The Story Behind the First Rocker to Ever Smash His Guitar on Stage

Instrument smashing is an age-old convention in rock. Though it’s not as prevalent today as it once was, anyone pretending to be a rock star will ceremoniously smash their air guitar. It’s a universal symbol of rockstardom.

But how did guitar smashing come to be? Was it just a punked-up practice that rockers used to feel edgy in? Or something far more complex and culturally significant? Find out which rock legend started this destructive movement below.

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Accidental Beginnings

In actuality, guitar smashing got started by accident. Its origins predate punk’s formation, dating back to proto-punk rockers The Who. Specifically, Pete Townshend. As the story goes, Townshend and his Who bandmates were playing a show at the Railway Tavern when the low ceilings snapped the neck of his Rickenbacker.

When the audience barely blinked an eye at the break, Townshend went further, completely smashing his guitar to bits. The scene was one of pure anarchy; the very essence of rock & roll summed up into a single moment. As The Who continued to play other gigs, the guitar smashing became a must-see part of their show.

“Nobody’s gonna tell me that a hunk of wood with strings stretched across it is sacred,” Townshend once said, summing up his feelings about guitar smashing. While not every guitarist would dare to part with their instrument, Townshend did so regularly.

Becoming a Trend

Other 60s and 70s acts took notice, imitating Townshend’s accidental moment of rock iconography. Notably, Jimi Hendrix took things a step further in this era, lighting his guitar on fire before smashing it at the Monterey Pop Festival.

If Townshend’s outburst wasn’t enough, this Hendrix moment certainly solidified guitar smashing’s permanent place in rock history. Many rockers in the punk and grunge movements brought this move back out in their eras, keeping the tradition alive. Even pop stars have gotten in on the action, living their rocker dreams for a moment.

Perhaps it’s the carefree spirit required of such an act that makes us all so intrigued by it. It’s the tantrum we all want to throw sometimes but can’t. It’s the emotional release that escapes us in our ordinary lives. Whatever the psychology, guitar smashing has long captured our attention since Townshend first snapped his guitar against the ceiling. It’s time for this practice to come back into fashion. It would likely invigorate rock in new ways.

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