period of time quite quickly before it starts to get culturally interesting in the 20^th Century. The idea of the whole exercise is to present about 3½ centuries of music history largely through the perspective of the guitar, guitarists and guitar music but not comprehensively so, so there is quite a lot of relevant contextual information. Keeping things specific to guitars would, I felt, be too limited, so guitars were used as a starting point and the story broadens out to encompass other musical events.

The reason why I use ‘facts’ in quotes is because, during the research, re‑writing and re‑ordering exercise, some errors will inevitably have crept in, despite my best endeavours, and I apologise if this is the case. Also, to keep the overall scale and scope manageable, each ‘fact’ is presented as a short ’snippet’, regardless of whether they are major or minor points. I may also have missed many notable events, as I’m learning continually and adding things to the collective library. However, I hope this new story gives an alternative view of how we got from post‑Renaissance European classical music to the diverse musical landscape of the current day. Most modern musical events tend to focus on developed western countries, that’s just the way it came about. By the time we get to the end of the story, some events along the way may well change, especially more recent happenings, so the story is presented very much as a point‑in‑time.

Clearly, recording musical ‘facts’ in isolation can also become a bit exclusive, so at the beginning of each article there will be a short background synopsis of the political, economic, social and technological events that occurred during the relevant period. At this point, The cultural background paragraphs are simply an indicator of what else was going on the world at the same time that musical development was taking place. Before we get going, I have to remind readers that I am neither a historian and nor is this is not an academic exercise. Like ‘A Potted History of the Guitar’ endeavour before it, this series of articles is for entertainment only, based on what I have researched over the years. The nature of the article doesn’t lend itself to images, so for lovers of the pictorial story, apologies, there are is little to look at.

So, getting to the point… The first part of our story begins in the latter part of the 17^th Century and concludes at the end of the 19^th Century. So, let the voyage of discovery begin with a quick look at some global non‑music events…

Historical Context 1650-1900

1650-1700

In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England until 1660 when Charles II restored the monarchy. The Great Plague and the Great Fire of London took place in 1665 and 1666 respectively. Europe was being ravaged by war, particularly against France. In America in 1681, William Penn obtained a land grant from the King of England, which led to the formation of modern‑day Pennsylvania. Sir Isaac Newton published his scientific masterwork, the ‘Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica’ in 1687. A year later, in 1688, the Glorious Revolution ended four years of Catholic rule in England. Although written anonymously in 1660, in 1689 the English philosopher John Locke published the ‘Two Treatises of Government’, which presented the theory of a limited monarchy and stated that a social contract existed between those governed and those being governed, thereby influencing the development of democratic government. In 1692, the infamous witchcraft trials were held in Salem, Massachusetts. The Bank of England was founded in 1694.

1701-1800

Queen Anne of England was crowned in 1702 (and died in 1714). Five years later in 1707, England and Scotland become the United Kingdom of Great Britain. In 1719, Daniel Defoe wrote the novel, ‘Robinson Crusoe’. 1720 saw Sir Edmund Halley become Astronomer Royal. In 1721, Sir Robert Walpole became first British Prime Minister, the same year that Peter the Great became Emperor of Russia. In 1727, physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton died. In 1751, China annexed Tibet. In 1755, English writer Samuel Johnson publishes his landmark ‘Dictionary’. In 1770, Captain James Cook laid claim to New Zealand and Eastern Australia on behalf of Britain. 1773 was marked by the Boston Tea Party, which marked the start of the American Revolution. In France, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette succeeded to throne in 1774. America finally declared independence from Britain in 1776. In the same year, Scottish economist Adam Smith published his masterpiece, the ‘Wealth of Nations’. In 1783, the French Montgolfier brothers became the first people to fly using their hot air balloon. By 1787, the American Constitution was drafted and two years later George Washington became the first American President in 1789. The first British convicts were deported to settle Australia in 1788, a practice that continued until 1867. 1789 saw the start of the French Revolution when the Bastille fortress in Paris was stormed and by 1793 the French Republic was declared after Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had been beheaded.

1801-1900

The 19^th Century began with Thomas Jefferson becoming American President in 1801, the same year that British inventor Richard Trevithick developed the high‑pressure steam engine. Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself emperor of France in 1804. A year later, in 1805, Lord Horatio Nelson defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1807, the slave trade was abolished in Britain. The new technologies of the industrial revolution ignited the Luddite riots in 1811 England. By 1812, Napoleon’s army was defeated and forced to retreat from the siege of Moscow. In 1814, Robert Stephenson built the early steam locomotive. The Duke of Wellington finally defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The precursor to today’s computers, the Difference Engine was created by English mathematician Charles Babbage in 1820. The first railway from Stockton to Darlington in England was opened in 1825. By 1829, Sir Robert Peel established the London Police Force. In 1834, the Tolpuddle Martyrs were persecuted to discourage the formation of trade unions in England – unions were finally legalised in 1871. Queen Victoria came to the British throne in 1837, the same year that French artist Louis Daguerre pioneered photography. In 1848, German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the ‘Communist Manifesto’. In 1857, American industrialist Elisha Otis introduced the first elevator. English naturalist, Charles Darwin published his ground‑breaking theory of evolution, the ‘Origin of Species’ in 1859. Abraham Lincoln became American President in 1861, the same year that the American Civil War began, which lasted until 1865. Thanks to French biologist and chemist Louis Pasteur, pasteurisation was introduced to milk and beer in 1864. The United States of America abolished slavery in 1865. In 1869, the Suez Canal was opened in Egypt. The telephone was developed by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876, a year before Thomas Edison invented the first phonograph in 1877 and the electric light in 1878. The bloody Zulu war took place in South Africa in 1879. Work began on the Panama Canal in Central America in 1880. The world’s first real skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, completed in 1885. By 1886, German engineers, Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz produced the first automobiles. In 1896 the first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Between 1888 and 1991, Jack the Ripper was carrying out a campaign of murder on women in London. In France, the Eiffel Tower was built in Paris for the ‘Exposition Universelle’ in 1889. One year later, in 1890, the famous London Underground subway system was opened. Also in 1890, the French Lumière bothers developed motion picture film. New Zealand became the first country to give women the vote in 1893. In 1895, Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi sent the first radio message. Toward the end of the Qing dynasty, the brutal nationalist Boxer Rebellion in opposition to Western colonialism and Christian missionary activity uprising started in China in 1899, which lasted until 1901.

Let the Music Story Begin

To ease us gently into the long story of modern music, we’ll begin with just a few – a mere 44 – ‘facts’ for now.

This portion of the musical timeline (1650‑1900) is broadly known as the ‘common practice period’ and covers late Baroque (c.1600‑1750), Classical (c.1750‑1810) and Romantic (c.1810‑1900) periods of music. This period is often associated with the birth of the classical music orchestra as we know it today and the rise of the tonal system that leads to the development of modern music theory, focusing on harmonic progression, rhythm and duration.

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin…

Day	Month	Year	Music Fact
10	September	1659	Famous English baroque classical composer Henry Purcell was born in London (died 1695).
4	March	1678	Famous Italian classical composer and virtuoso violinist Antonio Vivaldi was born in Venice (died 1741).
23	February	1685	Famous German classical composer, George Frideric Handel was born in Duchy of Magdeburg and worked extensively in London, UK (died 1759).
31	March	1685	Famous classical composer and musician, Johann Sebastian Bach was born in the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach (died 1750).
31	March	1732	Famous Austrian classical composer Joseph Haydn was born in Rohrau (died 1809).
27	January	1756	Famous Austrian classical composer and musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg (died 1791).
17	December	1770	Famous German classical pianist and composer, Ludwig Van Beethoven was baptised (birth date not known) in Bonn (died 1827).
27	October	1782	Famous Italian violinist, guitarist, and composer Niccolò Paganini was born in Genoa (died 1840).
31	January	1796	The visionary who founded guitar maker C.F. Martin & Company in 1833, German/American luthier Christian Frederick Martin (1796-1873, 77) was born in Markneukirchen, Germany.
31	January	1797	Famous Austrian classical composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna (died 1828).
11	December	1803	Famous French Romantic classical composer Hector Berlioz was born in La Côte-Saint-André (died 1869).
1	March	1810	Famous Polish romantic classical composer and virtuoso pianist Frédéric Chopin was born in Warsaw (died 1849).
22	May	1813	Famous German classical composer and conductor Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig (died 1883).
16	September	1814	The American National Anthem, ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ (originally titled, ‘Defence of Fort McHenry’) was written by Francis Scott Key and set to the tune of ‘Anacreon in Heaven’.
25	October	1825	Famous Austrian classical composer, nicknamed ‘the waltz king’, Johann Strauss Jr was born in St Ulrich near Vienna (died 1899).
7	May	1833	Famous German romantic classical composer and pianist Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg (died 1897).
25	April	1840	Famous Russian classical composer of the romantic period, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born in Votkinsk (died 1893).
1	May	1856	Legendary American luthier, guitar innovator and founder of Gibson guitars, Orville H. Gibson (1856-1918, 62) was born in Chateaugay, New York.
2	June	1857	Famous English classical composer Sir Edward Elgar was born in Lower Broadheath, Worcestershire (died 1934).
7	July	1860	Famous Austro-Bohemian late-Romantic classical music composer and conductor Gustav Mahler was born in what was then the Austrian Empire (died 1911).
22	August	1862	Famous French classical impressionist composer Claude Debussy was born in Paris (died 1918).
11	June	1864	Famous German classical composer Richard Strauss was born in Munich (died 1949).
24	November	1868	African-American composer and pianist, the ‘King of Ragtime’, Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, Arkansas.
21	September	1872	Famous English classical music composer, arranger and teacher Gustav Holst was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire (died 1934).
12	August	1877	American inventor and businessman, Thomas Edison developed the phonograph and effectively started the sound recording industry.
17	June	1882	Famous Russian-born composer, pianist, and conductor Igor Stravinsky was born in Saint Petersburg (died 1971).
3	April	1886	Great innovator in guitar history, Swiss/American inventor and founder of Rickenbacker guitars, Adolph Rickenbacker (1886-1976, 89) was born in Basel, Switzerland.
20	January	1888	American folk and blues legend, as well as being a great guitarist, Huddie William Ledbetter (a.k.a. Lead Belly) (1888-1949, 61) was born in Mooringsport, Louisiana.
23	May	1888	One of the greatest American Broadway and cinema songwriters of all time, Irving Berlin was born in Tolochin, Russia (now Belarus).
20	October	1890	American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer Jelly Roll Morton was born in New Orleans, Louisiana.
–	April	1891	American guitarist and ‘Father of the Delta Blues’, Charley Patton (c.1891-1934, c.43) born. Sources suggest he was born in April in Hinds County, Mississippi.
27	April	1891	Famous Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka (died 1953).
9	June	1891	Highly acclaimed American Broadway composer and songwriter Cole Porter was born in Peru, Indiana.
8	March	1892	Reputed country blues singer and guitarist, Mississippi John Hurt (1892-1966, 74) was born possibly 8 March or 3 March (or several other disputed dates) in Teoc, Carroll County, Mississippi.
21	February	1893	Spanish virtuoso classical guitarist, often called the ‘godfather of the classical guitar’, Andrés Segovia (1893-1987, 94) was born in Jaén.
24	September	1893	American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, the ‘Father of Texas Blues’, Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929, 36) was born in Coutchman, Texas.
–	–	1896	American blues and ragtime guitarist and singer Arthur ‘Blind’ Blake (1896-1934, 38) was born in either Florida or Virginia.
15	August	1896	The Russian inventor of the strange electronic musical instrument, the Theremin (1928), Léon Theremin was born in Saint Petersburg (died 1993).
6	December	1896	American lyricist who worked closely with his younger brother George, Ira Gershwin was born in New York City.
3	June	1897	American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist, Memphis Minnie (1897-1973, 76) was born in Algiers, Louisiana.
5	May	1898	Influential American blues and ragtime guitarist and singer, Blind Willie McTell (1898-1959, 61) was born in Thomson, Georgia.
26	September	1898	American composer and pianist who worked closely with his older brother, Ira, George Gershwin was born in Brooklyn, New York.
29	April	1899	American jazz composer, pianist, and bandleader Duke Ellington was born in Washington D.C.
16	July	1900	Record company RCA Victor registered the famous ‘His Master’s Voce’ logo, featuring the iconic dog Nipper, with the U.S. Patent Office.

Wow, that’s 250 years, from Henry Purcell to Nipper the dog, covered in a flash! Of course, there was much more to this era than covered here, so this is just a teaser of what is to come. Only 120 years to go! As always, readers are encouraged to explore areas of particular interest beyond the scope of this article.

You may be wondering at this point what many of the ‘facts’ shown above have to do with guitars. Well, let’s dip into some relevant quotes to illustrate how interdependent music through the ages can be:

“The violin is my mistress, but the guitar is my master” – Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)

“The guitar is a wonderful instrument which is understood by few” – Franz Schubert (1797-1827)

“Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, except, possibly two” – Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

“All the good music has already been written by people with wigs and stuff” – Frank Zappa (1940-1993)

Without doubt, the classical composers have had a tremendous influence on modern day music and many of today’s musicians borrow heavily from classical theory, music styles and techniques.

Tailpiece

Next time, hopefully next month, we’ll kick off with the 20^th Century, as the twin pillars of modern music, jazz and blues, allied to new‑fangled recording technology, really begin to play their significant part in shaping where today’s music came from. I hope you will continue to partake in this passage of exploration over the next few months.

In the meantime, I’m getting back to the latter part of the 20^th Century and my ‘Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric’ Guitars. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Unlike doing, thinking and imagination have no geographical boundaries or physical limitations.”

← Return to ‘Musings’ page

Like it? Why not share it?

30 Nov 2018

November 2018 – A Potted History of the Guitar: Epilogue

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Hello again. Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the studio, on stage or rehearsal room… some closure is required.

As before. if you wish to recap on any or all of the previous articles before starting here at the end, the whole ‘Potted History of the Guitar’ series, can be accessed here (each part opens in a new browser tab):

Note: For completists, I’ve updated Part VII (September 2018) to include some empirical data over the last decade to fill out the ‘recovery and rejuvenation’ section. It isn’t vital by any means. Just sayin’.

It was only after I completed the mammoth task of researching and documenting the history of the guitar, that I had another thought. All eight parts were written from scratch with little idea of where it would all end up. At the end of the 8^th (and what I thought at the time was the final) part in the series, I mentioned that it had ended with “a bit more of a whimper than some almighty bang”.

After all the effort invested in telling the guitar’s epic journey, I felt a tad disappointed that something was missing but I wasn’t sure what it was. Even though the narrative needed to have a line drawn under it at some point, it wasn’t perhaps up to me to determine the last remaining thoughts about the topic.

As is my wont, and if you’ve read any of my articles before, you’ll know that I tend to have a lot of wonts, I thought about what might be a fitting coda to the outstanding ‘unfinished business’. That ‘missing link’ turned out to be something that isn’t actually part of the historical timeline or anything that I could add myself, but something else altogether.

Whereas the first eight parts were in my own words, I felt that it would benefit from, and indeed deserved, some independently derived anecdotes from some highly respected sources. So… I had this genius (!?) epiphany that I would select some imparted wisdom from people who have made a living either playing or being in the influential presence of the mighty guitar.

While working on social media over the last four years, I have compiled and posted many interesting quotes from musicians. Of the many hundreds of apt and often motivational quotes, quite a number of them make reference to the guitar in one way or another. It seems therefore appropriate to share them in order to give a sense of closure to the guitar’s long story. While I am not alone in my admiration for the instrument, I felt that readers shouldn’t just take my word (or many words as it turned out) for declaring the importance of the humble guitar within the context of music and cultural history. As a result, I will leave it to the professionals to have their say on the subject as they see it from their own perspective. You may recognise some of the names along the way, ranging from ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott to Frank Zappa – a veritable and literal A‑Z of guitar wisdom over the years.

What follows are some of my favourite guitar quotes for your consideration. You may well have others that complement these and which may add something to the overall picture. All in all, I think that they provide the appropriate concluding element that I was unwittingly looking for, bringing a bit of subjective coherency to the factual chronology.

So, from the horse’s mouth of music royalty, so to speak, take the opportunity to internalise what they say into your psyche. You never know, you may end up being a better guitarist (and perhaps a more rounded human being) by taking heed of a thing or two from the masters of their trade. After all, they can say it better – and way more succinctly – than I can, so perhaps it is best left to them to articulate the remainder of this article. Are you sitting comfortably?

Musicians’ quotes about the guitar

Just to mix it up a bit, the quotes are listed in alphabetical order of the quote, rather than by the artist. There are also quite a few pictures this month, so to save repetition, where an artist has more than one quote, their picture only appears next the first one. Enjoy…

A guitar is a very personal extension of the person playing it. You have to be emotionally and spiritually connected to your instrument. I’m very brutal on my instruments, but not all the time – Eddie Van Halen (1955-)

A guitar is like an old friend that is there with me – BB King (1925-2015)

A guitar is something you can hold and love and it’s never going to bug you. But here’s the secret about the guitar – it’s defiant. It will never let you conquer it. The more you get involved with it, the more you realize how little you know – Les Paul (1915-2009)

Ah, I could make it in the shape of a guitar, and it would a) be more affordable, and b) a guitar player could double on this instrument – Leo Fender (1909-1991)

As far as I’m concerned, I’m just a guitar player, and my job is to go out there and play and entertain and do my thing – Les Paul (1915-2009)

Besides being a guitar player, I’m a big fan of the guitar. I love that damn instrument – Steve Vai (1960-)

Describing certain sounds, there’s a common language that guitar players have – Joe Perry (1950-)

Doesn’t matter what guitar you play, as long as you’ve got passion! – Eric Johnson (1954-)

Every time you pick up your guitar to play, play as if it’s the last time – Eric Clapton (1945-)

Finding ways to use the same guitar people have been using for 50 years to make sounds that no one has heard before is truly what gets me off – Jeff Beck (1944-)

For me, I think the only danger is being too much in love with guitar playing. The music is the most important thing, and the guitar is only the instrument – Jerry Garcia (1942-1995)

Guitar is the best form of self-expression I know. Everything else, and I’m just sort of tripping around, trying to figure my way through life – Slash (1965-)

Guitar playing is both extremely easy for me and extremely difficult for me at the same time – Kirk Hammett (1962-)

Guitars are fun. There are plenty of different kinds to play. They look cool. They sound cool. Don’t you want to play guitar? – Joe Satriani (1956-)

Guitars have been the obsession of my life. I first picked one up at the age of four and I’ve been a guitar junkie ever since – Johnny Marr (1963-)

I believe every guitar player inherently has something unique about their playing. They just have to identify what makes them different and develop it – Jimmy Page (1944-)

I can’t even read notes. But I can teach someone how to make a guitar smoke – Ace Frehley (1951-)

I don’t know of a guitar player that has only one guitar. They’re never happy with one. I’m never happy with just one of them. I woke up and ended up with six, even if you can only play one at a time! – Les Paul (1915-2009)

I don’t play a lot of fancy guitar. I don’t want to play it. The kind of guitar I want to play is mean, mean licks – John Lee Hooker (1912-2001)

I don’t want you to play me a riff that’s going to impress Joe Satriani; give me a riff that makes a kid want to go out and buy a guitar and learn to play – Ozzy Osbourne (1948-)

I had no aspirations to be a musician, but I picked up a guitar for two seconds and haven’t put it down since – Slash (1965-)

I just go where the guitar takes me – Angus Young (1955-)

I loved playing the guitar and I knew I was pretty good at it, so that’s what I wanted to do with my life – Ace Frehley (1951-)

I never felt so close to a guitar as that silver one with mirrors that I used on stage all the time – Syd Barrett (1946-2006)

I never stop being amazed by all the different ways of playing the guitar and making it deliver a message – Les Paul (1915-2009)

I never wanted to sing. I just wanted to play rhythm guitar – hide in the back and just play – Kurt Cobain (1967-1994)

I started out playing guitar because Jimi Hendrix was my hero, so my roots were really based on Jimi Hendrix and his style of playing – Joe Satriani (1956-)

I think people must wonder how a white girl like me became a blues guitarist. The truth is, I never intended to do this for a living – Bonnie Raitt (1949-)

I tried to make guitars that were close to what my heroes played. That’s the way it’s done. My experience is that you have to do it like a musician. You have to learn the language before you can learn to be a novelist – Paul Reed Smith (1956-)

I want every girl in the world to pick up a guitar and start screaming – Courtney Love (1964-)

I wanted to connect my guitar to human emotions – BB King (1925-2015)

I wonder if I could make an electric bass – Leo Fender (1909-1991)

I’m just a guitarist in a kick-ass rock and roll band. What more could I ask for? – Eddie Van Halen (1955-)

I’ve had three wives and three guitars. I still play the guitars – Andres Segovia (1893-1987)

If ever there’s an obscene noise to be made on an instrument, it’s going to come out of a guitar… Let’s be realistic about this, the guitar can be the single most blasphemous device on the face of the earth. That’s why I like it… The disgusting stink of a too‑loud electric guitar: now that’s my idea of good time – Frank Zappa (1940-1993)

If something is easy to repair, it is easy to construct – Leo Fender (1909-1991)

If you don’t know the blues… there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music – Keith Richards (1943-)

Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of the music should resound in your heart – Andres Segovia (1893-1987)

My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am – Joan Jett (1958‑)

My guitar was a loyal person to me – Dave Mustaine (1961-)

Nothing is more beautiful than a guitar, except, possibly two – Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Playing guitar was one of my childhood hobbies, and I had played a little at school and at camp. My parents would drag me out to perform for my family, like all parents do, but it was a hobby – nothing more – Bonnie Raitt (1949-)

Running my hands really fast up and down the fretboard… I mean, anybody can do that. It’s the Guitar Olympics, and I can’t think of anything more pointless – The Edge (1961-)

Sometimes the nicest thing to do with a guitar is just look at it – Thom Yorke (1968-)

That’s all I wanted to do as a kid. Play a guitar properly and jump around. But too many people got in the way – Syd Barrett (1946-2006)

The guitar has a kind of grit and excitement possessed by nothing else – Brian May (1947-)

The guitar is a small orchestra. It is polyphonic. Every string is a different colour, a different voice – Andres Segovia (1893-1987)

The guitar is just a wonderful instrument. It’s everything: a bartender, a psychiatrist, a housewife. It’s everything, but it’s elusive – Les Paul (1915-2009)

The guitar is a wonderful instrument which is understood by few – Franz Schubert (1797-1827)

The guitar is the coolest instrument in the world – Steve Vai (1960-)

The guitar is the easiest instrument to play and the hardest to play well – Andres Segovia (1893-1987)

The guitar is your first wings. It’s assigned and designed to unfold your vision and imagination – Carlos Santana (1947-)

The guitar was my weapon, my shield to hide behind – Brian May (1947-)

The media says that equality for women has arrived, but if you look around, you still don’t see girls playing guitars and having success with it – Joan Jett (1958-)

The most important part of my religion is to play guitar – Lou Reed (1942-2013)

The time I burned my guitar it was like a sacrifice. You sacrifice the things you love. I love my guitar – Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)

The violin is my mistress, but the guitar is my master – Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)

There’s something about approaching universal truths with the simplicity of the acoustic guitar. You can take it anywhere, and it helps me reach listeners of all ages and walks of life – Jim Croce (1943-1973)

To me a guitar is kind of like a woman. You don’t know why you like em but you do – Waylon Jennings (1937-2002)

To stand up on a stage alone with an acoustic guitar requires bravery bordering on heroism, bordering on insanity – Richard Thompson (1949-)

When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don’t get to extreme heights – John Frusciante (1970-)

When you find yourself in the deepest rut you’ve ever known, don’t ever forget how f*ckin’ good the guitar sounds – ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbot (1966-2004)

When you just get mixed up and there’s too much going on, then it’s time to pick up your guitar – Les Paul (1915-2009)

When you think about where guitar playing is going today… it’s going everywhere at the same time – Joe Satriani (1956-)

With my Les Paul, I know I’m small. But I enjoy living anyway – Marc Bolan (1947-1977)

Why did they keep changing guitars and amplifiers when they were perfect? They did the same things with cars, if you ask me. They forgot how to make them right, because they focused on style and bells and whistles – Buddy Guy (1936-)

Your sound is in your hands as much as anything. It is the way you pick and the way you hold the guitar, more than it is the amp or guitar you use – Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990)

Conclusion

Well, there you go. A fascinating summary of the world in which the guitar exists from the real experts. Do I have a favourite quote from among that lot? Nope. How could one pick a single truism out and exclude the remainder? I think that the collective intelligence from these esteemed contributors is what makes the overall message so powerful. Given Fender’s 2018 research that suggests that half of all new guitarists in the U.S. and UK are women, perhaps in the future, it would be good to feature more memorable quotes from prominent female guitarists.

When you think that what they say relates to what is essentially just a bit of wood, metal and plastic (in most cases), the guitar truly stands out as something special. At its most basic, the guitar is an artefact that doesn’t do anything of and by itself, it requires a symbiotic attachment to the person playing it to make it work its magic. It hangs on a strap or sits on your lap and converts the emotional core of the musician’s expression into fantastic guitar music that has touched just about everyone on the planet and has become a global phenomenon like no other.

Whether from musicians or not and regardless of whether there is any profound insight or not, what people will say about the guitar in the future, one can only imagine. Whatever is divulged, ‘the guitar’ will undoubtedly be a topic that will be widely debated for as long as people pick up the instrument and play music on it.

What more can one possibly add? Well… you may have noticed that at the bottom of every monthly article is a ‘CRAVE Guitars’ Quote of the Month’. This is my own way of teasing some mental curiosity as a parting shot. So, while my humble ‘thoughts of the day’ are possibly not worthy of being considered in the company of the hallowed artists quoted above, below is my modest addition to the canon, just where it usually is, at the end of my regular monthly rant. The eagle‑eyed reader may actually recognise it because it appears at the bottom of every CRAVE Guitars’ web page and on all CRAVE Guitars’ related social media profiles. I admit that, when writing this epilogue, I tried to come up with something clever but the attempts were, unsurprisingly, contrived and derivative. So, I went back to where it all began and what I felt deeply when I founded CRAVE (Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric) Guitars over 10 years ago. I looked at it again and realised that it remains a heartfelt and very personal belief, so I reckon it fits the bill as a nice little sign‑off. Nuff said.

Now that really is, possibly, maybe, probably, perhaps the last‑ish part of ‘A Potted History of the Guitar’. Honest. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Love Vintage Guitars. Music matters. Create. Play. Be inspired! Share the passion… Change lives for good”

CRAVE Guitars

← Return to ‘Musings’ page

Like it? Why not share it?

28 Apr 2018

April 2018 – A Potted History Of The Guitar Part II

by Tony Drew | posted in: History, Introduction, Observations | 0

Hello again. Part II of CRAVE Guitars’ abridged history of the world’s favourite instrument continues from the point where Part I left off (March 2018 → read the first article here). For brevity (!), I won’t repeat the rationale or contextual backstory up to this point.

Part II covers the period starting shortly after the beginning of the European Renaissance in the 15^th Century and covers the development of the acoustic guitar as we know it, largely up to the middle of the 20^th Century. So, without further ado, here we go stepping right back into the story where the last part left off…

Renaissance (1400-1600 CE)… Continued

The lute remained fashionable in Europe in both Spain and, particularly, Sicily. The popularity of the nascent instrument was through its use as a solo instrument in European courts during the 16^th Century. The number of string courses used by the lute increased considerably, to as many as 14 or 19, or more, courses. Over time, however, the lute diminished in popularity, with keyboard instruments and the guitar eventually taking over. Its descent was so marked that, by 1800, the lute was pretty much absent from European social life.

The Spanish vihuela emerged in the late 15^th and early 16^th Centuries. The vihuela was a small flat‑backed, guitar instrument that derived its influence directly from the earlier ‘Spanish Guitars’. The vihuela’s appearance included the now familiar waisted ‘hourglass’ body shape, the circular sound hole with ornamental ‘rosette’, 10 moveable tied gut frets and 6 courses of gut strings. The vihuela’s tuning, however, was often distinctly more lute-like, often tuned to either G, C, F, A, D, G or A, D, G, B, E, A. Design and construction of the vihuela, however, tended to vary considerably during its reign, with the ‘vihuela da mano’, played with the fingers (rather than with a bow or plectrum), becoming the dominant form. Although the vihuela’s influence in Spain, Portugal and Italy diminished to be superseded by other forms of early guitar, it may, arguably, be the legitimate grandparent of the contemporary (12‑string) guitar. As if to support this notion, there is a small number of books of printed music tablature (or Spanish cifra translated as cipher) for the vihuela dating from the 16^th Century, suggesting its use for formal performance music by skilled vihuelists. Only 2 examples of the vihuela are known to survive in museum collections, one in Italy, the other in France.

Effectively succeeding the Spanish vihuela was the plain (i.e. undecorated) Renaissance guitar, which began to rise in popularity from the second half of the 16^th Century and remained fashionable well into the 17^th Century. These instruments were slightly smaller than the Spanish vihuela and initially had 10 frets, later increased to 12 frets. The Renaissance guitar tended to have 4 courses of stings tuned to G, C, E, A.

The first written music notation for guitar began to appear in the mid-16^th Century, initially in tablature (tab) format, soon to be superseded by modern staff manuscript. Early pieces for a 4‑course guitarra were published by Alonso de Mudarra in Spain in 1546 and an early manuscript by Miguel Fuenllana for the chitarra battente (see below) dates from around the same period (1554). A substantial amount of material appeared in France from c.1550-1570, principally by French musician Adrian le Roy, as the instrument gained popularity with the aristocracy.

Baroque Era (1600-1750 CE)

While the Renaissance guitar was rather plain and undecorated, the Baroque guitar (chitarra barocca), which originated during the baroque period of music from c.1600‑1750 was quite ornate in comparison. In addition, Baroque guitars gained an extra course of strings increasing from 4 to 5 courses tuned to A, D, G, B, E. The guitars were widely used in Spain, Italy and France, mostly by the wealthy classes. Baroque instrumental and dance court music was particularly popular at the time and contributed significantly towards subsequent development of the instrument and of classical guitar music.

Another branch of the guitar family tree from the same period includes the 4 or 5‑course chitarra battente (Italian for ‘strumming guitar’) commonly used in Italy. The instrument was traditionally played by folk musicians although it was also known to be used in court music. The chitarra battente comprised an ‘hourglass’ body shape and was similar to, although commonly slightly larger than, the baroque guitar. A number of 17^th Century instruments are known to exist in museum collections.

These various forms of early guitar continued incremental change including the introduction of metal strings and frets to replace gut. By the 16^th and 17^th Century, the ‘standard’ guitar tuning of A, D, G, B, E was proving popular and was becoming established. The tuning was equivalent to the top 5 strings of the modern guitar, although re-entrant tunings (where single strings are not tuned in order from the lowest pitch to the highest pitch) were also used during the same period.

By the late 16^th and early 17^th Century, the immediate predecessors of the ‘modern’ classical and flamenco guitars were firmly established. According to many historians, the documented history of the present-day classical guitar as we know it today really starts around this time – the ‘guitar’ had finally arrived.

The familiar shape of the guitar had been refined and had become largely well‑established. The traditional characteristics were in place including a flat front and back, distinct waist bouts providing the familiar and distinctive ‘hourglass’ body shape, a long, slim fretted neck and mechanical tuning on the headstock. However, the number of courses or single strings and tuning had not yet been fully standardised.

Classical Era (1750-1820)

While the European Renaissance was hugely important in bridging the gap between early guitar-like instruments and the recognisable forbears of the modern guitar, it certainly isn’t the end of the story. Musical styles and tastes in Europe were changing and the guitar was able to adapt to the major shift from baroque to classical music composition c.1750.

The 6-course guitar commonly appeared first in Spain during the classical period of music covering c.1750-1820, effectively using the same principle as today’s 12-string guitar. The modern-day ‘standard’ guitar tuning, E A D G B E, was in common use by c.1770 and by 1800, the practice of using six single strings had largely taken over from the earlier 5‑courses of paired strings. Many of these now‑‘obsolete’ 5‑course guitars were easily adapted to 6 single strings by simply removing the 2^nd and 4^th rows of the original 5 pairs of tuners from the headstock and adjusting the bridge and nut to suit. The change to 6 single strings was probably driven by musical tastes and the need for a louder, clearer-sounding instrument that could also be used for both solo and ensemble performance.

The Romantic Guitar

Not to be confused with the ‘Romantic Era’ of music (1820-1900 CE), the development of the romantic guitar predated the time period that it was known for. The basic body construction of these early guitars was relatively unchanged from those that preceded them, with transverse bracing struts used to support the top soundboard. However, incremental improvements had been made over time. The move from tied gut frets to fixed metal frets made of brass and the introduction of tuning gears, rather than violin pegs of previous instruments, became common. The consistent approach to guitar making in Europe between c.1790 and c.1830 is often referred to as belonging to the early romantic guitar. Known examples of early romantic guitars appear from the start of this period although opinions differ as to authenticity of the ‘first’ surviving specimen. The romantic guitar is often cited as the immediate precursor to the modern classical guitar that became established from the mid-19^th Century.

During the first half of the 19^th Century, many classical music composers used or played the romantic guitar, including several familiar names such as Hector Berlioz (1803-1869), Franz Schubert (1797-1827) and Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840). Schubert is often quoted as saying “The guitar is a wonderful instrument which is understood by few”.

Geographically, Naples in Italy had been a centre for educating religious and performance musicians since the mid‑16^th Century and this continued right up to the 19^th Century. The guitar developed as a serious instrument during the Baroque period and into the classical period, partly as a result of the influential major music conservatories based in Italy. The surge in popularity of the instrument led to the development of the luthiers’ craft, not only for guitars but also for violin and mandolin manufacture. There is no doubt that the craftsmanship involved with Italian instrument manufacture during the romantic guitar period was outstanding.

Influential luthiers from the romantic guitar period include Italians Gaetano Vinaccia (1759-c.1831), Giovanni Battista Fabricatore (c.1777-c.1849) and Pierre René Lacôte (c.1785-c.1868).

Coincidentally, prominent guitar players from the period include Italians Federico Moretti (1769‑1839) and Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829).

Romantic Era (1830-1900 CE)

The influence of romantic guitar on the broader romantic era of music is debateable. What was crucial to the guitar’s success was the ability of the luthiers who made them and the musicians who played them to adapt to changing styles of popular music.

Up to this point, evolution in the guitar’s development had been incremental and largely reactionary, i.e. responding positively to prevailing cultural circumstances rather than dictating them. Luthiers had adopted the skills, knowledge and experience of their predecessors and passed them onto the next generation with only minimal change and improvement. However, things were about to change significantly and a fundamental shift in the design and construction was about to transform the acoustic guitar and this would in turn thereafter drive musical development.

Over recent years, the level of interest in period instruments has grown considerably. The result of renewed fascination in the past is that there are many modern‑day luthiers making accurate recreations of historic instruments, as well as many musicians playing music in the style of the time, keeping the important heritage alive for future generations.

Revolutions in Classical and Acoustic Guitar Construction

While still in the formal ‘Romantic Era’ of music, the mid-19^th Century led to two landmark developments in the path to the modern instrument. While these innovations occurred separately on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, they came to define modern classical and acoustic guitars as we know them today. They also, arguably, paved the way to the even more revolutionary advances that took place during the 20^th Century, but more of that later in the story.

One of these breakthroughs occurred in southern Spain from around 1860 while the other leap forward occurred on the east coast of the United States of America from about 1850.

Spanish Innovation and Development

Spanish luthier, Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817-1892), introduced a major breakthrough in classical guitar design from the 1860s onwards. Torres worked in Seville and then in Almeria, Spain; the location of his workshops largely defined the two major periods (the so‑called ‘epochs’) of his work.

Up to this point, many classical guitars used what is called ladder bracing – a simple method where braces supporting the top sound board were in a grid aligned with and perpendicular to the strings. Torres’ revolutionary approach was to introduce fan‑braced soundboards with thinner strips of timber diverging from the sound hole to the base of the body in a fan shape. This seemingly simple invention enabled Torres to make guitars with larger bodies and thinner tops without increasing the weight of the instrument. In addition Torres popularised the use of mechanical machine heads for tuning strings, rather than wooden pegs.

Torres’ design influence spread rapidly and the classical guitar, also widely known as the modern ‘Spanish guitar’, became hugely popular well into the early 20^th Century. Many modern classical guitars still exhibit the characteristics established by Torres’ milestone designs. Before modern nylon strings were invented, classical guitars still used gut for the unwound treble strings and a combination of silk and silver to form the wound bass strings.

Until the late 19^th Century, there was essentially a single form of classical guitar. The differentiation between classical and acoustic Flamenco guitars became clearer after classical virtuoso guitarist Andres Segovia (1893-1987) used Torres’ fan-braced Spanish guitars to perform concert material from the so-called ‘modern school’ of classical music. From the early 1920s, Segovia was particularly influential in extending the repertoire of the instrument as well as increasing its popularity through early phonograph recordings, musical collaborations and extensive touring.

The distinction between Flamenco and classical guitars are relatively subtle but important to practitioners of the different musical genres. The differences are mainly to do with the tone woods used, rather than fundamental structural principles. The construction, materials used and therefore the sound and tone they produce are different, as are the techniques used to play them. Flamenco guitars tend to be lighter and the soundboards are usually thinner with less internal bracing than those found on the modern classical guitar. The result is that Flamenco guitars are said to produce a more resonant, percussive, brighter sound quality than the thicker, smoother, louder and heavier sound of classical guitars.

American Innovation and Development

Around the same time in the 19^th Century, a parallel step change in guitar design was taking place on the other side of the Atlantic. In 1833, German American immigrant, Christian Frederick Martin (1793-1873) founded his guitar‑making business, C.F. Martin & Co., firstly in New York City before relocating to Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1839.

Martin’s early guitars were heavily influenced by Viennese luthier Johann Georg Stauffer (1778-1853), with whom Martin had worked before he emigrated to America.

Martin established the next great innovations of the modern acoustic guitar, introducing X‑braced soundboards from the 1850s onwards. X-bracing involves the timber strips supporting the soundboard being configured diagonally in both directions from the sound hole to the base of the body in the shape of the letter ‘X’. This form of construction was important for the widespread use of steel strings, which first became readily available around 1900. Martin’s X-bracing technique directly addressed the problem caused by the increased tension of steel strings that proved too much for the Torres-style fan‑braced flat top of the guitar. Alongside the stronger and more resilient X-bracing Martin introduced vital neck reinforcement that allowed the company to make narrower, thinner necks. Martins innovations proved highly popular with guitarists and the techniques rapidly became the industry standard for the flat‑top steel‑string acoustic guitar.

The widespread adoption of steel strings enabled guitar makers to meet the increasing demand from musicians for louder guitars. Steel strings also produced a different sound and encouraged a different playing style, often using a plectrum or guitar pick rather than the fingerstyle technique used almost exclusively in classical guitar music.

Jumping ahead a little bit, Martin also made another significant development in 1931 when the company introduced the ‘dreadnought’ guitar, named after a British battleship design. The Martin Dreadnought D-28 was larger than most acoustics of the time and featured a deeper, fatter (i.e. less ‘waisted’) outline. Martin’s aim was to produce a louder, more powerful guitar during a period when guitarists were demanding greater volume from their instruments. The classic American dreadnought was to prove very popular with acoustic guitarists from the 1930s onwards and the design remains highly influential today. Pre-war Martin dreadnoughts are very highly sought after as they are considered an exemplar of their type.

The two key developments by Torres in Spain and Martin in America, aided by more modern (i.e. accurate) manufacturing techniques, and the degree of relative standardisation provided the stable foundation upon which the vast majority of today’s ‘traditional’ classical and steel‑strung acoustic ‘folk’ guitars are built.

Modern Era (1900 CE-Present Day)

Acoustic Guitar Types

While there remains an infinite variety of designs and numerous incremental developments, the nylon‑strung classical guitar and the steel string acoustic ‘folk’ guitar define the major two categories of the contemporary acoustic guitar. Acoustic guitars based on Torres’ and Martin’s design principles remain very popular today.

As the evolution of the acoustic guitar continued, a loose classification according to body size, shape and depth was developed. These generic designations, originally defined by C.F. Martin, mostly apply to steel string acoustics include:

’Parlour’,
‘0’ (Concert)
‘00’ (Grand Concert)
‘000’ (Auditorium)
‘OM’ (Orchestra Model – also ‘0000’)
’M’ (Grand Auditorium – also ‘AS’)
‘D’ Dreadnought
‘DS’ Slope Shouldered Dreadnought
‘J’ Jumbo
‘Grand Jumbo’

The following diagram, although not exactly corresponding to the table may help with identifying the various types of acoustic guitar:

While the nomenclature can be confusing, it does provide for a certain degree of useful normalisation. Just to confuse matters, other manufacturers such as Gibson and Taylor use their own type designations.

Many modern acoustic guitars now have sophisticated on‑board electrics both to improve flexibility and to help them to compete on a level playing field with their solid body electric guitar equivalents. These advances in technology are necessary for acoustic guitars to stay relevant and up‑to‑date in contemporary situations at home, in the recording studio and in a live environment. The acoustic guitar remains alive and well in the 21^st Century.

Variations on a theme

The key milestones described here are, I trust obviously, not the only ones that have taken place over the centuries. There are an infinite number of guitar designs for just about any style of music, all with an infinite array of construction techniques and materials. It is impossible to do justice to every aspect of the guitar landscape and the point of the guitar’s story isn’t to be comprehensive but to give a taster for what’s out there to be discovered. This narrative is simply a starting point from which to explore the many other areas in much greater detail. Before we move onto some major milestones of the 20^th Century that will eventually lead to the introduction of the electric guitar, it is worth a modest glimpse into the delights on offer to those who wish to explore the fringes of the guitar’s story. Here are a few selected examples from diverse sub‑genres of guitar building. Note: archtop acoustic and resonator guitars that emerged during the 20^th Century will be covered in the next instalment (Part IV) of the series.

Gypsy Jazz Guitars

Before moving onto the ‘missing links’ between acoustic and electric guitars, there is an additional discrete family tree branch worth noting, generally referred to as gypsy jazz guitars. These acoustic designs were popularised by the jazz virtuoso guitarist, Django Reinhardt (1910-1953) in the 1930s and 1940s. The guitar of choice is often referred to variously as the Selmer, Selmer Maccaferri or Maccaferri guitars.

Selmer was a French manufacturer while Maccaferri was an Italian guitarist and luthier. From 1932-1934, the partnership between the two introduced what is now known simply as the gypsy jazz guitar. While still an acoustic guitar, its large body, D‑shaped (early) or oval (later) sound hole, single cutaway body, slotted headstock, steel strings, ladder bracing, separate floating bridge and trapeze tailpiece characterise the direction that some acoustic jazz guitar designs were taking at the time.

Many other companies have produced gypsy jazz guitars over the intervening decades, often heavily influenced by the original Selmer Maccaferri template. While interesting in its own right, the gypsy jazz-style guitar is, at least in technical terms, a bit of an evolutionary dead end.

Mariachi Guitars

Another branch on the guitar family tree is a key instrument in the Mexican Mariachi band, a type of Spanish theatrical folk orchestra originally comprising guitar, violins and harp. The music originated in the 19^th Century in central-western Mexico, emerging mainly from the state of Jalisco, as well as neighbouring Colima and Nayarit. By all accounts, the first evidence dates from about 1880. By the start of the 20^th Century, the instruments of the mariachi band comprised the 5-string vihuela (see above) the ‘guitarrón mexicano’ (a large acoustic fretless bass‑like guitar), two violins and trumpet. The Mariachi band has become integral to the social geography and musical culture of Mexico. While an interesting departure, like the gypsy jazz guitar, Mariachi guitars are generally considered to be another evolutionary cul‑de‑sac.

Harp Guitars

A relatively radical version of the acoustic guitar is the harp guitar, which originated around the end of the 18^th Century, although there are references that go back even further, perhaps as early as the mid‑17^th Century. Some supporters of the instrument, both luthiers and musicians believed it to be a viable replacement for the standard guitar. However, it remains popular only at the margins of the modern‑day guitar landscape. The first harp guitar was produced in Paris around 1773 by a luthier called Naderman and comprised 6 standard fretted strings and 6 open bass strings. Orville Gibson, founder of Gibson guitars, made harp guitars alongside mandolins and guitars in the early 20^th Century. Contemporary fusion guitarist John McLaughlin has been known to use a harp guitar alongside more traditional acoustic and electric guitars. There are many independent luthiers mow making harp guitars for the 21^st Century.

End of Part II

So… this seems to be another convenient break point in the story and concludes Part II of the guitar’s long history. I hope you enjoyed the fascinating tale of the ups and downs, twists and turns and various machinations of guitar evolution to this point.

While Part I covered a period of about 3,000 years, Part II has covered a mere 500 years. Arguably, more technical development has taken place over the last half‑millennium than in the preceding 3 millennia. As the pace of progress increases, the level of technological advance also expands, so the depth of each part of the story becomes increasingly condensed.

The period covered in this article provides a solid the foundation and launch pad for the modern instrument in the 20^th Century. The ancestral DNA presented in parts I and II is now directly and inextricably connected to each and every guitar bought today, whether they are mass produced in giant factory facilities or bespoke custom built in a one‑person workshop. For the curious reader, I hope that the story thus far inspires you to look beyond the immediate and obvious. There is plenty to discover, including anything along a continuum from the conventional to the obscure. Enjoy the journey.

Looking forward, Part III will cover the period from the start of the 20^th Century to the mid-1900s. This period is crucial, covering the relentless drive to achieve greater volume and versatility from acoustic instruments to the point where early electric guitars were just about to appear.

The entire historical narrative of these articles is a journey of discovery and exploration for the author. In particular, I am not content in simply regurgitating what others have written before me. I am still researching, writing and editing later parts of the guitar’s history so, depending on personal circumstances and degree of refinement required to publish the rest of the story, Part III may or may not appear for a while yet. Watch this space.

While uncovering the acoustic guitar’s distant past has been fascinating, the dawn of the electric guitar will probably be familiar territory for anyone with a remote interest in the instrument’s heritage. As a purveyor of ‘Cool & Rare American Vintage Electric’ Guitars, it is also the period in which I am personally most interested. It is also the period from which most of CRAVE Guitars’ vintage ‘collection’ derives.

Talking of which, it is high time for me to disconnect from the hinterwebby thing, put down the laptop, pick up one of those American now‑vintage electric guitars and put it to good use. Which one to choose remains an on‑going challenge. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars ‘Quote of the Month’: “Learn from the future now and avoid the mistakes of the past”

← Return to ‘Musings’ page

Like it? Why not share it?