4 Artists Who Made a Habit of Smashing Their Guitars

While some musicians covet their instruments, rock stars often destroy them. It’s, at the same time, a statement against the conventions of music and a physical display of powerful emotion. It’s a quick and surefire way to let an audience know how you feel. While there have been many great guitar smashes over the years, find four of the most memorable, below.

4 Artists Who Made a Habit of Smashing Their Guitars

1. Rockin’ Rocky Rockwell 

Big Band purveyor, Rockin’ Rocky Rockwell, can be credited for initiating the first guitar smash. While delivering a tongue-in-cheek rendition of “Hound Dog” on The Lawrence Welk Show, Rockwell broke his acoustic guitar over his knee. It may not have been as metal as some later examples of the practice, but we have to give Rockwell his flowers–even if he didn’t mean to start such a revolution. Though we don’t have footage of the moment, it was enough of a catalyst to kindle the fires of the guitar smashing craze.

2. Pete Townshend

The Who member was infamous for destroying his guitars on stage. The practice started when he accidentally broke his guitar in the mid-60s. Clearly, it was cathartic enough for him to continue breaking his instrument in a variety of manners. He made a habit of breaking expensive, imported U.S. guitars. Among the makers Townshend decided to smash include Fender Strats, Telecasters, Gibsons, and Rickenbackers. For context, a Rickenbacker would’ve cost around $3000 by today’s standards back in the ’60s.

[RELATED: New Details Announced About Pete Townshend’s Contributions to ‘The Seeker,’ the New Multimedia Project Written by His Wife]

3. Jimi Hendrix

We can point to a specific performance that made Jimi Hendrix known for smashing guitars: the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Hendrix decided to close out his already memorable set by lighting his guitar on fire and smashing it to bits. The moment came as the renowned guitarist played “Wild Thing.” With that powerful song in mind, the moment seems more than justified.

4. Kurt Cobain

While some not engrossed in the genre might think grunge is all about apathy, Kurt Cobain (one of the genre’s trailblazers) didn’t mind showing an excess of emotion of stage–at least in the form of guitar smashing. He took a note out of the books of many rockers that came before him, making a habit of breaking his guitar on stage. It gave a new edge to their already visceral music.

(Photo by Roberto Finizio/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)