So far the earliest I have found has been the Allman Brothers band and Wishbone Ash around 1969. Anything earlier?
1969? Jeez, it doesn’t take much research to know that the Beatles were doing it nearly a decade earlier, and I’m sure the practice goes back much further.
Moved to CS.
-xash
General Questions Moderator
just playing 2 guitars is not what I mean. I mean 2 guitars harmozing each other
I thought you meant one of those guitars with two necks that were popular in the 80’s.
I’m sure you could have found numerous Mariachi bands, or their precursors, with two or even more guitars all harmonising 100 years ago.
Given that many medieval and Rennaisance musical groups relied on slightly different forms of the same instrument you could probably find examples of bands with two harmonising guitars going back centuries.
IOW this isn’t some modern pop innovation, it’s a rejuvenation of an ancient concept.
To back up Dahnlor I recon the intro to And Your Bird Can Sing off Revolver is two electric guitars playing single notes in harmony*****, that would be 1966.
If we’re sticking to electric guitars then we can only go back to the late 40’s. I’m voting for a Les Paul****** recording, though I’m stuck naming a specific tune. Let’s say How High The Moon? (runs off to Google for more info).
*****I’ve seen it tabbed out for one guitar but I think it’s just about impossible to play like that. I’m guessing it’s John and George together.
******The man, not the guitar.
Right on all counts, I’m pretty sure. Les Paul the man pioneered double-tracking. He used the technic to create recordings of harmonized guitar melodies as well as multiple tracks of both his and his wife’s voices.
And Your Bird Can sing is the earliest harmonized guitar that I know of in rock that might be two different guitar players playing together. I’ve read conflicting accounts of how it was done. (Paul/George, all George, John/George).
And Your Bird Can Sing is difficult, but not impossible, to play on one guitar. I can do it, but there are a couple of bends in it that don’t sound perfect when I play it, and I get all the way through it without a mistake about one out of ten tries. I know a couple of guys who can nail it.
Another possibility just came to mind, but someone with more knowledge may be able to verify. The Ventures released their first record in 1960, and they had a two guitar line-up. The songs I remember didn’t involve harmonies, just rhythm and lead guitar, but since they were a two guitar instrumental group they may have experimented with this. The period of their biggest popularity was before I was 12, so my memories are not very detailed.