101 Greatest Moments in Guitar History
14 March, 2005

A moment in time. A split second where everything freezes, and your
mind takes a snapshot of an event you'll always keep with you - an
event that forever divides your life into two groups: stuff that
happened before this moment, and the stuff that will happen after.
Great moments change you. The greatest ones change everything.

Most GP readers have their own list of life-changing moments, and
many of those moments involve the guitar: The first guitar you ever
played, the best solo you ever heard, the most transcendent tone
that caressed your ears, and so on. Many of these moments will
continue to give you chills for the rest of your life, and they
deserve to be remembered, celebrated, and chronicled.

Which brings us to the list you have before you. These 101 events
are the GP staffs' picks of the coolest, greatest, and most
important moments in the history of the modern 6-string. It wasn't
an easy list to compile, and it's quite impossible to publish such a
list without eliciting cries of protest, dismay, and disgust at what
(or who) was selected or ignored. While those debates are obviously
part of the fun of publishing lists, here's an explanation of the
process that directed our picks.

First and foremost, each selection had to be a moment. If we
couldn't point to a specific instance when a person, event, record,
or piece of gear took the world by storm, started a revolution, or
changed the game, it didn't make the list. Also, while there are
tons of firsts on this list, great moments aren't always firsts.
Many of the entries indicate when a player or an idea transformed
the guitar-playing consciousness, rather than the earliest evidence
of it's appearance.




1885 - 1928
April 2005

The Birth of Steel Guitar, 1885
1931 - 1952
April 2005

Ro-Pat-In Creates the Frying Pan, 1931
1954 - 1957
April 2005

The Fender Stratocaster Is Born, 1954
1957 - 1961
April 2005

Bo Diddley Delivers The Beat, 1957
1962 - 1964
April 2005

Dick Dale Invents Surf Guitar, 1962
1965 - 1967
April 2005

Dylan Goes Electric, 1965
1968 - 1971
April 2005

"Classical Gas" Actually Becomes a Hit, 1968
1971 - 1978
April 2005

At Fillmore East Released, 1971
1979 - 1983
April 2005

Randy Rhoads Auditions for Ozzy, 1979
1984 - 1991
April 2005

This Is Spinal Tap Tells It Like It Is, 1984
1991 - 2001
April 2005

DigiTech Introduces the Whammy Pedal, 1991