The Lipstick Pickup Podcast with Emily Vardaman Walters
A lipstick pickup is an electric guitar pickup with a captivating sound and appearance that has a devoted cult following that grows with each passing year. True to their name, they were originally chrome lipstick tubes stuffed with magnets and electronics that were the inspired invention of Nathan Daniel, founder of Danelectro. Born from his genius instinct for innovation as well as his devotion to a "rigid cost control" philosophy, they were an essential component of the guitars that helped stoke an affordable rock-n-roll revolution.
The Lipstick Pickup Podcast is an amateur (but very inspired), unscripted, rarely edited conversation devoted to the entirety of the subject. Hosted by Emily Vardaman Walters, The Lipstick Pickup Podcast is a fan-friendly primer on the subject of Danelectro guitars and their impact on the history of popular music of all genres.
The Lipstick Pickup Podcast with Emily Vardaman Walters
BACK TO THE FUTURE WITH RICK TAYLOR OF SILVERTONE GUITARS | The Lipstick Pickup Ep. 10 #guitartone
Emily telephones Rick Taylor of Silvertone to discuss the Roots of Rock and how they are modernizing the brand with new and re-designed products. If you like thoughtfully-made, affordably-priced instruments, the future is bright!
More from www.silvertoneguitars.com
"As early as 1905, Sears, Roebuck & Company was selling musical instruments – mainly ukuleles – built by the Harmony Company. In 1916, Harmony was bought by Sears, continuing to make instruments for Sears and other customers. In 1940, Sears sold the Harmony brand to an investment group and adopted the Silvertone brand name for all musical instruments By then, Sears was buying instruments from many other U.S. builders as well as Harmony.
The country was still very rural prior to World War II with the population spread out over wide areas. The big “catalog houses” such as Sears, Montgomery Ward and Spiegel served customers around the country from their big city headquarters. These companies sold nearly everything that you needed, and some would even ship you the house to put it all in.
The 1940s market the introduction of Silvertone electric guitars. The late ’30s had seen plenty of ‘Hawaiian’ lap steel instruments and amps, but 1941 marked the first year you could get an electric six-string in the Sears catalog. The selections were limited, but the funky, eclectic styling and easy affordability made them popular with players.
Silvertone guitars were inexpensive and readily available by mail order. Struggling blues musicians of the 1940s found them roadworthy and replaceable, with legends such as Muddy Waters and Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup among those who chose Silvertones.
Changes were coming fast and furious in the post-war period. Musical tastes were changing, the suburbs were exploding and there was a cultural energy waiting to be unleashed.
The electric guitar went solid in the 1950s, and Silvertone was right there at the beginning."