When Gibson added a pickup to its L-50 acoustic in 1936, it was the first time most people had ever seen an electric guitar. The acoustic guitar had only ever been a backing instrument in swing orchestras because it wasn’t loud enough to take solos. Now Charlie Christian could be heard, and he became a sensation. The ES-150 itself wasn’t the very first electric guitar, but it became immortalised as the ‘Charlie Christian guitar’, who in turn influenced Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix. Quite the legacy!