Business Wars

In the 1930s and ’40s the market for electric guitars is growing, but it’s hindered by the instruments’ flawed designs. But a small group of mavericks is rethinking the guitar for the electronic age. One of them, guitarist Les Paul, tries unsuccessfully to convince one of America's oldest guitar companies, Gibson, to mass-produce his "Log" — one of the first solid-body electric guitars. Gibson turns him down flat. But when a radio repairman turned inventor named Leo Fender sees Paul's Log, he's inspired to attempt his own version of a solid-body electric — and his creation will go on to forever change the way guitars are made.

It's 1950, and Fender's first solid-body guitar, the Esquire, is the laughingstock of the music industry. To guitar makers used to elegantly made hollow-body guitars, Fender's thin, simple plank of solid wood is a joke. But its bright, powerful sound and lack of feedback make it a hit with guitar players. Gibson's ambitious young president, Ted McCarty, knows his company has to counter with a solid-body electric guitar of its own. To market the instrument, Gibson will turn to the most famous electric guitarist in the world, a man who happens to be an old friend of Leo Fender's — Les Paul.

Gibson's Les Paul sets a new standard for the solid-body electric guitar, and rival guitar maker Fender needs to respond. The company does so in 1954 with a sleek, futuristic guitar unlike anything else on the market: the Stratocaster. It's a hit. With their higher volume and heavier tones, the Les Paul and Stratocaster help give rise to a new style of music: rock 'n' roll. It opens up a whole new market for electric guitars -- but which company will dominate?

In the 1960s, rock'n roll's popularity continues to grow. But one of the genre's most popular guitars, the Les Paul, is no longer being made. Now the guitar's namesake must convince an out-of-touch Gibson to put the favorite guitar of Eric Clapton and Keith Richards back into production. Meanwhile, Gibson's rival Fender has a new parent company: CBS. Thanks to their deep corporate pockets, Fender is manufacturing and selling more guitars than ever. To keep pace, Gibson also finds a new corporate owner. But in their race for market dominance, are both guitar companies sacrificing quality for quantity?

It's the early 1980s, and for the first time in 30 years, the U.S. guitar market has gone cold. Bands are switching to synthesizers and kids are ditching their garage bands for computers and video games. A group of employees has bought the Fender brand but not its factory. Now they need to find a place to keep making guitars — fast. And Gibson has new owners, too — who bring plenty of rock 'n' roll attitude to the job, but little experience. Can these new stewards of guitar's most hallowed brands save their companies from the scrap heap?

In the '90s and 2000s, new ownership has revitalized both Fender and Gibson and rekindled their rivalry. Through acquisitions, artist endorsements and their rapidly expanding custom shops, both brands are in a heated battle to win the hearts and minds of guitar lovers worldwide. Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz doesn't want to just dominate the electric guitar market. He wants to reinvent it. And with guitar sales declining, he goes all-in on new technology that will either revitalize Gibson — or sink it.

Ian S. Port, author of The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll joins us to talk about the future of the electric guitar as music creation becomes increasingly digital.