That Great Gretsch Sound: The Iconic Gear that Made Music History

In 1873, a young German immigrant climbed aboard the S/S Vandalia and sailed to New York. He didn’t know it, but the teenage Friedrich Gretsch was about to set in motion a four-generation legacy that would help develop the future of popular music.

Ten years after he arrived, Friedrich opened the Gretsch Company in Brooklyn, a music manufacturer that specialized in banjos, tambourines, and drums. Over the next 140 years, Gretsch would be at the forefront of guitar and drum design, placing instruments into the hands of artists who shaped the evolution of jazz, rock, and country.

Each generation of the Gretsch family provided their own chapter of the company’s legacy, from Friedrich to where we are today, with Fred W. and Dinah Gretsch at the helm. Fred W. Gretsch started off as an office boy in 1958 under the mentorship of his uncle Fred Jr., and he joined the company full-time in 1965. Two years later, Fred Jr. retired and sold the company. Fred W. and his wife Dinah, who started with the company in 1979, made it their mission to return Gretsch to its family foundation, something they achieved by 1984.

Alongside their efforts to restore the company’s family legacy, Fred W. and Dinah have been passionate about music education during their tenure. The couple has supported music programs through partnerships with schools and colleges as well as leading the Sylvia & William W. Gretsch Memorial Foundation, and Dinah has long been active on school boards across the country. “Imagine a world in which every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught,” Fred shared during the dedication to the Gretsch Museum in Savannah, Georgia. “And in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of that right.”

It's that kind of vision that has fueled their long-standing partnership with Berklee. They have provided life-changing opportunities for talented students through initiatives such as the Jimmie Webster Memorial Scholarship, Mary Jane and William Schultz Scholarship, and sponsoring the fitness center in Berklee’s 160 Massachusetts Avenue building.

Below, we look at a short list of the many moments where “that great Gretsch sound” has made music history.

George Harrison with the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!” With these five words, Ed Sullivan introduced the Beatles to America, and in so doing, heralding what is quite possibly popular music’s most dramatic inflection point. Beatlemania, the British Invasion, and a flurry of albums that changed music forever—all of it started on the stage at CBS-TV Studio 50. Right in center stage stands George Harrison, singing harmonies and playing his 1962 Gretsch Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. Sales of this guitar model saw an immediate surge, all but assuring it as one Gretsch’s most recognizable instruments.

Papa Jo Jones Changes Jazz Drumming with Count Basie

Jo Jones (later known as Papa Jo Jones once hard-bop drummer Philly Joe Jones—who also played a Gretsch kit—rose to fame) was a legend of the swing and big band era, playing with the Count Basie Orchestra for 14 years. His innovative playing style included being the first to keep time with the hi-hat (“riding” it, which would later inspire the ride cymbal), dancier bass drum beats, and a brush style inspired by tap dancers that became standard. His playing would change the course of jazz drumming, influencing Buddy Rich, Roy Haynes, and fellow Gretsch players Max Roach and Louie Bellson. For the heart of his career, he played a custom Gretsch Gladstone kit, originally designed by fellow drum legend Billy Gladstone.

Bo Diddley’s Percussive Guitar Style Bridges Blues and Rock ‘n’ Roll

“The Bo Diddley beat”—you can hear it in Buddy Holly, “I Want Candy” by Strangelove, “Faith” by George Michael, “Desire” by U2, and countless other rock songs over the last 70 years. The keyword there is “beat,” due to the percussive way that Diddley played guitar, influenced as it was by African and Latin American rhythm patterns. His raucous, inventive style helped shape rock music for decades to come, influencing artists such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bruce Springsteen, and he’s been inducted into the halls of fame for rock, blues, and R&B. His distinctive playing demanded guitars that could match his energy, something Gretsch helped him realize by creating the Jupiter Thunderbird, Cadillac, and Diddley’s iconic rectangular guitar.

Art Blakey, Elvin Jones ’01H, Philly Joe Jones, and Charlie Persip Join Forces for the Gretsch Drum Night at Birdland

Considered one of the most important drum recordings of all time, the 1960 live album brings together four jazz drummers at the top of their game. Each a legend in their own right, it’s hard to find a formative jazz album since the 1940s where one of these drummers wasn’t involved. Their combined credits include playing with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, John Coltrane, Bill Evans, and so many more. The kits that brought them together for this singular occasion were, of course, made by Gretsch.

Chet Atkins Helps Create ‘The Nashville Sound’

Consistently ranked as one of the best guitarists of the last century, Chet Atkins, along with fellow musicians and songwriters Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson, developed a new country style that came to be known as “the Nashville Sound.” In 1957, Atkins and Fred Gretsch Jr. teamed up to design what is to this day Gretsch’s most recognizable electric guitar, the Chet Atkins Country Gentleman. This is the guitar you see George Harrison with on Ed Sullivan and heard throughout every era of the rockabilly sound, from Brian Setzer to Reverend Horton Heat.

Jeff Porcaro Shapes Modern Rock and Pop Drumming

For drummers, Jeff Porcaro is a household name spoken of in reverent tones. As a session drummer, his name isn’t as recognizable as drummers like Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, or Taylor Hawkins, but his playing can be heard on a staggering number of hits from the '70s to the '90s, from Steely Dan to Michael Jackson. His shuffle beat for Toto’s “Rosanna”—played on a hybrid Gretsch kit—has been pored over for decades as one of the most distinctive and technically proficient rhythms in modern drumming.

Watch Porcaro break down how he created the drum shuffle for "Rosanna:"

Poison Ivy Rorschach’s Overlooked Influence on Underground Rock

One half of the cult favorite band the Cramps, Poison Ivy Rorschach is often left off the list influential guitarists in the underground rock scene. “Nobody talks to me about guitar or music,” she said in a 2003 interview. To prove her point, that interview went unpublished until Guitar World ran it in 2021. Like her stage name suggests, Ivy was known for her wild and subversive persona, which perhaps is partly why it was easy to overlook her skill as a producer, songwriter, and manager. As a guitarist, she channeled lesser known rock influences from the 50s and 60s such as Link Wray and Duane Eddy, adding her own scrappy spin on it and creating a sound that would influence punk, rockabilly, garage rock, and grunge. In 1985, she got a 1958 Gretsch 6120, and she said “I never turned back. . . . The Gretsch is my ultimate style.”

Vinnie Colaiuta’s Grammy-Winning Performance on Five-Peace Band—Live

In addition to being one of the most accomplished and technically proficient session drummers of the last 50 years, Vinnie Colaiuta ’75 has an unmatched stylistic range. Who else can claim credits on a Megadeth album one year and Destiny’s Child the next? Such versatility requires equipment that can handle these kinds of pivots, which helps explain why Colaiuta has a long history with Gretsch. “At a certain point in my life I thought, ‘This is my voice,’” he once said about Gretsch in an interview with Modern Drummer. “If I died tomorrow, I would have wanted to play Gretsch drums and let it be known that I express myself on these drums that I consider to be my voice.” His versatility and energy can be heard on Five-Peace Band—Live, which won a Grammy for Best Instrumental Album in 2009, and features Chick Corea, John McLaughlin, Kenny Garrett, and Christian McBride.

Hannah Welton Joins Prince’s Band at Age 23

The newest voice on this list, Hannah Welton got her first drum endorsement in 2003, when she was just 13 years old. A versatile player who’s at home in rock, funk, and jazz, she amassed a huge following on YouTube while trying to build her career. Those efforts paid off in September 2012, when Prince’s manager emailed Welton, saying that Prince saw one of her videos and wanted her to play with him. A month later, she debuted as part of Prince’s New Power Generation on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and went on to form Prince’s all-woman band 3RDEYEGIRL. At the core of her playing is “That great Gretsch sound…they sing so beautifully," she has said. "Not to mention the incredible integrity of the company and its faculty. I love my Gretsch family so much!”

Watch Welton make her debut with Prince on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2012: