![]() ![]() (NMAH)īy the 1950s, the solid-body electric guitar had risen significantly in popularity, largely thanks to the jazz, blues, and country musicians who explored new sounds and ways to play with this electrified instrument. It is a reissue of the 1967 design of Leo Fender's Precision Bass, which he first introduced to the world in 1951. This electric bass guitar was made by Fender Musical Instrument Corp. While Slingerland stopped producing electric instruments in the 1940s to focus on percussion instruments, this guitar is possibly the earliest solid-body electric guitar on record. Seen above, the guitar echoes the traditional "Spanish-style" acoustic guitar shape adapted to a solid wooden body with a combination of magnets in its pickup to capture string vibrations. The Slingerland Company based in Chicago introduced a solid-body electric guitar for commercial sale in 1939 in their company catalog. Les Paul is widely known for his first attempts at a solid body guitar, nicknamed "the Log," developed in the early 1940s. There were many early inventions and experiments that explored this challenge but, as we know today, what truly won out was the solid body electric guitar. The concept of an electric guitar, or a guitar amplified "by means of electricity," started in the era of big band jazz, early recordings, and radio broadcasting, around the 1920s and into the 1930s, all around the singular challenge of making the guitar louder. This Slingerland Songster guitar-one of the earliest commercial electric guitars on record and the earliest in our collection-was made by the Slingerland Musical Instrument Manufacturing Company in 1939. Did you know that the museum has over 90 acoustic and electric guitars and bass guitars in our musical instruments collection? Join us as we share five of our favorite electric guitars from the collection, highlighting exciting moments in history that led to the electric guitar as we know it today. In a salute to one of the grandfathers of the unforgettable sound of the electric guitar, we are taking a moment today to look through the array of electric guitars in the National Museum of American History's collection. Les Paul live at Iridium Jazz Club in New York City in October 2008. An American jazz, blues, and country guitarist and songwriter, Les Paul is remembered for his experiments with innovative recording techniques and with solid-body amplified guitars. April is an important month for the guitar and music world: It's Jazz Appreciation Month! And no one exemplifies guitars quite like Les Paul.
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