The history of the electric guitar how music was changed forever

: In The Beginning The guitar’s soft melodic tone made it difficult for people to hear it when being played alongside other instruments. So during the 1930’s an inventive individual decided to change that and invented the first electric guitar. Little did he know, or have imagined way back then how the invention of the electric guitar would significantly affect the course of 20th century music. Like most new things, the electric guitar had its critics but it quickly won people over because of its ability to allow musicians to play much more creatively and express their own individual styles. The First Pickup In 1924 an inventive engineer working for the Gibson guitar company named Lloyd Loar, designed the first magnetic pickup. Using a magnet, he converted guitar string vibrations into electrical signals, which then were amplified through a speaker system. This first pickup was crude, but it was a great beginning. The First Electric Guitar In 1931 the Electro String Company was founded by Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, and developed the first electric guitars marketed to the general public. They made their guitars from cast aluminum and were played on a person’s lap using a steel slide much like today's steel guitar. Because of their unusual material, they were affectionately called “Frying Pans.” The early success of the frying pans prompted the Gibson guitar company to build their first electric guitar, the ES-150 which is a legend today. The First Solid-Body Electric Guitar Electric guitars were quickly becoming popular, even though there was a major problem with their construction. Their bodies would vibrate due to the amplified sounds coming through the speakers they were played into, causing what we know as feed-back. The obvious remedy was to build a guitar made with a solid body which wouldn’t vibrate so easily. As with most innovations, there is controversy over who invented the first solid – body electric guitar. Guitar legend Les Paul in the 1940’s developed his affectionately called “The Log” solid-body guitar by attaching a Gibson neck to a solid piece of wood…a railroad tie, hence the name “Log.” Around this same time, guitarist Merle Travis and engineer Paul Bigsby developed a solid-body electric guitar that resembled the solid-body guitars that we’re so familiar with today. The First Mass Produced Electric Guitar Leo Fender in 1950 was the first to mass produce an electric guitar which was originally called the Fender Broadcaster. This guitar was quickly re-named to the infamous Telecaster because the name “Broadcaster” was already being used by another company. Leo followed this up in 1954 with the most renowned guitar of all time…the Stratocaster. Leo’s success led other guitar manufacturers into developing their own mass-produced electric guitars. Most notable was the teaming-up of the Gibson guitar company with Les Paul to create the famous Gibson Les Paul electric guitar. More Affordable Electric Guitars During the 1960’s and 1970’s famous brand name electric guitars were too expensive for the average person to buy. Less pricey imitations quickly came to market but they were sub-standard in sound and playability. The Japanese, in the 1980’s started manufacturing electric guitars of similar quality to the more expensive American made models, but with much more affordable pricing. This prompted Fender and other leading guitar manufacturers into producing less expensive versions of their classic models. This resulted in electric guitars now being more affordable and accessible to more people. Today, the Gibson and Fender guitar companies are still producing some of the most well-known and best made electric guitars on the market. But it’s getting crowded with other high quality brands such as BC Rich, ESP and Peavey. Innovative designs, shapes and materials are being incorporated with new technologies to produce better sounding electric guitars. Modern guitars have built-in software allowing them to sound like other types of guitars. Some are even fitted with pickups that synthesize the sound of different instruments or record the notes in musical notation. The electric guitar has come a long way with an interesting and inventive past and many in the industry say it has an even brighter future.

Outkast s diamond status

: OutKast is an American hip-hop duo, comprised of Andre “Andre 3000” Benjamin (formerly known as “Dre”) and Antwan “Big Boi” Patton. Having sold over 20 million records with six albums under their belt, OutKast is easily one of the most successful hip-hop groups of all time. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, a double album representing a solo album from each member of the duo, achieved diamond status, selling over 10 million units, a feat only two other hip hop albums have ever accomplished. OutKast’s commercial success corresponds to the duo’s critically acclaimed, distinct and experimental sound, which is rare for such a mainstream rap group. Benjamin and Patton, both from Atlanta, Georgia, went to the same high school together and would regularly engage in rap battles, only to later team up and form OutKast. In 1992, the newly formed duo signed to LaFace Records and became the label’s first hip hop act. In 1994, their full length debut, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, which included hits such as Git up, Git Out and Player’s Ball, which would reach #1 on the Billboard Rap Chart. OutKast’s second album, ATLiens, released in 1996, reached #2 on the US album charts and includes hits, ATLiens and Elevators (Me and You), which would become the group’s first Top 20 hit. Outkast’s third album, Aquemini, also reached the #2 position on the charts at the time of its release in 1998. The album earned the very rare “5 Mic” rating from The Source magazine, which is equivalent to a 5 out of 5 rating. A year later, the duo ran into legal troubles with Rosa Parks over the title of one of the album’s singles, which bore Parks’ name. After five years of legal contention, the suit was eventually settled with neither OutKast or LaFace Records having to admit any wrongdoing. In 2000, the duo’s fourth album, Stankonia, also debuted at #2 on the album charts and would ultimately go quadruple-platinum, thanks in large to such hit singles including: B. O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad), So Fresh, So Clean, and Ms. Jackson. Ms. Jackson would become the pair’s first pop crossover hit, achieving the #1 ranking on the US pop singles chart. In 2001, OutKast would receive two Grammy Awards, one for Best Rap Album for Stankonia and the other for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for Ms. Jackson. That same year, the duo would release a greatest hits album, Big Boi and Dre Present…OutKast, which included three new tracks. The following year, OutKast would receive Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for The Whole World, one of the new tracks off the record. In 2003, OutKast released a double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The album, which was basically two solo albums by each member, would ultimately become the duo’s best selling album debuting on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart at #1 and achieving diamond status. Hits such as The Way You Move, Hey Ya, and “Roses” would keep the album at the top of the charts for several weeks. The album would go on to win the Grammy Award for the 2004 “Album of the Year”. OutKast’s next album will be the soundtrack to their film Idlewild, which is scheduled to be released on August 22, 2006. Outkast Ringtones