The
electric guitar as we know it is a symbol of freedom, rebellion, and
louder-than-life rock and roll, played and treasured by our best rock
musicians of the past century. You probably hear their music-the
influence of the electric guitar and its storied history-every day. But
have you ever wondered how we got here?
Veteran music writers Brad Tolinski (former editor-in-chief of Guitar World)
and Alan di Perna have teamed up to give us an incredible and
unprecedented musical history in PLAY IT LOUD: An Epic History of the
Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar (Doubleday;
Publication Date: October 25, 2016), with a foreword by Carlos Santana.
In
roughly the span of one human lifetime, the electric guitar made an
epic transition from novelty item to the most important musical
instrument of the twentieth century and beyond. Featuring interviews
with Les Paul, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Patti Smith, Keith Richards,
Pete Townshend, and B.B. King, plus dozens of behind-the-scenes
creators and players, Tolinski and di Perna use twelve landmark
guitars-beginning with the Rickenbacker, up until the Airline guitar-to
bring this untold history to life. We delve into the life of Leo Fender,
a man who couldn't play a note but who transformed the guitar into the
explosive sound machine it is today, and how the famous Les Paul guitar
came to be: a reaction from Gibson to rival Fender's Telecaster. In my
favorite chapter, we meet Paul Reed Smith (of PRS Guitars), a teenager
who singlehandedly, and with a unique business model, convinces Ted
Nugent, Peter Frampton, and his idol Santana to commission one of his
handmade guitars.
The authors take us from the Roaring Twenties-when the electric guitar was born out of the need to "make this thing louder"-through
the ever-changing rock movements of blues, swing, surf, folk, heavy
metal, retro-garage and post-punk over the next ten decades. We meet a
young Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, and Bob Dylan; we see the very
purposeful guitar choices of the Beatles and the Stones. We learn how
the electric guitar's earliest pioneers, among them Charlie Christian
and Benny Goodman, evolved into today's modern rockers, like Jack White
and Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent), who both, while continuing to
innovate, actually bring many forms of the earliest electric guitar back
onto the stage.
PLAY IT LOUD is a fascinating-and very fun-history of the electric guitar that will forever change the way we think about and listen to music.
Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar
ABOUT THE AUTHORS - Brad Tolinski was the editor-in-chief of Guitar World, the world's bestselling magazine for musicians, for twenty-five years. He is the author of Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page.
Alan di Perna is a longtime contributor to Guitar Worldand Guitar Aficionado and has written for Rolling Stone, Creem, Billboard, Guitar Player, and other leading music publications. He is the author of Guitar Masters: Intimate Portraits.
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