Discover the Untold Story of the
ELECTRIC GUITAR
I Musical Instrument Museum 4725 E. Mayo Boulevard Phoenix, AZ 85050 480.478.6000 MIM.org
n 1932, the world heard the electric guitar broadcast over the radio for the very first time. This new sound changed music forever. Opening on November 9, The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon exhibition shares the untold story of the electric guitar from earliest imagination to musical revolution — exclusively at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM). Based on the private collection of guitar historian Lynn Wheelwright, this exhibition features more than eighty of the world’s rarest electric guitars and amplifiers, including some of the first ever heard during the 1930s and 1940s and those played by the most famous electric guitarists known today. The Electric Guitar: Inventing an American Icon shows how the electric guitar shaped musical genres beyond rock and roll, such as Hawaiian music, western swing, dance orchestra, and jazz. One remarkable instrument included in the exhibition is Alvino Rey’s 1932 Electro A-25, likely the first electric guitar ever played on a national radio broadcast. Considered the “Father of the Electric Guitar,” Rey was not only a talented performer but also a direct contributor to the research and development of amplified instruments for brands such as Rickenbacker, Gibson, and Fender. Another highlight is the 1940 Gibson ES-250 played by Charlie Christian, the acknowledged pioneer of electric jazz guitar, while a member of Benny
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Arizona KEYMagazine
