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My First Guitar: Tales of True Love and Lost Chords from 70 Legendary Musicians
Whether it is a beautiful and classic model or an unglamorous and inexpensive starter instrument, a musician’s first guitar can be the catalyst that motivates a lifelong passion. The pages of this book contain interviews with 70 of the world’s most well-known guitarists across musical genres and playing styles to discover how their love of the instrument compelled them to pursue music as a career. These guitar icons reveal how they got their first instrument, the music they loved, and their heroes and inspirations. With an impressive list of subjects—including Dick Dale, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Page, Les Paul, and Carlos Santana—as well as childhood photos from such guitar legends as Alex Lifeson, Joe Satriani, and Jimmie Vaughan, this book has appeal for guitar heroes and nonmusicians alike.
- GenresMusicAudiobookNonfiction
368 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
January 27, 2022
If you're guitar player and thinking, "wow, this sounds like something I might really dig", let me tell you right now - you're totally right. If you play guitar, or even only own one and fiddle a little every odd year, chances are you're really going to love this book. Under those premises, there's nothing wrong nor uninteresting about it. Actually, it's completely and totally one delicious package of fun and inspiration. If you play some other instrument, there's a risk. You might convert to 6 strings of happiness, but on the other hand, you might start to appreciate what you already play and your very own musician's path even more.
July 31, 2013
fun idea, ask great guitar players what was their first guitar . so: gary lucas, taj mahal, daniel lanois, Richard thompsn, dick dale, lurrie bell, muriel anderson, tracii guns, jorge morel, georege benson, lee ranaldo, scotty moore, melissa etheridge, sharon isben, paul reed smith
and about 60 more. funny stories, some great pics.
and julia crowe herself has some really great stories too.,
only drawback is the use of the same questions for each interview : 1st guitar, most influence, first gig, funny thing, etc. if you read it straight through it gets a bit tiresome, but, i couldnt stop reading it. funny fascinating stuff. and makes you want to have internet by you to listen too, to all the great great music these people have produced over the years.
one thing almost every single genius in this book said, was that player well was very hard and the secret was to work work work your ass off, practice practice practice.
here is a not bad book trailer onyoutube, with most of the pics from book. so cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA4S1x...
and about 60 more. funny stories, some great pics.
and julia crowe herself has some really great stories too.,
only drawback is the use of the same questions for each interview : 1st guitar, most influence, first gig, funny thing, etc. if you read it straight through it gets a bit tiresome, but, i couldnt stop reading it. funny fascinating stuff. and makes you want to have internet by you to listen too, to all the great great music these people have produced over the years.
one thing almost every single genius in this book said, was that player well was very hard and the secret was to work work work your ass off, practice practice practice.
here is a not bad book trailer onyoutube, with most of the pics from book. so cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA4S1x...
August 11, 2013
Well, I'm giving this book five stars not because it is a literary masterpiece but because of the pure enjoyment I experienced reading it. Being a guitar geek and a guitar teacher in need of some light but engaging reading this was perfect. Author Julia Crowe had a great idea of gathering the stories of the first guitars of a variety of great players, makers and aficionados and interweaving them with her own guitar story and her tales of tracking down and interviewing these great guitarists that range from Jimmy Page to Les Paul to Tom Morello and Sharon Isbin and many many more.
August 10, 2021
I've played guitar since I was 5, so long I don't remember not being able to play. I'm not saying I'm any good, just that guitar is part of who I am. Amazingly, at 60, having lived in a half dozen homes, I still have my first guitar. There is obviously a significance to the old thing that is hard to define with a word. What Julia Crow has done brilliantly in this book is collect the stories of the first guitars of 70 professional guitarists from Les Paul to Steve Lukather.
To explain why our first guitars are important, most of us reflect on our early learning experiences and what made that whole period magical. The smell, feeling, sound, and look as well as our idols and inspiration all come rushing back when remembering what our first guitars were and why we put ourselves through the pain of developing calluses. Hearing the stories of dozens of my heroes from every genre tell their tales was magical. In some cases, these folks told my story, in others, they started later and shared their journey all the way through their early careers. Les Paul tells the tale of developing “the log” and the first Gibson electrics, Dick Dale tells the story of the early Fender electrics and his quest for the loudest amplifier – which he frequently left smoking. These are enjoyable, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always fascinating stories.
For me, this was an intensely relatable book. I have experienced or known players whose experience was like virtually all the stories Crowe has collected. The thrill for me is that it brought many of my heroes down to Earth making me feel that all guitar players are connected. One of the players Crowe featured mentions my home town, the shop where I bought my first guitar and the owner who was my first teacher! If you enjoy the behind the scenes look kind of books, this is well presented, well written and quite enjoyable. If you remember your first guitar, Crowe has given us a precious gift that will bind you to the larger community of players.
To explain why our first guitars are important, most of us reflect on our early learning experiences and what made that whole period magical. The smell, feeling, sound, and look as well as our idols and inspiration all come rushing back when remembering what our first guitars were and why we put ourselves through the pain of developing calluses. Hearing the stories of dozens of my heroes from every genre tell their tales was magical. In some cases, these folks told my story, in others, they started later and shared their journey all the way through their early careers. Les Paul tells the tale of developing “the log” and the first Gibson electrics, Dick Dale tells the story of the early Fender electrics and his quest for the loudest amplifier – which he frequently left smoking. These are enjoyable, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always fascinating stories.
For me, this was an intensely relatable book. I have experienced or known players whose experience was like virtually all the stories Crowe has collected. The thrill for me is that it brought many of my heroes down to Earth making me feel that all guitar players are connected. One of the players Crowe featured mentions my home town, the shop where I bought my first guitar and the owner who was my first teacher! If you enjoy the behind the scenes look kind of books, this is well presented, well written and quite enjoyable. If you remember your first guitar, Crowe has given us a precious gift that will bind you to the larger community of players.
March 17, 2013
Overall, this would be an enjoyable read for anybody interested in guitar. The author has interviewed a number of artists from the worlds of rock, classical, flamenco, etc. One theme that emerges throughout the book is that guitar mastery does not come overnight. For most interviewees, the first few years involved struggling with a junky $5 Harmony with horribly high action until the fingers started to bleed. Good news for anyone attempting some sort of proficiency on guitar. And despite the book's title, most players interviewed use their first guitar experience as a mere starting point for a discussion about their careers in general. In some cases, this makes for some interesting and often humourous stories about stolen equipment and family squabbles. Unfortunately, the book reads like it was edited by a guitarist. For example, chapters by Scotty Moore, John Hammond, Seymour Duncan, Peter Frampton, Carlos Barbosa-Lima, Jimmy Vaughan, David Tronzo, Dave Alvin, Daniel Lanois, Lurrie Bell, Andrew York, Steve Lukather, Vernon Reid and Joey Santiago all had paragraphs starting with "What I love about the guitar is that" or something very close. It's almost like the author, instead of actually interviewing her subjects, sent them an email with a few suggestions ("what do you like about the guitar? Do you have any interesting guitar stories?") and then did a simple copy and paste job with their responses. This would explain the huge number of typographical and grammatical errors. In a chapter written by the author herself (there are a few interspersed throughout the book), I found the following glaring errors: "After the ceremony, as Les Paul from the stage the crowd surged forward." (p. 206); "the artist themself" (p. 207); "If it felt strange to be in the big-top company of Page Six bold face names, but I soon realized ... " (p. 209). Sadly, this seems to be the trend in publishing, whether it's because the industry is just too competitive to incur proofreading costs, or because the publishers believe that a few errors is nothing serious. Whatever the case, I find that it really detracts from my ability to fully enjoy the book. (sorry about that split infinitive!) Hope I'm not just sounding like a nit-picker here.
January 24, 2023
"My first guitar" ♥ I was going to pass on this book because I didn't recognize many of the guitarist names in the table of contents, so I only read Sharon Isbin's story, but it was very much worthwhile to listen to the audiobook and discover new musicians to check out. The narration was very good and conversational with one American woman, one American man, and one British man. I appreciated the consistency that came through from Julia Crowe transcribing the interviews into stories. I also like recognizing the Chicago + Evanston references and that her background was in classical guitar. I just wish Audible titled the chapters with the names of the guitarists!!
This book prompted me to look up "my first guitar", which was a Washburn D100DL Acoustic Guitar in "Trans Wine Red" that I ordered from Musician's Friend in June 2008 for $150, after consulting with my mom over email lol and apparently after wanting to teach myself since my 2004 LiveJournal days. I was 20, my brother was 15, and we were going to share this guitar, it looks like. My main goal at the time was to play "Metal Heart" by Cat Power, which I remember giving up on pretty quickly, and it soon became "my brother's first guitar." So I relate to all the siblings in these stories who just dropped off while the guitarist describes continuing on with a lifelong devotion to the instrument.
📰 update/note-to-self: my first guitar will be a Cordoba C10 Parlor with a spruce top 😁
Chapter 77 / 11:18:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 10:33:42 PM
Classical guitarist (note to self) Fabio zanon
Chapter 74 / 11:02:26
Wed, Jan 18 | 10:17:10 PM
Yes! I don’t wanna / can’t sing
Chapter 68 / 10:22:21
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:00:55 PM
Good for him to feel shitty about breaking a guitar. Eyeroll.
Chapter 62 / 09:14:39
Wed, Jan 18 | 5:18:39 PM
Classical guitar world (restricted to conservatories and competitions) vs rock guitar world (self-motivated, ear trained)
Chapter 62 / 09:10:07
Wed, Jan 18 | 5:12:25 PM
At the whim of airline staff re: bringing your guitar onboard
Chapter 58 / 08:35:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:36:40 AM
Not the first time a musician mentioned being sooooo nervous like they thought they were gonna die, or not be able to perform live, but once they started playing on the guitar, it seemed ok.
Chapter 54 / 08:11:35
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:13:09 AM
Really. How do musicians tour and catch flights with their guitars. What a stressful thing. Forklifts keep running over them. GEEZ.
Chapter 54 / 08:01:25
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:01:57 AM
ANOTHER instance of leaning your guitar bag/case on the car and then backing up and running over it
Chapter 54 / 07:43:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:31:53 AM
Same reasons why I’m interested! Self-sufficient but possible to collaborate with others, PORTABLE
Chapter 53 / 07:36:29
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:24:43 AM
Nice! Someone’s watch alarm started playing “oh suzanna” while DR was onstage about to do his improvisation and it lasted longer than expected. He didn’t know what to do but finally did a duet with “oh suzanna”. Later found out it was his uncle lol. His uncle couldn’t make it stop.
Chapter 52 / 07:27:55
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:14:04 AM
David Russell, classical guitarist
Chapter 50 / 06:50:28
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:50:16 AM
Note-to-self: this is Sharon Isbin’s chapter on audio. Read this one at the Evanston Public Library.
Chapter 48 / 06:43:13
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:15:27 AM
Went from rock n roll to a diligent student of classical guitar, studying composition. Playing lots of styles is a joy for him
Chapter 48 / 06:40:20
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:11:39 AM
Lolol, mom always thought my brother would end up on a street corner playing guitar collecting change in a hat, too
Chapter 46 / 06:25:28
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:53:36 AM
Re: How Taylor of Taylor Guitars built his first one
Chapter 45 / 06:23:48
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:51:20 AM
Airlines by law supposedly have to let you bring the guitar onboard but a flight attendant could still say no??
Chapter 45 / 06:22:33
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:50:35 AM
Gah!! Accidentally running over your very rare/expensive guitar with a car because your mind was in so many places
Chapter 45 / 06:21:00
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:33:31 AM
How each musician can make the guitar make a certain sound: herd of elephants, mournful choir, erupting volcano or flock of birds. Why the guitar has been #1
Chapter 45 / 06:19:54
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:32:20 AM
Punk relieving pressure: plug in and play
Chapter 42 / 05:57:08
Tue, Jan 17 | 11:04:09 PM
Discovering richness with classical guitar. Hearing Christopher Parkening.
Chapter 40 / 05:43:26
Tue, Jan 17 | 9:10:44 PM
Chapter 40 / 05:41:18
Tue, Jan 17 | 6:56:43 PM
Her hearing loss, suddenly
Chapter 40 / 05:39:36
Tue, Jan 17 | 6:55:07 PM
Acceptance into UChicago and majored in English
Chapter 36 / 05:02:23
Tue, Jan 17 | 8:47:06 AM
Chapter 34 / 04:48:34
Tue, Jan 17 | 8:23:42 AM
Martin guitars: multiple generations of luthiers
Chapter 30 / 04:24:40
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:48:24 AM
703 Howard Street (Chicago/Evanston): a practical theater, where Julia Crowe built sets, played guitar during intermission after they found out she could play, met W. Burroughs, read Naked Lunch in Spanish to get past nuns at Benedictine HS. Allen Ginsburg returning call at Barbara’s Bookstore and giving book recs.
Chapter 30 / 04:20:07
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:41:23 AM
Arts administrator mother who discouraged pursuing arts (Juilliard) in a way where it would lead to a buncha crappy day jobs
Chapter 30 / 04:18:09
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:39:13 AM
Chapter 30 / 04:17:16
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:38:23 AM
Indian boundary park, DePaul, Roosevelt.
Chapter 29 / 04:09:36
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:30:40 AM
“You can spend hours and hours by yourself with the guitar”, a good company, never feeling alone with it
Chapter 25 / 03:28:36
Mon, Jan 16 | 9:20:16 PM
1978 when Northwestern University started their classical guitar concert series and hired Julian Bream to perform
Chapter 16 / 02:30:04
Mon, Jan 16 | 7:39:24 PM
Cool, R. E. Bruné studio visit
Chapter 11 / 01:40:01
Mon, Jan 16 | 5:50:10 PM
Chicago musician and he learned banjo fingerpicking from old town school of folk music
Chapter 10 / 01:27:01
Mon, Jan 16 | 4:37:29 PM
Buying a guitar and sharing it with your brother but both of you not continuing with it the same way (Jorge Morale, sp?)
This book prompted me to look up "my first guitar", which was a Washburn D100DL Acoustic Guitar in "Trans Wine Red" that I ordered from Musician's Friend in June 2008 for $150, after consulting with my mom over email lol and apparently after wanting to teach myself since my 2004 LiveJournal days. I was 20, my brother was 15, and we were going to share this guitar, it looks like. My main goal at the time was to play "Metal Heart" by Cat Power, which I remember giving up on pretty quickly, and it soon became "my brother's first guitar." So I relate to all the siblings in these stories who just dropped off while the guitarist describes continuing on with a lifelong devotion to the instrument.
📰 update/note-to-self: my first guitar will be a Cordoba C10 Parlor with a spruce top 😁
Chapter 77 / 11:18:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 10:33:42 PM
Classical guitarist (note to self) Fabio zanon
Chapter 74 / 11:02:26
Wed, Jan 18 | 10:17:10 PM
Yes! I don’t wanna / can’t sing
Chapter 68 / 10:22:21
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:00:55 PM
Good for him to feel shitty about breaking a guitar. Eyeroll.
Chapter 62 / 09:14:39
Wed, Jan 18 | 5:18:39 PM
Classical guitar world (restricted to conservatories and competitions) vs rock guitar world (self-motivated, ear trained)
Chapter 62 / 09:10:07
Wed, Jan 18 | 5:12:25 PM
At the whim of airline staff re: bringing your guitar onboard
Chapter 58 / 08:35:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:36:40 AM
Not the first time a musician mentioned being sooooo nervous like they thought they were gonna die, or not be able to perform live, but once they started playing on the guitar, it seemed ok.
Chapter 54 / 08:11:35
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:13:09 AM
Really. How do musicians tour and catch flights with their guitars. What a stressful thing. Forklifts keep running over them. GEEZ.
Chapter 54 / 08:01:25
Wed, Jan 18 | 11:01:57 AM
ANOTHER instance of leaning your guitar bag/case on the car and then backing up and running over it
Chapter 54 / 07:43:47
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:31:53 AM
Same reasons why I’m interested! Self-sufficient but possible to collaborate with others, PORTABLE
Chapter 53 / 07:36:29
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:24:43 AM
Nice! Someone’s watch alarm started playing “oh suzanna” while DR was onstage about to do his improvisation and it lasted longer than expected. He didn’t know what to do but finally did a duet with “oh suzanna”. Later found out it was his uncle lol. His uncle couldn’t make it stop.
Chapter 52 / 07:27:55
Wed, Jan 18 | 9:14:04 AM
David Russell, classical guitarist
Chapter 50 / 06:50:28
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:50:16 AM
Note-to-self: this is Sharon Isbin’s chapter on audio. Read this one at the Evanston Public Library.
Chapter 48 / 06:43:13
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:15:27 AM
Went from rock n roll to a diligent student of classical guitar, studying composition. Playing lots of styles is a joy for him
Chapter 48 / 06:40:20
Wed, Jan 18 | 8:11:39 AM
Lolol, mom always thought my brother would end up on a street corner playing guitar collecting change in a hat, too
Chapter 46 / 06:25:28
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:53:36 AM
Re: How Taylor of Taylor Guitars built his first one
Chapter 45 / 06:23:48
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:51:20 AM
Airlines by law supposedly have to let you bring the guitar onboard but a flight attendant could still say no??
Chapter 45 / 06:22:33
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:50:35 AM
Gah!! Accidentally running over your very rare/expensive guitar with a car because your mind was in so many places
Chapter 45 / 06:21:00
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:33:31 AM
How each musician can make the guitar make a certain sound: herd of elephants, mournful choir, erupting volcano or flock of birds. Why the guitar has been #1
Chapter 45 / 06:19:54
Wed, Jan 18 | 7:32:20 AM
Punk relieving pressure: plug in and play
Chapter 42 / 05:57:08
Tue, Jan 17 | 11:04:09 PM
Discovering richness with classical guitar. Hearing Christopher Parkening.
Chapter 40 / 05:43:26
Tue, Jan 17 | 9:10:44 PM
Chapter 40 / 05:41:18
Tue, Jan 17 | 6:56:43 PM
Her hearing loss, suddenly
Chapter 40 / 05:39:36
Tue, Jan 17 | 6:55:07 PM
Acceptance into UChicago and majored in English
Chapter 36 / 05:02:23
Tue, Jan 17 | 8:47:06 AM
Chapter 34 / 04:48:34
Tue, Jan 17 | 8:23:42 AM
Martin guitars: multiple generations of luthiers
Chapter 30 / 04:24:40
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:48:24 AM
703 Howard Street (Chicago/Evanston): a practical theater, where Julia Crowe built sets, played guitar during intermission after they found out she could play, met W. Burroughs, read Naked Lunch in Spanish to get past nuns at Benedictine HS. Allen Ginsburg returning call at Barbara’s Bookstore and giving book recs.
Chapter 30 / 04:20:07
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:41:23 AM
Arts administrator mother who discouraged pursuing arts (Juilliard) in a way where it would lead to a buncha crappy day jobs
Chapter 30 / 04:18:09
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:39:13 AM
Chapter 30 / 04:17:16
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:38:23 AM
Indian boundary park, DePaul, Roosevelt.
Chapter 29 / 04:09:36
Tue, Jan 17 | 7:30:40 AM
“You can spend hours and hours by yourself with the guitar”, a good company, never feeling alone with it
Chapter 25 / 03:28:36
Mon, Jan 16 | 9:20:16 PM
1978 when Northwestern University started their classical guitar concert series and hired Julian Bream to perform
Chapter 16 / 02:30:04
Mon, Jan 16 | 7:39:24 PM
Cool, R. E. Bruné studio visit
Chapter 11 / 01:40:01
Mon, Jan 16 | 5:50:10 PM
Chicago musician and he learned banjo fingerpicking from old town school of folk music
Chapter 10 / 01:27:01
Mon, Jan 16 | 4:37:29 PM
Buying a guitar and sharing it with your brother but both of you not continuing with it the same way (Jorge Morale, sp?)
January 9, 2013
First of all thank to goodreads for giving me a free copy of this book!
This is a really good book that every fan of music and especially guitar should have. The theme is simple, great guitarist from various style and time, jazz to rock, fiftys to 2000s, that tell us about their first guitar. The author have been able to really rewrite the interview so that we feel the emotion and the passion of those guys talking about something that have and still do take a lot of place in their live. This is a must have book. Cause everyone like story tell by passionate people, and even if youre not a big fan of music, you will certainly know some of them in the more thant fifty guitarist presented in the book, like the guy who talk about a big big guitarist... His name was Elvis... But i can remember his last name maybe you heard of it! :p
This is a really good book that every fan of music and especially guitar should have. The theme is simple, great guitarist from various style and time, jazz to rock, fiftys to 2000s, that tell us about their first guitar. The author have been able to really rewrite the interview so that we feel the emotion and the passion of those guys talking about something that have and still do take a lot of place in their live. This is a must have book. Cause everyone like story tell by passionate people, and even if youre not a big fan of music, you will certainly know some of them in the more thant fifty guitarist presented in the book, like the guy who talk about a big big guitarist... His name was Elvis... But i can remember his last name maybe you heard of it! :p
January 7, 2013
The author presents a good number of interviews with guitarists about their first and subsequent favorite guitars and guitarists. Its presented as oral history- the author allows the musicians to ruminate without prodding questions. One of the first interviews is with Dick Dale, who states that he does not trust interviews in general and he rambles on about it.
Many of the musicians outline why they like certain brands and models.They often studied the playing techniques of their influences and how they learned from it. . Pretty cool.
Many of the musicians outline why they like certain brands and models.They often studied the playing techniques of their influences and how they learned from it. . Pretty cool.
July 1, 2013
As someone who has spent 35+ years playing guitar, including practicing 12-16 hours a day, I found this book to be quite fascinating. Julia Crowe, interviews 70 guitarists, in a wide range of styles, and the common thread is their love for the instrument. Guitarists will smile, and non-guitarists will gain insight into the obsessive world of guitarists.
October 4, 2012
Read my review of My First Guitar in an upcoming issue of City Book Review! www.citybookreview.com
October 19, 2020
I got my first guitar selling Christmas cards door to door when I was 10, from an ad on the back of a comic book. I wanted a "Liverpool Drum Kit" but my parents (wisely) vetoed that idea. I got a plastic piece of junk -- not a mere a toy, as it was playable enough for me to take lessons on it, but a piece of junk for sure.
When it broke, my dad came home with a used accordion (broken!) which I promptly nixed -- nothing less cool in 1968 than accordion, though The Band was soon to change that. So for $5, a modest amount even in 1968 dollars, I bought a guitar from a friend's older sister who was abandoning her dream of being the next Joni Mitchell. A step up, but terrible action and worse sound, not that that was more of a drawback than my awful caterwauling.
I gave up for a few years, then decided with friends to form a short-lived (no-lived) group, The Summer Snowflake (hoping to appeal to all seasons -- 50 years later the Snowflake moniker is even more unfortunate). I needed an electric but was talked into a hollow-body that could be played unplugged. Another piece of junk, a Univox Savoy sunburst that one can find on Reverb for triple what we paid (about half in real dollars after inflation). My brother and sister got a nice piano in that same deal, which one of them still has and still plays.
I stuck with the guitar from then on -- in my first recital, I played a Bach duet with another student, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (in my defense, because I loved Butch Cassidy), and (in a prouder moment) Mountain's Nantucket Sleighride, plugged in with the kid who did the Bach with me -- it rocked the parents!).
Finally, I got a real guitar during my first year of college, an Alvarez (pre-Yairi) with nice herringbone binding and inlay and a gorgeous sound. I learned how to fingerpick from a classical guitarist, elevating my playing, defining my personal style to this day -- I now study with the guy I was emulating back then, Jorma Kaukonen. That guitar served me well, accompanying me throughout Europe and Australia as I busked my way around the globe, as well as back home in Washington Square, where I became a fixture for a couple of years.
All of which I write mainly because this is a whole lot of fun, at least for me, maybe not for you. But also to illustrate what to expect in My First Guitar -- not from a clown like me, but from real guitar players, most or many of whom you've heard of, from rock to jazz to classical, and more. Dick Dale got his first instrument selling Noxema from the back of a comic book, then replaced that junky piece of cardboard with a $6 plastic one that was almost as bad. Someone else got their junky first guitar from S&H Green Stamps. Someone else wanted drums but was steered to guitar. So yeah, I could relate!
Everyone has more to talk about than their literal first guitar, because that was almost always inadequate and replaced with another, and another -- eventually by their first "real" guitar, and then the first they performed with, and what they played on it, and what the reaction was, and what their parents thought, and who their influences were, and what the sound of a guitar does to them. And everyone has stories about guitars that were stolen or damaged or sold, etc.
This is great stuff. You have to deal with the cross-genre nature of the sample size, especially since the author comes from the classical world. And you have to put up with her own stories, which I applaud but which left me flat, mainly because they went on too long. And some of the interviewees are a bit, shall we say, eccentric (yes you, Dick Dale, may you rest in peace). But for guitar lovers, this is pure gold.
And there is even a mention of my wife's friend, a guitar dealer whose shop is described as "legendary". And Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo confesses how much he was influenced by my mentor Jorma ("confesses" because Sonic Youth and Hot Tuna are worlds apart). Cool stuff!
When it broke, my dad came home with a used accordion (broken!) which I promptly nixed -- nothing less cool in 1968 than accordion, though The Band was soon to change that. So for $5, a modest amount even in 1968 dollars, I bought a guitar from a friend's older sister who was abandoning her dream of being the next Joni Mitchell. A step up, but terrible action and worse sound, not that that was more of a drawback than my awful caterwauling.
I gave up for a few years, then decided with friends to form a short-lived (no-lived) group, The Summer Snowflake (hoping to appeal to all seasons -- 50 years later the Snowflake moniker is even more unfortunate). I needed an electric but was talked into a hollow-body that could be played unplugged. Another piece of junk, a Univox Savoy sunburst that one can find on Reverb for triple what we paid (about half in real dollars after inflation). My brother and sister got a nice piano in that same deal, which one of them still has and still plays.
I stuck with the guitar from then on -- in my first recital, I played a Bach duet with another student, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head (in my defense, because I loved Butch Cassidy), and (in a prouder moment) Mountain's Nantucket Sleighride, plugged in with the kid who did the Bach with me -- it rocked the parents!).
Finally, I got a real guitar during my first year of college, an Alvarez (pre-Yairi) with nice herringbone binding and inlay and a gorgeous sound. I learned how to fingerpick from a classical guitarist, elevating my playing, defining my personal style to this day -- I now study with the guy I was emulating back then, Jorma Kaukonen. That guitar served me well, accompanying me throughout Europe and Australia as I busked my way around the globe, as well as back home in Washington Square, where I became a fixture for a couple of years.
All of which I write mainly because this is a whole lot of fun, at least for me, maybe not for you. But also to illustrate what to expect in My First Guitar -- not from a clown like me, but from real guitar players, most or many of whom you've heard of, from rock to jazz to classical, and more. Dick Dale got his first instrument selling Noxema from the back of a comic book, then replaced that junky piece of cardboard with a $6 plastic one that was almost as bad. Someone else got their junky first guitar from S&H Green Stamps. Someone else wanted drums but was steered to guitar. So yeah, I could relate!
Everyone has more to talk about than their literal first guitar, because that was almost always inadequate and replaced with another, and another -- eventually by their first "real" guitar, and then the first they performed with, and what they played on it, and what the reaction was, and what their parents thought, and who their influences were, and what the sound of a guitar does to them. And everyone has stories about guitars that were stolen or damaged or sold, etc.
This is great stuff. You have to deal with the cross-genre nature of the sample size, especially since the author comes from the classical world. And you have to put up with her own stories, which I applaud but which left me flat, mainly because they went on too long. And some of the interviewees are a bit, shall we say, eccentric (yes you, Dick Dale, may you rest in peace). But for guitar lovers, this is pure gold.
And there is even a mention of my wife's friend, a guitar dealer whose shop is described as "legendary". And Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo confesses how much he was influenced by my mentor Jorma ("confesses" because Sonic Youth and Hot Tuna are worlds apart). Cool stuff!
March 13, 2022
I've played guitar for over 24 years now. There was a time when I was obsessed with the idea of becoming a professional musician. Maybe not a rock star, per se, but a skilled musician who more than likely lived in the studio as a hired gun for famous artists. Perhaps I'd bang it out in punk clubs or whatever.
Guitar was my life. It was all I wanted to do and the only thing I was interested in. I had a semi-successful guitar blog for over five years, worked with a handful of companies, and even co-hosted the most popular guitar podcast for about a year.
But through years of poor technique and absolutely THROTTLING the neck, I injured my wrist to the point where now I can't play guitar and, instead, playtime ukulele.
It's okay: the ukulele is a better fit for me anyway.
And normally I would be really interested in hearing stories from artists about their first guitars and how they cut their teeth on music, but this book was just... boring.
The good parts were Frank Vignola (because he's awesome), Steve Vai's humility when he brought up his DNA model where Ibanez used his blood in the finish of guitars (he said hopefully in the future they could clone him and make him better so his songs would actually be played on the radio), and Lee Ronaldo talking shit about his signature guitar pickups (because nothing is more frustrating than listening to a guy who has a signature model complain about it, but at the same time, nothing is more interesting than hearing how that particular sausage is made).
But that's it. I just didn't care. I'm still interested in what goes on behind the scenes to earn/make a signature guitar, but when it comes to the firsts? We all started on shitty guitars. It's more interesting to talk about your musical upbringing and how you progressed from one level to the next.
Guitar was my life. It was all I wanted to do and the only thing I was interested in. I had a semi-successful guitar blog for over five years, worked with a handful of companies, and even co-hosted the most popular guitar podcast for about a year.
But through years of poor technique and absolutely THROTTLING the neck, I injured my wrist to the point where now I can't play guitar and, instead, playtime ukulele.
It's okay: the ukulele is a better fit for me anyway.
And normally I would be really interested in hearing stories from artists about their first guitars and how they cut their teeth on music, but this book was just... boring.
The good parts were Frank Vignola (because he's awesome), Steve Vai's humility when he brought up his DNA model where Ibanez used his blood in the finish of guitars (he said hopefully in the future they could clone him and make him better so his songs would actually be played on the radio), and Lee Ronaldo talking shit about his signature guitar pickups (because nothing is more frustrating than listening to a guy who has a signature model complain about it, but at the same time, nothing is more interesting than hearing how that particular sausage is made).
But that's it. I just didn't care. I'm still interested in what goes on behind the scenes to earn/make a signature guitar, but when it comes to the firsts? We all started on shitty guitars. It's more interesting to talk about your musical upbringing and how you progressed from one level to the next.
March 13, 2024
Those who rated this less than 5 stars are very likely non-musicians. One can learn so much from musicians because music is a difficult yet highly rewarding craft. You have to be crazy enough to want to be one because the ensuing life is chock full of adventure, never boring. My copy is heavily dog-eared from start to end, and I don’t even play this instrument. Thank you Julia! Happy you met Jimmy Page though I am very very jealous 😆
September 16, 2020
I’ve recently started learning the guitar, so this book was lots of fun to read. It was a good introduction to lots of artists who are new to me. I was particularly interested in the classical players.
December 26, 2022
Great stories from great artists. Also a great way to learn about different artists and music if you like guitar.
February 15, 2025
I should have liked this more than I did. I can't quite nail down why but it just hit as kind of "blah" for me.
February 23, 2016
I liked this a great deal and yet it frustrated me greatly too. A little too much repetition in the stories - but also in it's scope, it sounds great 70 stories, but in all honesty it would have possibly been better had it been 30 stories and they were all fleshed out fully. Some of the stories are scant on detail and horribly short - more than a few could have been dropped just because of the repetition, and some you just wanted to hear more!
Overall, I enjoyed it - but definitely a little frustrating.
Overall, I enjoyed it - but definitely a little frustrating.
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September 12, 2012Julia Crowe, AB'92
Author
From our pages (Nov–Dec/12): "Collecting interviews with 70 well-loved and critically acclaimed guitarists—including Carlos Santana, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Page, and Les Paul—Julia Crowe examines the intimate relationship between artist and instrument. Crowe includes anecdotes about first instruments and early inspirations, along with pages of personal photos."
Author
From our pages (Nov–Dec/12): "Collecting interviews with 70 well-loved and critically acclaimed guitarists—including Carlos Santana, Melissa Etheridge, Jimmy Page, and Les Paul—Julia Crowe examines the intimate relationship between artist and instrument. Crowe includes anecdotes about first instruments and early inspirations, along with pages of personal photos."
November 11, 2012
The fond stories of the earliest stages of guitar infatuation were fun to read.
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