Charlie Christian (1916-1942) was one of the major role models for jazz guitarists from the 1940s onward, including Barney Kessell, Herb Ellis, Wes Montgomery, and George Benson. He was the first significant soloist on electric guitar of any musical genre.
Born in Texas, Christian’s family moved when he was 2 to Oklahoma City, where he was raised in an atmosphere of Kansas City style jazz and country music. His parents and brothers also were musicians. Christian’s first instrument was the trumpet, but he switched to guitar at age 12.
After graduating from Douglas High School, he toured as a bass player with several territorial bands. Eddie Durham, a trombonist and guitarist, is credited with influencing Christian’s renewed interest in the guitar, and he began performing on a Gibson ES-150 guitar with magnetic pickup and electric amplifier.
By 1937 he was leading his own combo in Oklahoma City, where jazz promoter John Hammond heard Christian at the downtown Ritz Ballroom. This meeting eventually led to a performance in Beverly Hills, where Christian performed with Benny Goodman and soon became part of his regular entourage. In 1939, Goodman introduced Christian at Carnegie Hall as “one of the most terrific musicians that has been produced in years.” In New York, Christian became part of the 52nd Street jazz sessions, jamming with leaders in the bebop movement such as Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk.
But in 1942, suffering from tuberculosis, the primary architect of modern jazz guitar died at Staten Island. He is buried in a small cemetery in Bonham, Texas.