That Was The Year... 1979 Chet, Michael and Dean

ALONG WITH OPENING ITS CUSTOM

shop division Martin produces solid-body electric guitars! the e-18 and eM-18 are almost identical with the e-18 having two covered DiMarzio humbuckers while the eM-18 has exposed coils and tweaked wiring. the body is a nine section multi-laminate of walnut, maple and rosewood with a natural finish. the rosewood fretboard has simple pearl dot inlays but the headstock has a rosewood veneer.

1979 IS DECLARED AS THE INTERNATIONAL

year of the child; sony introduces the Walkman; the village people’s YMCA tops the Uk charts selling over 150,000 copies a day; Queen are singing Don’t stop Me now and Michael Jackson releases off the Wall, his fifth studio album, following his theatrical performance in the Wiz. After a successful run on radio 4 Douglas Adams’ first book of the Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy series is published.

FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF FRED GRETSCH JR

Chet Atkins withdraws his longstanding endorsement of gretsch guitars due to what he feels is a general decline in build quality and parent company Baldwin’s unwillingness to pursue his idea of a nylonstringed electric guitar. earlier in the 70s, the factory suffered serious problems following a major fire and gretsch production would cease in 1981 as a result. gibson went on to make Chet’s nylon-string electric.

AS PLUTO CONTINUES ITS OFF-SET ORBIT

and moves closer to the sun, for a while neptune has become the outermost planet in the solar system. voyager I passes Jupiter and pioneer II approaches saturn. NASA’s skylab begins its return to earth, after being in orbit for over six years.

UNDER THE GOOSEBERRY BUSH WE FIND

Will Young, sophie ellis-Bextor, pete Doherty, Jamie Cullum, Adam levine (Maroon 5), Daniel Bedingfield, simon neil (Biffy Clyro), pink and norah Jones. sadly, returning to the soil are sid vicious, lowell george (little Feat), Jimmy McCulloch of Wings and thunderclap newman, Donny Hathaway, gracie Fields and bassist Charles Mingus.

FANS ARE DELIGHTED AS STAR TREK:

the Motion picture is finally released. More sci-fi with Alien, another huge box office hit, and production begins on the empire strikes Back and raiders of the lost Ark.

DEAN GUITARS INTRODUCES THE

Cadillac six-string with a distinctive sloped top cutaway and an extended lower body horn. Both the bound body and neck are mahogany and the ebony fingerboard sports 22 frets and pearl block inlays. the three humbucking pickups are selected by a threeway switch but with just a pair of tone and volume controls. It has a tune-o-Matic bridge, stop tailpiece and three-a-side tuners on the blackfaced headstock. All hardware is gold plated including the pickup covers.