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Each year, Vintage Guitar magazine honors those who inspired and awed us as guitar players, fans, and listeners by inducting the truly great players, innovators, and instruments to the VG Hall of Fame.
Nominations are solicited from contributors and visitors to VintageGuitar.com, then a list of finalists is compiled with input from VG staff. So, faithful reader, please take a minute to vote for an "Instrument," "Player," and "Innovator" (chosen for their efforts designing or instruments or for their influential playing style). Submitting your ballot will enter you in our Hall of Fame giveaway and a chance to score a St. Blues 61 South Workshop Series guitar worth $2,299! To view the guitar Click Here.
Current members of the VG Hall of Fame and the year they were inducted can be seen at Instrument, Player, and Innovator.
The contest is open to vintageguitar.com registered members and void where prohibited. New inductees and contest winners will be announced in the March '11 issue. Deadline for entries is November 12, 2010.
Finalists PLAYERS HANK GARLAND Just 14 when he began playing guitar for a living, by 16 he had recorded a million seller ("Sugarfoot Rag") then played on hits by Hank Williams, Elvis, Orbison, the Everlys, and others. He is credited with pitching the concept of the thinline hollowbody to Gibson, then helped develop what would become the Byrdland model.
ROBERT JOHNSON Though popularly noted for "selling his soul to the devil," his mid-'30s recordings were a display of raw talent that served as the boilerplate of modern blues music. His name is commonly associated with the Gibson L-1.
CLARENCE WHITE Armed with a couple of Martin dreadnoughts, he elevated the flatpicked guitar in bluegrass as a member of The Kentucky Colonels, and later was an influential member of The Byrds when it recorded the seminal Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and played on numerous sessions for high-profile singers.
DANNY GATTON His innovative style, which combined elements of jazz, blues, and rockabilly, along with a road-worn '53 Telecaster, helped him make a name for himself, especially in the musically-knowledgable Washington, D.C. area of the 1970s and '80s. Ever-willing to jam with other guitarists, he became known as "The Humbler" for subsequently blowing them off the stage!
INNOVATORS GEORGE BEAUCHAMP Co-founder of Rickenbacker and National, he is credited for inventing the single-cone resonator, the electric guitar (Rick A-22), and the electric violin. Without him, we might never have had the Dopyeras, Dobros, Nationals, or modern pickups/electric guitars.
ANTONIO DE TORRES The Spanish guitar maker is influential almost beyond comprehension. Suffice it to say, though, that without his guitars to lead the way, there would be no modern classical/flamenco/nylon-string guitars.
JIMMIE WEBSTER Whether or not he invented the technique known as "tapping," he brought it to the masses as as a demonstrator for Gretsch in the '50s. Traveling the country, he showed scores of young players how the DeArmond pickups in Gretsch guitars were sensitive enough to convey his fluid tapping style. Gretsch created the White Falcon as his personal showpiece.
PAUL REED SMITH After building guitars one at a time for years, in 1985 he launched a company that today is emblematic of an innovative large-scale American builder. His passion as strong as ever, he remains very much part of the day-to-day process in all of his shops - electric, acoustic, and amps.
INSTRUMENTS GIBSON BYRDLAND The first "thinline" guitar, it was devised in 1955, after Gibson's Clarence Havenga asked Hank Garland, "What would you like that we don't already have?" After replying (in paraphrase), "A lot!" Garland and his pal, Billy Byrd, designed this revolutionary predecessor to the 335.
AMPEG SVT The Super Vacuum Tube amp. Introduced in 1969, it was configured as a head (weighing 85 pounds!) with two 8x10 cabs (each weighing 145 pounds) and used 14 tubes (including six 6146s) that produced 300 watts output. For bassists, it's a true vintage classic.
RICKENBACKER A-22 Looking to ride the crest of the wave that was Hawaiian music, in 1932, Rickenbacker offered the A-22 (the A denoting its being made of aluminum). Given its shape, it came to be known as the "frying pan" and is widely regarded as the first electric guitar, employing George Beauchamp's "horseshoe magnet" pickup.
MOSRITE VENTURES Semie Moseley's flagship, its flipped-over-Strat shape may not have been completely original, but it was well-made, with a thin body, the requisite German carve, low frets, a narrow neck, and hot pickups. Dressing up the headstock with the name of the most popular instrumental-rock band ever was arguably Semie's best business move.
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