Jazz Blog

When you think of electric guitars, you envision rock and roll, heavy metal, and screaming punk bands. These genres depend heavily on the amplification and special effects that this sort of guitar provides. It is natural to assume that the inventor of electric guitar would be a rock and roller or a metal head, but an unlikely player in the game, jazz, actually contributed heavily to the development of the modern day electric guitar.

Early Concepts

The 1930’s and 1940’s, the big band era was in full swing. Jazz orchestras were increasing in size, and the powerful bass sections were simply drowning out guitarists, who were an integral part of the ensemble. Inventors and guitar makers experimented with attaching microphones to guitars, but the excess noise created by the player’s hands and the rest of the body were distracting and not pleasing to the ears. Bandleaders and guitarists saw a pressing need to amplify the sounds of the guitar in order to make it a more obvious presence on the bandstand.

Early Hollow Electrics

Just one person cannot be credited as the inventor of electric guitar, and the credit is therefore generally bestowed upon the entire genre of jazz, which created a need and practical use for it. The first electric guitars were basically designed from hollow acoustic guitar bodies and featured an electromagnetic transducer attachment. A documented performance using an electric guitar took place in 1932, the earliest appearance of anything of its kind. A recording would be made just six years later in 1938 featuring guitarist George Barnes, and 15 days after Barnes’ recording was made, young Eddie Durham made another that went on to become famous.

Early Solid Body Electrics

The more commonly known solid body electric guitar started to appear in 1931. It is rumored that a version of it may have been available in stores in the early 1930’s, but the instrument did not take off with great success. Guitar giant Fender became the first company to commercially manufacture an electric guitar and sell it with a great deal of success.

Early Electric Guitarists

Charlie Christian is often heralded as the very first true electric guitarist. He developed many techniques and best practices for the instrument, and he applied them in his career as a jazz guitarist. His work contributed to the transition of jazz from the big band era into cool jazz, bebop, and modern styles. The foundation he laid made it possible for people like Les Paul, B.B. King, and Jimi Hendrix to transform musical styles and create new avenues for the electric guitar.

Since its early concepts, the electric guitar has gone on to penetrate all genres of music. Elements from the electric guitar are now applied to amplify acoustic electric instruments as well, such as violins, classical guitars, and mandolins. A great number of special effects and distortions can add to the diverse offerings that electronics can give musicians, and it is all thanks to jazz – the unlikely inventor of electric guitars.

By: David Smithe