“We see it as a commitment to serving musicians, music lovers, artists and fans. That’s the Gretsch religion”: Fred W. Gretsch tells the remarkable inside story of the family behind one of electric guitar’s oldest names

1968 Gretsch 6117 Anniversary Streamliner.

This year marks the 140th Anniversary of Gretsch. Fred W Gretsch started out in the business as the jazz years of the 1950s erupted into rock ’n’ roll uproar in the ’60s. 

Much later, he guided the company back to prosperity as an electric guitar producer after the difficult Baldwin-owned years. Who better, then, to tell the inside story of how the company revolutionized guitar?