SilvertoneFAB Brochure23 Lo - Flipbook - Page 22
This is
History!
As early as 1905, Sears, Roebuck & Company was selling musical instruments – mainly
ukuleles – built by the Harmony Company. In 1916, Harmony was bought by Sears,
continuing to make instruments for Sears & other customers. In 1940, Sears sold the
Harmony brand to an investment group and adopted the Silvertone brand name for
all musical instruments By then, Sears was buying instruments from many other U.S.
builders as well as Harmony. The 1940s market the introduction of Silvertone electric
guitars. The late ’30s had seen plenty of ‘Hawaiian’ lap steel instruments & amps, but
1941 marked the first year you could get an electric six-string in the Sears catalog. The
selections were limited, but the funky, eclectic styling & easy affordability made them
popular with players. Silvertone guitars were inexpensive & readily available by mail
order. Struggling blues musicians of the 1940s found them roadworthy & replaceable,
with legends such as Muddy Waters and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup among those
who chose Silvertones.
The electric guitar went solid in the 1950s, & Silvertone was right there at the beginning.
The 1950s was a great decade to be a guitar player. Along with new music styles,
new guitar ideas were coming from inventors, tinkerers & technicians. Recording
technology was improving, popular music was expanding & everybody wanted to
party. Just about every musical icons of the ’60s played their first notes on Silvertone
guitars in the 1950s. Jimi Hendrix named his 1956 Silvertone “Betty Jean,” after his
girlfriend. Bob Dylan rocked a 1319 in 1958. At least one 1950s-era Silvertone can
be heard on Dylan’s 2006 release, “Modern Times.” Over 100 biographies of modern
musicians mention Silvertone & the first guitar brand of well-known musicians... And
why not – they were affordable, reliable & available to anyone with a Sears catalog
(which was just about everyone at the time).
The 1960s were a decade of change in just about every facet of American life. Early
in the decade, there was a great new interest in folk music as folk artists moved from
rural areas to the cities. Pete Seeger, Dave Van Ronk, Joan Baez & Bob Dylan began to
get notice, & as they grew in popularity, many young people picked up guitars to join
them. Like today, high-end guitars were expensive & upscale makers just couldn’t keep
up with the demand for acoustic guitars. During the ’60s, Silvertone tapped many of
America’s guitar makers. Names like Harmony, Kay, Danelectro, Supro, Valco & National
all made guitars under the Silvertone name. Some of these were nearly identical to
those that wore the maker’s name & others were developed specifically for Silvertone.
For a great peek at the classic guitars from the period, check out silvertoneworld.com
& vintagesilvertones.com. Both are great resources for Silvertones of days gone by.
Fast Forward... The demand for vintage guitars of the 1950s & ’60s soared of over
the past few decades & prices for exclusive vintage axes can top $100,000. Recently
there’s been great interest in Silvertone guitars from the era with many models that
originally sold for under $100 now demanding prices over $1,000. That’s where we
come in.
Silvertone Reissue models have all the vibe & tone of the original vintage models, but
with upgraded features – better bridges, machine heads & neck joints — that make
them true professional instruments for the 2000s. The line of Silvertone Reissues is
expanding. We hope to reintroduce as many of the classic models of yesteryear as
players demand. If you have a special model from back in the day that you’d like to see
us make, drop us a note here & let us know.
The Roots of Rock
