Johnny Smith's Gibson Electric Guitar
date: label: date made
content: ca 1962
name: label: user
content: Smith, Johnny
label: maker
content: Gibson Guitar Corp.
label: collaborator
content: Smith, Johnny
notes: label: Description
content: This guitar was made by Gibson, Inc. around 1962 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It is a 6-course (6 x 1) electric-acoustic arch top guitar, Johnny Smith model, serial #897087. This guitar was used by musician, composer, and band leader, Johnny Smith.<p>
label: Description
content: The “King of the Cool Jazz Guitar,” Johnny Smith was born in Birmingham, Alabama in 1922. Smith began working for the NBC Orchestra in New York in 1947, becoming a highly sought after musician for performances and recordings around the city. Smith played with such diverse figures as Benny Goodman, Arturo Toscanini, Zoot Sims, Art Tatum, Bing Crosby and the New York Philharmonic. He also led his own band, becoming a regular act at the famed Birdland nightclub.<p>
label: Description
content: In 1952 he made his first recording as a band leader, the influential “Moonlight in Vermont.” The recording, featuring like-minded saxophonist Stan Getz, was a major statement on the developing, relaxed “cool-jazz” sound, becoming one of the best selling jazz albums of the year.<p>
label: Description
content: Smith’s career took off after the album leading to more recording and touring with both the Stan Kenton and Count Basie Orchestras. In 1955 he penned his most well-known original composition, “Walk Don’t Run,” soon to become a Top 10 hit for the surf-rock outfit “The Ventures” in 1960.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Michigan, Kalamazoo
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
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content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Guitars
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Johnny Smith
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2011.0254.01
label: accession number
content: 2011.0254
label: catalog number
content: 2011.0254.01
label: serial number
content: 897087
objectType: label: Object Name
content: guitar
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: guitar: 42 1/2 in x 17 in x 4 1/2 in; 107.95 cm x 43.18 cm x 11.43 cm