Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Style, Sound, and Revolution of the Electric Guitar

The inspiration for the Play It Loud exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The electric guitar has long been an international symbol of freedom, beauty, and rebellion. In Play It Loud, veteran music writers Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna give us the story of this American icon. It’s a story of inventors and mythologizers, of scam artists and prodigies as varied and original as the instruments they spawned.
 
The electric guitar looms large over the twentieth century: as an essential element in advancing racial equality in the entertainment industry, as a mirror to the rise of the teenager as a social force, as a linchpin of the punk rock ethos. And today it has come full circle, with contemporary titans such as Jack White and Annie Clark (known as St. Vincent) bringing back some of the instrument’s earliest sounds. Featuring personal interviews with Les Paul, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, and dozens more players and creators, Play It Loud shows how a group of innovators and misfits transformed an idea into a revolution.

Brad Tolinski was the editor-in-chief of Guitar World, the world's bestselling magazine for musicians, for twenty-five years. He is the author of Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page. 

Alan di Perna is a longtime contributor to Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado and has written for Rolling Stone, Creem, Billboard, Guitar Player, and other leading music publications. He is the author of Guitar Masters: Intimate Portraits.