Contrary to popular belief, rock n’ roll isn’t dead and never will be. Gripping the world in the late 1950’s into present time, rock n’ roll changed music forever, as more and more musicians developed an empowered and rebellious attitude. Live acts began to be performed with random antics, rock stars strung out on whatever drug they preferred were walking hurricanes, and the crowd ate everything up, always wanting more. What could be the next move that could send the crowd over the edge? Pete Townshend, the guitarist for The Who developed a trick that revolutionized rock forever, but it wasn’t the windmill, which was a long circular down stroke on the guitar. It was the guitar smash.

The rhetoric of repeatedly beating a guitar into the ground or amplifier is extremely misunderstood. Music is a form of art that is often misinterpreted, and for many early rockers, the guitar smash was their masterpiece. With a destructive and wild band like The Who, fans literally came to their shows partly to see the chaos that would ensue on stage. Sometimes it’s hard to say whether a fan went to listen to Baba O’Riley or to watch The Who’s drummer Keith Moon set explosives to his drum set and watch as thousands of dollars in damage followed. The incorrect viewpoint while looking at this destruction is to see it as a wasteful and shameful act, but that notion can be understood. The average rock fan who can’t afford a $2000 guitar would cringe at the idea of such a beautiful guitar being smashed, but there is something to be said.

Countless rock gods in history were so legendary and above their peers that they began to become one with their guitar. One of the most pivotal moments in the life of rock n’ roll was when Jimi Hendrix lit his guitar on fire at the Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967. Some argue that this was a direct side effect of drugs, and others argue that he was simply trying to one up Pete Townshend of The Who, but not so. Jimi loved that guitar in particular so much that he sacrificed it to the crowd, to give them the remnants of his favorite guitar as the smell of burning metal wafted through the air. There are few that would argue that Jimi didn’t give his all on stage, and he gave something he loved so much to his fans. We see other guitarists such as Eric Clapton who have used the same guitar for most of their careers, but what could this mean? Clapton’s goal wasn’t to wreak havoc quite like The Who, and his guitar solos were typically endless and beautiful, thus connecting with his guitar and audience in a completely different way.

As mentioned in the introduction paragraph, Pete Townshend of The Who was a pioneer for the guitar smash. The Who were not only one of the loudest rock bands this world has ever seen, but also the most destructive and reckless. The Who would play a show and then need to order new guitars and amplifiers after the madness ensued. At one point, the destruction was expected, and to anger the crowd, Townshend would sometimes lay down his guitar at the end of a gig. Yet similar to Hendrix, Townshend had a reason behind his behavior. As his Rickenbacker smashed against the ground, the sound reverberated all around the room, arena, or even the stadium. His smash sent pulses around the world of rock waking up rockers in a never-ending shockwave that would go on to live forever. The sound must have been horrible, but this was his vision of rock n’ roll.

A lot can be said about the destruction that these rock stars inflicted on their respective instruments. The irony lies in the fact that each and every one of them murdered their instruments in order to give life to the idea of rock n’ roll forever. When this movement picked up in the 1950’s, I don’t think anyone expected the rebellious attitude would last long, or for Baba O’Riley to echo throughout Fenway Park before a home game. In essence, the music genre has evolved and adapted to the times, but has never died.

With “twerking” on stage and a rapper utilizing auto-tune to the point that he or she sounds like a robot, it’s hard to say what direction music has taken. The origins of every stage act in music, however, came from the guitar smash. Rock n’ rollers left a legacy, a statement, that has echoed throughout the ages for listeners of all ages. When countless people claim that rock n’ roll is dead, their perspective is slightly skewed. Townshend and Hendrix didn’t completely perform these acts to please the crowd; they wished to make what they love last forever.