20'19
BY NOW, WE’VE all heard the arguments and read the think-pieces that have popped up repeatedly over the past decade, declaring that guitar-based music, and maybe even — gasp! — the guitar itself, is on pop-culture life support. Someone must’ve forgotten to inform 2019 of this news, because judging by the past 12 months, the instrument is fully alive and doing quite well, thank you very much.
Don’t believe us? Just ask New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, which hit it out of the park this year with its massively successful Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll exhibition. Or Gibson, which dazzled as the music-industry (and maybe even “industry” in general) comeback story of the year. Or David Gilmour, who raised more than $21 million by auctioning off a collection of his favorite guitars for charity.
As for the music itself, Tool and Slipknot topped the album charts, Queen and Kiss killed it on the road, and artists ranging from Dream Theater to Joe Bonamassa to John 5 had banner years.
And so: guitars and guitar music dead? We think not. And for anyone who tries to tell you otherwise, here are 20 arguments for its continued reign. By the way, while we at GW had a hand in selecting these (blatantly obvious to us) events and stories, they were mostly chosen by you, our readers; GuitarWorld.com stories pertaining to all of these events sent our online numbers into the stratosphere in 2019. By the way, remember to check out GuitarWorld.com for daily guitar news of all shapes and sizes, and sign up for our newsletter!
2019 IN THE BLACK
BACK IN JUNE, legend put more than 120 guitars up for auction at Christie’s, with estimates ranging from $300 to $150,000. These numbers turned out to, with his legendary black 1969 Fender Strat fetching an astonishing $3,975,000 — a new world record for any guitar sold at auction. What’s more, the entire David Gilmour Collection raked in more than $21 million, with all the proceeds going to charity. “This just felt like a good moment to raise some good, hard cash for people who need it,” Gilmour told in an exclusive cover story in the May issue. As for no longer owning classics like the Black Strat, heard on , , and more? “I don’t feel I won’t be able to achieve just as much on a different guitar,” Gilmour said. “So, yeah, I guess I’m not overly sentimental.”
