Museum Celebrates 75 Years of the Electric Guitar

You'd be hard pressed to find two guitar historians who could agree upon the time of day, much less the year in which the electric guitar was born, but any cause for a guitar celebration has to be a good one. From November 24, 2006, through January 21, 2007, the National Museum of Ireland will host an exhibit titled RockChic, The Life and Times of the Electric Guitar 1931 - 2006, which will display an assortment of instruments: from a circa 1931 Rickenbacker "Frying Pan" (photo) to electrics associated with such celebrities as Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix and Rory Gallagher. 1931 is the year Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker founded the Electro String Company that would produce the first electric guitar (now known as the Frying Pan) made available to the public. The RockChic exhibit will also feature a number of electric guitars customized by contemporary artists using the instrument as a visual canvas that will be later auctioned for the benefit of charities selected by the artists. Bigtime.tv is the exhibition producer and more information will soon be available at www.rockchic.tv.