Guitars can be traced back to medieval Spain and evolved over the next few thousand years to become the instrument we are all familiar with today. Electric guitars first appeared on the scene in the late 1930s and from there the advent of rock and roll and the popular Guitar Hero video game made everyone want to pick up a guitar and shred with the best of them. Speaking of the best of them, we found some interesting sites dedicated to some of the most famous guitar players in U.S. music history.
Seattle: The incomparable Jimi Hendrix was a native son of Seattle and visitors to the city can find a statue honoring Hendrix at 1604 Broadway. The late Chris Cornell, lead vocalist for Soundgarden, is another son of Seattle memorialized with his guitar. The bronze statue of Cornell can be found outside of the city’s Museum of Pop Culture.
Nashville: Would there be a Nashville if there were no guitars? Ponder this question as you wander down the city’s Broadway Street and listen to the music. A giant guitar, painted with the faces of country music legends, is a permanent fixture outside of Legends Corner Bar at 428 Broadway.
Austin: Austin, Texas, is home to some of the country’s best live music venues and also the host city to two annual major music festivals, Austin City Limits, held every fall, and South by Southwest, held each spring. The city also has a statue of country singer-songwriter Willie Nelson (310 W. 2nd Street) and of the late great blues/rock guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan’s statue can be found at Auditorium Shores on Lady Bird Lake, where Vaughan played many concerts.
Memphis: The King of Blues, B.B. King, is memorialized with a larger-than-life bronze statue at the Memphis Welcome Center while another king, namely the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley, has a statue commemorating the young Elvis and his guitar located at 115 Beale Street.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Inside Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, visitors can see Kurt Cobain’s Fender Stratocaster used on the band’s In Utero tour as well as a 1964 Rickenbacker guitar used by John Lennon during the Beatles’ 1964 performance on the Ed Sullivan Show and the 1965 concert at New York’s Shea Stadium.
More Guitar Fun: Martin Guitars in Nazareth, Pennsylvania (near Scotrun RV Resort) has the Martin Museum which is open Monday through Friday (martinguitar.com). The Gibson Garage in Nashville invites guitars lovers and players alike to visit this guitar experience in their flagship store in this Tennessee location (gibson.com).
Visit www.thousandtrails.com to see what campground is conveniently located to these guitar experiences!
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