The Slow Secret Death of the Guitar

Guitar Center has never been profitable. I beileve an article I read many years ago, they have been in debt since they went public.

This isn't a surprise. I say it's simply part of the process. The slow death of R&R which was occurring by the late 70's, and interest in general, certainly changed music  and listener tastes.

What teenage kid by the 90's was listening to 70's and earlier guitar-centric music, and got inspired to spend time in the "woodshed?"(does anyone even know that means anymore?)

R&R was  diluted by the mid 70's and "spectacle" was holding the attention of the masses just as much as the music.

There still seems to be up and coming Classical and Jazz musicians. I'm listening to the NPR Classical station and every Sunday is the program, "From the Top," It's young classical musicians performing . The program usually includes an amazing Classical guitarist, of course playing..an acoustic guitar.
 

Very sad.

It was real nice to watch Vernon Reid play Chuck Berry licks.  Otherwise the decline of the guitar god is a boomers lament (cue the really small violin).

Thanks for posting the link.

While the article is interesting (and accurate) it really should not come as too much of a surprise to us, since the acknowledged guitar gods are only one facet of the overall of what we've really been in decline with and that is rock or pop musicians who are talented with their (physical) lead or rhythm instruments in general.

The lure, after all, of making music by computer is not that it's 'just as good as guitar', it's really the implied promise that you don't Have to spend all those years learning how to play Really well.

But, based on all that has musically come of it so far, I'd say that maybe the computer is still proving to be the most difficult musical instrument to learn yet. ;>)

The electric guitar was the dominant technological innovation in musical instruments from+/- 1935 to 1970.  After that, keys and digital technologies replaced it.  So, no huge surprise - sunrise, sunset.