Seventy-five Vintage Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection Sparkle and Shine at Nashville Museum Exhibit

A historical collection of vintage, rare, and one-of-a-kind Gretsch guitars is now on display at The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. The new exhibit, American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection, features 75 of the more than 300 Gretsch guitars amassed by Canadian musician Randy Bachman of The Guess Who and Bachman Turner Overdrive fame. It is the largest collection of guitars ever displayed at the Museum and marks the first time the public has seen a part of Bachman’s extensive Gretsch collection, considered the largest in the world. The Gretsch Foundation, the charitable arm of the Gretsch family, purchased the collection in 2008.

Several rare and one-of-a-kind vintage Gretsch guitars from the 1960s on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Photo by Ron Denny/The Gretsch Company.

Fred Gretsch, fourth generation Gretsch Company president, and wife Dinah, CFO and executive vice president, were joined by family, friends, and legendary musicians at a special preview and reception hosted by the Museum on Thursday night, January 14.

Gretsch President Fred Gretsch sharing remarks about the Bachman-Gretsch Collection. Ben Hall, Major Gifts Manager at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum, holds the Gretsch Company’s 130th Anniversary history poster. Photo by Ron Denny/The Gretsch Company.

Gretsch shared that he never imagined a phone call made to Randy Bachman more than 30 years ago asking for his help would lead to this special exhibit. After buying back the family business from the Baldwin Company in 1984, Gretsch needed vintage Gretsch guitars to use as prototypes. “Randy was kind enough to share several of his guitars from his collection,” said Gretsch. “We are forever grateful for his assistance in helping launch that first generation of new Gretsch guitars.”

Gretsch also thinks “American Sound and Beauty” is an appropriate name for the exhibit. “The guitars on display are as American as it gets,” said Gretsch. “Most were built in Brooklyn, New York at The Gretsch Building, a building my grandfather Fred Gretsch Sr. constructed and opened 100 years ago in 1916.”

“These guitars also contributed their unique sound to the evolution of popular American music, including jazz, country, and of course, rock ‘n’ roll,” continued Gretsch, “Plus, Gretsch ushered in a new era of colorful and sparkly guitar finishes in the 1950s. The guitars on display are just beautiful and look like true works of art in the Museum.”

Gretsch closed his remarks at the reception by honoring Chet Atkins, the most important endorser of Gretsch electric guitars, and the musician that influenced a long list of artists including Duane Eddy, Paul Yandell, George Harrison, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Brian Setzer, Steve Wariner, Joe Robinson, Tommy Emmanuel, and Randy Bachman. (Fred Gretsch’s remarks in their entirety can be seen below.)

Steve Wariner Performs at Exhibit Opening Reception.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Duane Eddy followed Gretsch on the program and shared the important role Gretsch guitars had in developing his legendary “twangy” sound. Eddy bought his first Gretsch Chet Atkins Model 6120 in 1957, and Gretsch offers a current Duane Eddy Signature Model almost 60 years later. Country Music singer, songwriter, and guitarist Steve Wariner closed the program with a tasteful instrument tribute to his late friend and mentor, Chet Atkins.

During the exhibit’s opening weekend on Friday, January 15, and Saturday, January 16, Gretsch guitar expert and author Edward Ball conducted Gallery Talkback sessions entitled “The Gretsch Legacy” in the Museum’s Taylor Swift Education Center.  A variety of special programs will be scheduled throughout the length of the exhibit.

American Sound and Beauty: Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection will be on display through July 10, 2016. For more information about the exhibit, visit countrymusichalloffame.org. To learn more about Gretsch guitars, visit gretschguitars.com.

Fred Gretsch’s Reception Remarks:

On behalf of five generations of the Gretsch Family, it is my honor to welcome you as we celebrate the opening of the Exhibition titled:  American Sound and Beauty, Guitars from the Bachman-Gretsch Collection.  Thank you for joining us this evening.

We never imagined a phone call made to Randy Bachman 30 years ago asking for his help would lead to this special exhibit. After buying back the family business from Baldwin in the mid-80s, we had to literally start from scratch in developing the new line of Gretsch guitars. We had heard of Randy’s vast collection and asked him if we could borrow several of his vintage Gretsch’s so we could measure them, spec them, and use them to build prototypes as close to the original formula as possible. Randy was kind enough to say “Yes” and we are forever grateful for his assistance in helping launch that first generation of new Gretsch guitars.

We think “American Sound and Beauty” is an appropriate name for this exhibit. The guitars displayed here are as AMERICAN as it gets.  They were built in Brooklyn, New York, on the seventh floor of The Gretsch Building. A building my grandfather, Fred Gretsch Sr., constructed & opened 100 years ago in 1916 and it still stands today. (But instead of making guitars and drums that look like a million bucks, The Gretsch Building now is condos you can buy for a million bucks…)

And SOUND. These vintage guitars on display – as well as new Gretsch guitars that were shipped out today – have a special SOUND that is “Uniquely Gretsch”. It’s part of the recipe we want to preserve so “That Great Gretsch Sound” will continue for future generations to discover and enjoy.

And BEAUTY. Gretsch guitars have a long reputation for their cool, colorful looks. We were pioneers in the 1950s that added new palettes of colors and two-tones and sparkle to the guitar world that had long been dominated by natural and sunburst finishes. One of my memories of working at The Gretsch Building were seeing all the racks of finished, gleaming, and beautiful Gretsch guitars. They were handsome indeed.

It’s also ironic that 75 Gretsch guitars out of a collection of more than 300 instruments were selected to be on display for this exhibit. When I joined the Gretsch Company full-time in 1965, it was at the height of the guitar boom (thanks to Chet Atkins, George Harrison, and The Beatles), and we were scrambling to build and ship out our new goal of 75 guitars a day.

We are here tonight because of exceptional people – giants in my mind – that were and are exceptional influencers. My great-grandfather, Friedrich Gretsch, my grandfather, Fred Gretsch, Sr., my father, Bill Gretsch, my uncle, Fred Gretsch, Jr., Jimmie Webster, Duke Kramer, Phil Grant, and Dinah Gretsch; exceptional leaders all on behalf of the Gretsch business just to name a few.

Equally as tall are our artist partnerships that started with Billy Gladstone back in the 1930s. We think you will agree the most important partnership – and the one that put Gretsch guitars on the map – was our endorsement with Chet Atkins. A partnership that endures 60+ years later.

The 130 year Gretsch history poster I have here lets me use pictures to say a thousand words. The left half of the poster from your perspective is popular music from the 1880s until Rock and Roll was born. Think even before radio when the player piano and the phonograph were the high tech products of their day.  The Gretsch business in that era was primarily all about supplying instruments for music education, marching bands, and making banjos and parlor guitars.

Chet Atkins stands out right in the middle of this poster. He ushers in a new era of popular music at the forefront of Rock and Roll when the electric guitar was now becoming the star, both in the recording studio and on stage. His partnership with the Gretsch family was to influence a long list of artists including Duane Eddy, Paul Yandell, George Harrison, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Brian Setzer, Steve Wariner, Joe Robinson, a six-year-old boy in Australia named Tommy Emmanuel, a teenager in Canada named Randy Bachman, and thousands more.

In closing, it all comes full circle now in our celebration here this evening.  We are reminded how important it is for us to welcome and encourage new generations of musicians & their music to keep the circle unbroken.  How important it is to be a positive influence to others, and how important it is to support music education – something that is very near and dear to Dinah and me, and is the primary mission of the Gretsch Foundation, who incidentally has owned the Bachman-Gretsch Collection since 2008.

And speaking of music education, I would be remiss by not recognizing Andy Mooney, the new CEO of Fender Musical Instruments who is here with us this evening.  He is our partner in the worldwide marketing and distribution of Gretsch guitars. Andy not only leads the number one guitar company in the world, but has initiated a new digital products division dedicated to making it easier and more fun to play the guitar, to help players connect with other players, and to help beginners who pick up a guitar get through the crucial first 12 months of the learning cycle to make a lifelong commitment to enjoying the guitar. Thank you, Andy.

On behalf of Dinah and me, we would like to congratulate our partners, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, for their world-class presentation of this historic exhibit.  Special thanks also go out to Carolyn Tate, Kyle Young, Steve Turner, Mick Buck, and John Reed.  And just as important, we salute their work on behalf of musicians of all ages showcased in their distance learning programs and in the work of the Taylor Swift Educational Center.

Thanks again for joining us this evening.