their particular construction design and the artists that would end up using it because it became a voice for you know more of the country folk and blues type of utilization when he died in $873.00 the father of america's guitar making industry left his family a thriving business and at the turn of the 20th century his grandson frank henry martin went on to write guitar history he was the man behind the 1st 6 string guitar which was a large bodied instrument but still relatively light. it was the prototype of the western guitar and frank henry martin called it the dreadnought in 1916 it went into serial production and soon became very popular the idea of calling it a drug not you know comes from one of the older martin's was a history buff and he was really taken with a

a battleship that the british had developed. during world war one actually and i think mr martin loved the idea of this big powerful ship and the idea that that it was would crafted to him it seemed like the perfect name for his large body guitar. the dread not to put my 10 guitars on a path to worldwide success and the legendary dean model would become the chosen guitar for the world's most well known musicians. and then came the 1930 s. depression it could have spelled the end for a company like martin but for a stroke of luck.

then you know you have the movie era when the great singing cowboys like gene autry came along and you know there's gene autry riding a horse. astride a horse heroic character and he's got a guitar in his hands and he singing which is you know kind of crazy cowboy singing but for the movies it was a great thing and i think a lot of people sitting in that audience looking at someone like gene autry up on a big screen holding this gorgeous martin guitar it's to you things begin to click i want to play guitar i want to get me one of those guitars like the one the other the gene autry played or the jimmy rogers play and i think that was the thing that kind of propelled the idea of the martin guitar being something a little special. and again the company began upping output with each and every guitar still being made

by hand. the finest ones were used and some instruments were made with mother of pearl inlays. but it wasn't long before another boyle the event affected the company. the government came to us and they said so you know we have this war and we're going to need to take ask the majority of the men that you employ to go off and fight so we hired women didn't miss a beat and you saw i think today our shop we have many women guitar builders but for that period during the war the vast majority of the guitar builders were women we did get out of the business of making archtop guitars because the government came to us and said. we're going to put you on allotments of strategic materials one of which is spruce because we need it for airplane wings and we said ok here

are these are stock guitars that take a piece of spruce this big to make one guitar top. if you take a piece of spruce stepping to make flat tops you can make 5 or 6. after the war production was slow to pick up but once more it fell to a musician to help revive the company's fortunes elvis presley. the king of rock and roll have recorded the famous sound sessions with his favorite scene and it d. 28. and he even had a special leather case made. my elvis had a big pink cadillac when he finally started making money he went out and bought himself the top of the line finest so there was the car the cadillac and there was the guitar the martin guitar that was the top of the line. by now martin was the world's leading producer of acoustic guitar as demand had grown so much

that by the early 1960 s. there was a waiting list of up to 3 years due to limited capacity. martin guitars weren't the exclusive domain of the big stars anyone who played guitar wanted one. especially in the sixty's when so many rock n roll groups had a martin front and center acoustic guitar alongside and it influenced so many young players and then of course a little later you get groups like crosby stills nash and young featuring beautiful martin guitars these kinds of things really drove sales and really once that movement. was afoot i think the martin guitar of the dreadnought was really well established i mean the beatles played martin dread not you know and that makes

a big difference that keeps things going. but singing in the dead on the. take these broken wings and learn to fly. johnny cash made an interesting comment on we asked him one time we said you know mr cash can you give us a quote for our catalog and he said i feel safe with a part. in what i had known to come to the u.s. since who's. been out. variances for so long . willie nelson is a great example of someone he has one martin guitar. and that's the only guitar you ever see him playing is his one martin guitar he said he said if my guitar stops working i'm going to retire and so far it's still working.

greg cock is one of america's most famous eat guitarists but when he plays acoustic he always picks up his martin especially in the recording studio. to me from the very 1st moments of playing guitar mark was like that in a call of what you aspire to have because of acoustic instrument and the reason is you know i go look at my record collection i'd see neil young with the 45 in front of that comes a time record certainly all the crosby stills and nash stuff jimmy page joe walsh up to big joe walsh band. the list is a obviously what black berry goes on and on and on and i'm kind of the. sound of an acoustic instrument you heard a record like you know that's a mark within 2 seconds. it was the era of the singer songwriter and they all

played a martin with their back to the land movement and a yearning for simplicity they spearheaded a trend to a more natural approach the martin guitar fit the bill perfectly hands made from wood without the technical bells and whistles. its popularity surged during the 1960 s. much in the 3rd delta bigger factory still making instruments by hand. in 1971 martin produced almost 23000 guitars annually all meeting the high quality standards set 140 years and only are. in 969 martin started making the 45 2nd they had notices for fort worth. and says i saw one i want to. finish that one.

and it sounded spectacular so i went again to lumber and they had a number of them down i picked the 3 best bottom right there. in the 1980 s. difficult times began for the martin company there was more competition than ever before with cheap products flooding the market martin remained true to its roots sticking to handmade manufacture and high quality materials and then there was a new kid on the block the synthesizer when the disco creation and people were tinkering with electric pianos that you could get to make all kinds of sounds. are definitely. in the 1990 s.

martin developed its 1st backpackers model it was compact with fantastic sound and easy to carry perfect for street musicians like the up and coming young and sharon to have a go oh it's going. to be all. or use the back pocket for the idea of forcing it to 16 and then i go. to the. one that looks like a small. so that it was that it was that my whole life was stuffed in that case that was what travelling kit. today the martin company is america's oldest guitar producer and remains a family business in the 6th generation. in nazareth pennsylvania 500

employees still built guitars by hand for a company that's innovative guitar making become a hallmark of american tradition. i think americans should be very proud of martin martin says stunning guitar company and they make today still the best guitars in the world the one ship that's the world standard always has been. the martin guitar story well for ever be connected to the name of a german and a grand who hailed from saxony christie unfreeze rachel martin the man who turned a small and fragile got stringed instrument into what it's become today bigger and louder more abbas and more popular. there's nothing better than. just taking it out on the couch maybe not even thinking about it and just picking stuff whatever happens whatever comes out. it's

very relaxing and comforting i sleep better at nights knowing that i have this guitar in my house. well. she's a pretty girl and. she wore. this march was a lot of this was gone sometimes when i've got something else to do something that might be kind of annoying me i just pick up my guitar and play a bit and suddenly everything is ok it just feels like everything's right it feels good of course there's definitely something magical about it skied sure to marguerite off on all those.

the phone. going. to. burst the universe. the source of all life. that's what astronomers are searching for in space for their work they have a powerful new tool. we need astrophysicist dominica philosophic who's one of the 1st people to glance through the on high performance telescope. tomorrow today.

next on detailing. the story of prejudice against propaganda. they were called the rhineland bastards. their mothers were germans living in the occupied prime land their father's soldiers from the french colony as. they grew up in a climate of. fighting racism. called the children a female. in 45 minutes on d w. it's about billions. it took all of our love it's about the foundation of the food order the new silk road. china wants to expand its

influence with this trade network also. china is promising its partners rich. but if there's a sharp morning ever accept money from the new superpower it will become dependent on a. chinese gateway to europe. starts feb 19th on d w. if. the scientists have made incredible discoveries stone many light years away and tiny microorganisms all around us. we continually learning more about the origins of the universe and up planets. the complex ways various parts are interconnected as well as mysteries yet to be solved.

welcome to tomorrow today the science show on d w.