Gallagher Guitar Co.

About

History of Gallagher Guitars: An Origin in Craftsmanship In 1963, J.W. Gallagher, a skilled woodworker, sawed a dreadnought guitar in half in order to figure out how it was made. J.W. had recently lost his job making scale-model airplanes and rockets when the Slingerland drum factory in Shelbyville, Tenn., hired him to set up a production line for their new Shelby guitar. The Shelby was an inexpensive guitar that served as Slingerland’s foray outside of drumstick making. J.W. and his son, Don, worked in the Slingerland factory for a few years, but J.W. wanted to build instruments with the same quality and care that he put into his furniture. So, in 1965, J.W. Gallagher built the first Gallagher guitar. The Gallagher Guitar Company has been producing quality handmade guitars ever since. Doc Watson and His First Gallagher Guitar: “Ole Hoss” J.W. and Don attended the Fiddler’s Convention at Union Grove in 1969. They brought two guitars to show around – a rosewood G-70 and a mahogany G-50 . J.W. didn’t want to sell the G-50 because it had been cracked in production, but they brought it so people could try playing the two different models. J.W. first saw legendary guitarist Doc Watson at this festival. Later, he introduced himself while Doc and his son, Merle, were picking under a tree. After the festival, J.W. and Don stopped by Doc’s house so Doc could try out the guitars. Doc was partial to the G-50, but J.W. hadn’t wanted the blemished instrument to be out in the world, so they made a deal. After it all, J.W. allowed Doc to have the guitar and play it for as long as he wanted, so long as he gave it back when he didn’t want to play it anymore. As a result, that guitar became known as “Ol Hoss” and was played by Doc on many recordings. One of these recordings includes the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken. During this recording, Merle Travis famously commented that Doc’s guitar “rings like a bell.” New Ownership, Same Commitment to Handmade Guitar Pe