This Talented Jazz Guitarist From the 1930s Might Have Invented the Guitar Solo (And His Story Is Tragic)

When we think of guitar solos, we think of Eddie Van Halen noodling his way through virtually any Van Halen song, or Prince going to town on that solo break in “Purple Rain”. We don’t often think of jazz music, especially jazz music from the 1930s or early 1940s. And yet, many music historians out there think that one very talented jazz guitarist might have been the one to “invent” what we would consider guitar solos today. And, sadly, his story is a tragic one.

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The Life and Legacy of Charlie Christian

Charles Henry Christian was born on July 29, 1916, in Bonham, Texas. Born to musical parents, the young Christian was taught how to play music by his father. He and his siblings would spend much of their childhood busking as their main profession. The guitar would become Christian’s instrument of choice. 

In the 1920s, his brother’s friend and bandmate, a trumpeter named James Simpson, would convince a guitarist named “Bigfoot” Ralph Hamilton to teach Christian about jazz. He taught him to play solos on a number of jazz songs. And that would be the start of Christian’s incredible talent as a jazz guitarist.

Throughout his career in the 1930s, Christian became one of the most influential musicians to ever tackle the jazz guitar, including the jazz guitar solo. Electric guitar soloists already existed by the end of the decade, but few had the passion he had. He would pave the way for modern-day electric guitar sounds that would be popularized by the likes of T-Bone Walker, B. B. King, and even Jimi Hendrix. Some might say that even though he wasn’t the first musician to perform electric guitar solos, he was so good that he made the “trend” of such solos stick in jazz and then rock music for good.

An Artist Who Deserved So Much More

Sadly, Charlie Christian’s life was painfully short. In the late 1930s, like many others at the time, Christian contracted tuberculosis. In 1940, he was hospitalized for the illness and returned to performing shortly after. He was known for his hectic lifestyle and performing schedule. Without the necessary rest, he was admitted again to a Staten Island hospital in 1941. Christian seemed to be making progress but experienced a sudden decline, leading to his death on March 2, 1942. He was only 25 years old. 

Christian died young and poor, during an era when many influential Black musicians did not receive the recognition or financial backing they deserved. He was buried in an unmarked grave in his hometown. It took until 1994 for him to receive a headstone. He deserved so much more than he got in his short life. But his memory will live on in the music he made (and later inspired) for decades to come.

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