The History of the Electric Guitar as Seen by 3 Rock Legends

"The earliest documented performance with an electrically amplified guitar was in 1932," according to Wikipedia. The electric guitar was used by Hawaiian Style musicians. George Barnes reportedly recorded the first 2 songs with the electric guitar in 1938.

Now, Rock 'N' Roll without the electric guitar, is a folk song; slap a banjo on your knee and rock with a toothless hockey player on the harmonica. Howstuffworks calls it the best thing since the incandescent light bulb.

In It Might Get Loud -- a documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three rock legends, Jack White, the lead vocalist for The White Stripes; The Edge, guitarist for the Irish rock band U2; Jimmy Page, co-founder of the English rock band Led Zeppelin; give accounts of their lives mastering the electric guitar.

Jack White makes a one-string electric guitar from a board, a pick-up and Coke bottle in the film. Jimmy Page wrote a new song for the documentary. And the Edge is featured arranging his song "Get on Your Boots."

 

Follow Neal Rodriguez on Twitter: www.twitter.com/notifyneal

Comments

[Warthog]

07:48 PM on 07/12/2009

This article sure brought the axe-ophile­s out in droves. I had a feeling we would get the top 10,000 players list.
For myself, I think it should simply be said the electric guit gave a whole slew of incredible artists the equipment to show us all a way to connect.

[zorongeeko]

07:03 PM on 07/12/2009

For those not familiar with jack whites work and who are just fans of guitar in general please watch this performanc­e by the white stripes. he is playing this on a guitar with an acoustic body. unreal

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=-t1_ETuWI­bE

[Khirad]

06:35 PM on 07/12/2009

Two of the most distinctiv­e guitar players that come to my mind are Robert Fripp and Daniel Ash, but those are just two among many that I listen too and admire. The latter's technical ability is nowhere near, but interestin­g, nonetheles­s.

On the having fun with pickups note of Jack White, meet Niladri Kumar's "zitar":

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=_d6XthRCB­B8

BTW, I'm but a lowly drummer, so don't critique my choices too harshly, okay? I'd love a film like this with drumming legends.

[omahajim]

05:13 PM on 07/12/2009

jack white has done some great arranging. some of his playing does not suit my ear, but that does not diminish the respect i ahve for him as a player.

[WilhelmOttoWolf]

05:05 PM on 07/12/2009

Buck Dharma of Blue Oyster Cult is one the great masters of the electric guitar, both as a terrific player and the technology­.

[AirForceWx1701]

06:59 PM on 07/12/2009

Agree 100%...

I would add Steve Hackett [Genesis,u­p to 1975], Tom Scholz [Boston], and Tony Iommi [Black Sabbath].

[Johnowen]

04:28 PM on 07/12/2009

Les Paul http://en.­wikipedia.­org/wiki/L­es_Paul

still playing in New York http://www­.iridiumja­zzclub.com­/talent.ph­p?talent=1­&month=7&y­ear=2009

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=Fh5z16mQ4­is&feature­=related

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=Ypy8hr-GJ­1g&feature­=fvw

[Eoin45]

06:54 PM on 07/10/2009

Jack White is a talented guy but he's no legend. This is a term, like genius, that is bandied about too easily.

[katocat]

04:35 PM on 07/12/2009

Agreed.

[Khirad]

06:17 PM on 07/12/2009

Thought the same thing, but he's part of the film, so they had to.

[zorongeeko]

06:56 PM on 07/12/2009

give him ten more years. the man has been invited to play with and record with the likes of dylan, stones, loretta lynn. After recording with white dylan called him an old soul, and a timeless musician. loretta lynn sang similiar praises. if you havent seen jack white play the guitar in person you are missing out. The man essentiall­y played a solo show at red rocks that sounded more rich and full than any other artist I have seen there. And i have seen a bunch.

[normathumb]

03:28 PM on 07/10/2009

This pretty much covers the topic from A to B.

[StaggerLee]

02:49 PM on 07/10/2009

Carlos Santana has, to my ears, one of the most distinctiv­e sounds around. I wonder if he was even asked to participat­e, I would much rather hear rumination­s and a few licks from him than Jack White (what, Jack Black wasn't available LOL?).

[Catfish1968]

02:34 PM on 07/12/2009

a distinctiv­ely bad sound.

[katocat]

04:35 PM on 07/12/2009

Tin ear.

[american-dolt]

10:57 AM on 07/10/2009

I look forward to the Movie, Jimmy looks great, healthy, nice to see.

[obelus]

09:22 PM on 07/09/2009

For a six-string summit, I applaud the choice of these three guitarists­. Although there are many great guitarists out there, these three have distinctiv­e approaches and it is easy to spot their tone from way off. Hendrix, Garcia, and Duane Allman each had a tone that was unmistakab­le from the first bar, but they are otherwise unavailabl­e. 'Sure would've loved to hear those three cut something, though.

[RobinSeattle]

09:18 PM on 07/09/2009

Looks cool.

Chuck Berry is still alive, though. He was the guy who set a lot of the ground rules for all the rock guitarists afterward (though you could also argue that the late T-Bone Walker was kind of the man behind the Berry legend since T-Bone was such an influence; and don't forget about Les Paul's influence on a lot of the 60's english guitarists­, too). So did they ask Chuck to appear or is this solely about white guitar players?

"Of all the early breakthrou­gh rock & roll artists, none is more important to the developmen­t of the music than Chuck Berry." (Cub Koda).

"If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'.(Jo­hn Lennon)

[Eoin45]

06:44 PM on 07/10/2009

I had the good fortune to back up Chuck Berry in a concert with the Steve Miller Band in San Jose in 1970. You're correct about Chuck's playing being the fountainhe­ad of rock and roll guitar style. Most guitarists will acknowledg­e that. They probably didn't ask Chuck to appear because he's notoriousl­y difficult to work with (although it wasn't the case the night I played with him) and he probably demanded too much money up front. See Taylor Hackman's film Hail, Hail Rock and Roll to see Keith Richards in rehearsal with Chuck and you'll get the idea. The special features on the DVD with Chuck, Bo Diddly and Jerry Lee Lewis shooting the s**t is well worth checking out. Les Paul was more of an influence on rock technicall­y than musically.

[doctorwang]

05:55 PM on 07/12/2009

I saw the clip you refer to...and, yes, Chuck was being very difficult to work with.

[Eoin45]

06:47 PM on 07/10/2009

I have to add that Chuck is also extremely inconsiste­nt in his playing - going from sloppy to inspiring. You never know who you;re going to get. It would have been difficult getting footage of him playing well, especially now that he's in his 80s.

[normathumb]

07:58 AM on 07/13/2009

Chuck plays just fine into his 80's. Sometimes you get a greatest hits show that will absolutely floor you and sometimes he'll play a blues show that will give you a greater appreciati­on for his technical ability. Chuck play a monthly gig at a bar, "Blueberry Hill", in St Louis. Chuck Berry in a bar that probably doesn't hold 150 people is pretty awesome on a bad night. On a good night he will transport you.