Broken Guitars

[eagle87]

The other day I was waching 7 Ages of Rock on VH1, and I saw a Live video of The Who, and after the show Pete Townsend broke his guitar. So I start thinking... who was the first band? Jimi Hendrix? (well he didn't, but you know...)

or Pete Townsend?...

So anyone know the answer?

[marolyn]

don't know if they were the first, but kiss is the band that comes to mind when i think of guitar breaking...

[Jahfin]

don't know if they were the first, but kiss is the band that comes to mind when i think of guitar breaking...

They definitely weren't the first. Townsend was smashing guitars long before Kiss had even formed. I was fan of Kiss' back in the day but they should actually have points taken away because they used prop guitars to smash onstage. The Who actually had a hard time staying on the road (at least according to The Kids Are Alright documentary) because Townsend was smashing the real things.

As for who was the first to do it, I have no idea. Not to mention it would be next to impossible to prove who was first.

[Swede]

From the Dallas Morning News at:

http://shorterlink.com/?6YNVQY

Guitar smashing evolved into rock ritual

By THOR CHRISTENSEN

The Dallas Morning News

The rules of romance say if you love something, set it

free. But the rules of rock tell you to smash it to

smithereens.

"Taking a guitar you love and wrecking it is

incredibly exciting. It's the ultimate statement of

anarchy," says Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

"You're trying to shatter the audience's mind, so why

not start with the tangible: the guitar?" says ZZ

Top's Billy Gibbons.

Guitar smashing is a time-honored sacrament in rock

'n' roll used by everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Kurt

Cobain to today's bands like the Vines. It's easy to

see why. For the smasher, it's pure catharsis. For the

fan, it's the vicarious thrill of watching stuff get

destroyed - a demolition derby with power chords.

But 40 years after Pete Townshend of the Who

annihilated his first electric guitar, the ritual

still polarizes the rock world.

"To me, it's show biz. I don't see much value to it,

to be honest," says Eric Clapton.

"I once smashed a guitar onstage in pure rage because

I got an electric shock that scared the living

daylights out of me. But as soon as I did it, I

regretted it. It was my favorite guitar, and even

after I repaired it, it was never the same."

"I've never even tried it," says Carlos Santana. "I'll

sacrifice other things, but not my guitar."

Like so many inventions, guitar demolition began as an

accident. In 1964, during a show at London's Railway

Station nightclub, Townshend began waving and jerking

his electric Rickenbacker to try to make it stop

whistling. He banged it on the club's low ceiling,

impressing one fan so much he asked the guitarist to

do it again in the second set.

When he did, the guitar snapped in half, stunning both

the crowd and Townshend.

"I had no recourse but to look as though I meant to do

it, so I smashed the guitar and jumped all over the

bits ... it gave me a fantastic buzz," he said in the

Who biography "Before I Get Old."

The London press got wind of the smash-up and

dispatched photographers. Thrilled by the notoriety,

Townshend began obliterating guitars regularly,

telling reporters it was his statement of

antimaterialism and comparing himself to German

autodestruct artists who built sculptures designed to

collapse.

"To me, it wasn't violence or random destruction,"

Townshend said. "It was art."

The idea spread, and in the 1966 drama "Blowup,"

director Michelangelo Antonioni captured Jeff Beck of

the Yardbirds smashing his ax and hurling the pieces

to the crowd, which fought over them like jackals.

Soon after "Blowup" premiered, a rising young guitar

hero named Jimi Hendrix also started bashing his

instrument onstage. An angry Townshend confronted him

backstage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and

demanded he stop stealing his act.

But Jimi wisely refused to budge. Today, pictures of

Hendrix setting his Strat on fire and breaking it to

shards are some of the most famous images in rock

history.

"When I saw Hendrix do that at Monterey, it was like a

supreme sacrifice from out of the Bible," says

Santana. "It was very spiritual and voodoo-like, and I

think he was taking music all the way back to Africa

... I didn't get the same feeling from Peter

Townshend. He was more like a brat throwing a

television."

By the time both acts got to Woodstock in '69, hordes

of young guitarists were already emulating them,

including a Dallas teenager named Jimmie Vaughan.

"It was so cool because it was so wrong," says

Vaughan, whose band, the Chessmen, opened for Jimi

Hendrix at SMU in 1968. "We couldn't afford to break

our own guitars, so we'd get a lousy one and break it

onstage just to see if we could do it."

Other fledgling smashers made the mistake of using

expensive guitars, which didn't splinter so easily.

"Have you ever tried smashing a baseball bat against a

cement wall?" asks Aerosmith's Perry. "That's what

it's like trying to smash a Stratocaster - it doesn't

give. But you're so loaded with adrenaline, you just

keep doing it, even though it hurts."

The novelty wore off in the early '70s, but the act

blossomed again during the punk era.

Paul Simonon of the Clash is seen crushing a bass

guitar on the cover of "London Calling" (1979). And in

the '90s, alternative rockers such as Sonic Youth and

Pearl Jam fractured their guitars for audiences too

young to remember Hendrix.

[Deezer]

They definitely weren't the first. Townsend was smashing guitars long before Kiss had even formed. I was fan of Kiss' back in the day but they should actually have points taken away because they used prop guitars to smash onstage. The Who actually had a hard time staying on the road (at least according to The Kids Are Alright documentary) because Townsend was smashing the real things.

As for who was the first to do it, I have no idea. Not to mention it would be next to impossible to prove who was first.

Yeah, I was watching that VH1 special on Monterey, and Bob Weir said that the neck of Townsend's guitar came whizzing by him, and the crew came out and was like, "We need that back, we put those back together." Not sure if Townsend was the first, but he was the one that made it famous.

[jimmie ray]

If I didn't have a clue about how to play it, I guess I'd break it, too!

[Jahfin]

[beatbo]

the "attempted" pulverization of the gibson SG at woodstock, then townshend tossing it into the audience....

that's the best pounding i've ever seen-very visceral.

but a very stout guitar.

pete townshend: "some idiot from the beegees asked me if i would break a stradivarius....of course you wouldn't. but a gibson off the production line? fuck it!"

Edited May 29, 2008 by beatbo

[eagle87]

They definitely weren't the first. Townsend was smashing guitars long before Kiss had even formed. I was fan of Kiss' back in the day but they should actually have points taken away because they used prop guitars to smash onstage. The Who actually had a hard time staying on the road (at least according to The Kids Are Alright documentary) because Townsend was smashing the real things.

As for who was the first to do it, I have no idea. Not to mention it would be next to impossible to prove who was first.

You're probably right. Seems like Townsend was the first.

[eagle87]

From the Dallas Morning News at:

http://shorterlink.com/?6YNVQY

Guitar smashing evolved into rock ritual

By THOR CHRISTENSEN

The Dallas Morning News

The rules of romance say if you love something, set it

free. But the rules of rock tell you to smash it to

smithereens.

"Taking a guitar you love and wrecking it is

incredibly exciting. It's the ultimate statement of

anarchy," says Joe Perry of Aerosmith.

"You're trying to shatter the audience's mind, so why

not start with the tangible: the guitar?" says ZZ

Top's Billy Gibbons.

Guitar smashing is a time-honored sacrament in rock

'n' roll used by everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Kurt

Cobain to today's bands like the Vines. It's easy to

see why. For the smasher, it's pure catharsis. For the

fan, it's the vicarious thrill of watching stuff get

destroyed - a demolition derby with power chords.

But 40 years after Pete Townshend of the Who

annihilated his first electric guitar, the ritual

still polarizes the rock world.

"To me, it's show biz. I don't see much value to it,

to be honest," says Eric Clapton.

"I once smashed a guitar onstage in pure rage because

I got an electric shock that scared the living

daylights out of me. But as soon as I did it, I

regretted it. It was my favorite guitar, and even

after I repaired it, it was never the same."

"I've never even tried it," says Carlos Santana. "I'll

sacrifice other things, but not my guitar."

Like so many inventions, guitar demolition began as an

accident. In 1964, during a show at London's Railway

Station nightclub, Townshend began waving and jerking

his electric Rickenbacker to try to make it stop

whistling. He banged it on the club's low ceiling,

impressing one fan so much he asked the guitarist to

do it again in the second set.

When he did, the guitar snapped in half, stunning both

the crowd and Townshend.

"I had no recourse but to look as though I meant to do

it, so I smashed the guitar and jumped all over the

bits ... it gave me a fantastic buzz," he said in the

Who biography "Before I Get Old."

The London press got wind of the smash-up and

dispatched photographers. Thrilled by the notoriety,

Townshend began obliterating guitars regularly,

telling reporters it was his statement of

antimaterialism and comparing himself to German

autodestruct artists who built sculptures designed to

collapse.

"To me, it wasn't violence or random destruction,"

Townshend said. "It was art."

The idea spread, and in the 1966 drama "Blowup,"

director Michelangelo Antonioni captured Jeff Beck of

the Yardbirds smashing his ax and hurling the pieces

to the crowd, which fought over them like jackals.

Soon after "Blowup" premiered, a rising young guitar

hero named Jimi Hendrix also started bashing his

instrument onstage. An angry Townshend confronted him

backstage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and

demanded he stop stealing his act.

But Jimi wisely refused to budge. Today, pictures of

Hendrix setting his Strat on fire and breaking it to

shards are some of the most famous images in rock

history.

"When I saw Hendrix do that at Monterey, it was like a

supreme sacrifice from out of the Bible," says

Santana. "It was very spiritual and voodoo-like, and I

think he was taking music all the way back to Africa

... I didn't get the same feeling from Peter

Townshend. He was more like a brat throwing a

television."

By the time both acts got to Woodstock in '69, hordes

of young guitarists were already emulating them,

including a Dallas teenager named Jimmie Vaughan.

"It was so cool because it was so wrong," says

Vaughan, whose band, the Chessmen, opened for Jimi

Hendrix at SMU in 1968. "We couldn't afford to break

our own guitars, so we'd get a lousy one and break it

onstage just to see if we could do it."

Other fledgling smashers made the mistake of using

expensive guitars, which didn't splinter so easily.

"Have you ever tried smashing a baseball bat against a

cement wall?" asks Aerosmith's Perry. "That's what

it's like trying to smash a Stratocaster - it doesn't

give. But you're so loaded with adrenaline, you just

keep doing it, even though it hurts."

The novelty wore off in the early '70s, but the act

blossomed again during the punk era.

Paul Simonon of the Clash is seen crushing a bass

guitar on the cover of "London Calling" (1979). And in

the '90s, alternative rockers such as Sonic Youth and

Pearl Jam fractured their guitars for audiences too

young to remember Hendrix.

Well, I think this article confirms all.

[eagle87]

the "attempted" pulverization of the gibson SG at woodstock, then townshend tossing it into the audience....

that's the best pounding i've ever seen-very visceral.

but a very stout guitar.

pete townshend: "some idiot from the beegees asked me if i would break a stradivarius....of course you wouldn't. but a gibson off the production line? fuck it!"

[GetTheLedOut]

I doubt it took until the mid-sixties for someone to bang up a guitar for show, but without question Townshend was the one who made it stylish.

[Jahfin]

the "attempted" pulverization of the gibson SG at woodstock, then townshend tossing it into the audience....

that's the best pounding i've ever seen-very visceral.

but a very stout guitar.

I know there's still some controversy over the validity of the story but I guess it's fitting that that same guitar also connected with Abbie Hoffman's head before it's demise.

[beatbo]

I know there's still some controversy over the validity of the story but I guess it's fitting that that same guitar also connected with Abbie Hoffman's head before it's demise.

there's a clip of this all over youtube, but you can't really see anything. i dunno...

i liked abbie. steal this post!

but he had no business on the who's stage, that's for sure.

how about keith richards banging a nutter in the side off his head during satifaction in '81, then strapping back up and jumpin' back in? that's dedication!

[Jahfin]

there's a clip of this all over youtube, but you can't really see anything. i dunno...

i liked abbie. steal this post!

but he had no business on the who's stage, that's for sure.

Was it Steal This Book or Woodstock Nation where he went on and on about his love for the Who? Either way, he definitely went too far at Woodstock and got what was coming to him, from one of his heroes no less.

how about keith richards banging a nutter in the side off his head during satifaction in '81, then strapping back up and jumpin' back in? that's dedication!

I wasn't in attendance but recall reading about a Drive-By Truckers show where a fan tried to touch Cooley's Flying V. Next thing he got was a boot to the face. Something similar happened at a Drivin' n' Cryin' concert I saw in the early 90s. They had specifically asked members of the audience not to crowd surf (this is back when it was trendy and it was in a college town) yet someone tried to anyway. When he tried to climb onstage their lead guitarist gave him a boot to the head which ended up requiring stitches. I kinda felt bad for the kid (who was with our party) but it's not like he wasn't warned.

Edited May 30, 2008 by Jahfin

[Jahfin]

I thought it was sort of tacky when Hendrix smashed his guitar. (Not very original Jimi.)

What if Townshend would have played with his teeth?

I can't say I ever thought it was "tacky", at least in the sense of unoriginality. I mean, it's not like Townsend had some kind of patent on smashing his shit. Same for guitarists playing with their teeth or behind their heads. In the Bill Graham autobiography Bill Graham Presents Bill relates a story of telling Hendrix he is so good he doesn't need to engage in all of the flashy showmanship. During his next gig at Winterland he goes out and stands stock still while still managing to rip his guitar to shreds.

[jimmie ray]

What if Townshend would have played with his teeth?

Ummmm, we might recognize a chord or two?

Edited May 30, 2008 by jimmie ray

[lynxwizard]

Somethings you can get away with stealing. But The Who's stage act isn't one of them. When I see someone else doing the guitar smashing thing, it just looks like someone copying The Who.

It's sort of like a woman trying to come on real sexy. If she doen't really have it together, if she can't do it just right, she ends up looking foolish.

Pete Townshend had the looks for smashing a guitar. He looked great doing it. He was the best. Jimi was just trying to steal his act.

Like Bill Graham, I think Jimi was at his best if he just played. I remember seeing an interview will Bill, years ago where he talked about this.

Even tho Townshend was the first, I think Blackmore has the looks even more that Townshend, there was a classic photo of him in Classic Rock awhile ago with him and one of his amps on fire. I believe he first started doing this at a outdoor show in Germany back in 69.

[Jahfin]

Like I said, I don't really think of Hendrix as a thief as Townsend wasn't the first to smash his guitar and he certainly wasn't the last.

Hey, hey, my, my, rock 'n' roll will never die,

Just hang your hair down in your eyes

You'll make a million dollars.

Well, I was in this band goin' nowhere fast

We sent out demos, but everybody passed

So one day, we finally took the plunge

Moved out to Seattle to play some grunge.

Washington State that is.

Space Needle ...Eddie Vedder ...mud 'n' honey!

Now to fit in fast, we wear flannel shirts,

We turn our amps up until it hurts,

We got bad attitudes, and what's more

When we play we stare straight down at the floor, wow-ee

Pretty scary.

How pensive ...how totally alternative.

Now to fit in on the Seattle scene

We gotta do somethin' they ain't never seen.

So, thinkin' up a gimmick one day

We decided to be the only band that wouldn't play -- a note.

Under any circumstances.

Silence ...music's original alternative.

Roots grunge...

Well we spread the word through the underground,

that we were the hottest new thing in town.

The record guy came out to see us one day,

and just like always, we didn't play; it knocked him out.

He said he loved our work.

He said he loved our work, but he wasn't

sure if he could sell a record with nothin' on it.

I said tell 'em we're from Seattle.

He advanced us two-and-a-half million dollars.

Hey, hey, my, my, rock 'n' roll will never die,

Hang your hair down in your eyes

You'll make a million dollars.

Well, they made us do a video, but that wasn't tough,

'Cause we just filmed ourselves smashin' stuff.

It was kinda weird, 'cause there was no music,

But MTV said they'd love to use it.

The kids went wild, the kids went nuts,

Rolling Stone gave us a five-star

review; said we played with guts.

We were scorin' chicks, takin' drugs,

then we got asked to play MTV Unplugged; you shoulda seen it.

We went right out there and refused to

do acoustical versions of the

electrical songs that we had refused to

record in the first place.

Then we smashed our shit.

Well, we blew 'em away at the Grammy show,

by refusin' to play and refusin' to go.

And then just when we thought fame would last forever,

Along come this band that wasn't even together.

Now, that's alternative ...hell, that's

alternative to alternative.

I feel stupid ...and contagious.

Well our band got dropped, and that ain't funny,

'cause we're all hooked on drugs, but we're outta money

So the other day I called up the band,

I said, "Boys, I've taken all I can,

"Shave off your goatees, pack the van...

"We're goin' back to Athens."

- Todd Snider, Talkin' Seattle Grunge Rock Blues

[jimmie ray]

"Seinfeld" was a show about nuthin' - and that was a hit, too.

[eagle87]

Somethings you can get away with stealing. But The Who's stage act isn't one of them. When I see someone else doing the guitar smashing thing, it just looks like someone copying The Who.

It's sort of like a woman trying to come on real sexy. If she doen't really have it together, if she can't do it just right, she ends up looking foolish.

Pete Townshend had the looks for smashing a guitar. He looked great doing it. He was the best. Jimi was just trying to steal his act.

Like Bill Graham, I think Jimi was at his best if he just played. I remember seeing an interview will Bill, years ago where he talked about this.

But you can't say that that image was/is historic. And of all the people with I talk about it, not one say to me: "that was stupid".

[yahyoubetcha]

Ritchie Blackmore smashing his Strat into the TV camera at California Jam? That was classic.

[jimmie ray]

Very astute of you! And Daltrey's inspiration for "My Generation" was Sheriff P-P-P-PING Ping Ping Rick-o-shay Rabbit!

[Hotplant]

My very first concert, I was front row center while the Who DID smash up everything! Amps, drums, I thought the drum set was going to land right on me. Moon just got up and lifted all the drums, and tossed them forward. Townsend was smashing his guitar into the floor and into the amps, then knocking them over and started to tear them apart. I was eyes wide open, never seeing anything like it. My first thought was, how often do they have to replace this stuff?

Wound up with Moons drumstick though, my first piece of rock memoribilia.

Then, Hermans Hermits took the stage.

[GetTheLedOut]

I thought it was sort of tacky when Hendrix smashed his guitar. (Not very original Jimi.)

What if Townshend would have played with his teeth?

If I remember correctly, Hendrix wasn't the first to do that either. He stole that (and playing the guitar behind his back) from Jeff Beck.

Does that cheapen Hendrix for you? It shouldn't.