Electric guitar pioneer Charlie Christian was born on this date in 1916 in Texas and grew up in Oklahoma City. Christian was neither the first guitar soloist in jazz history, nor was he the first to play an electrified guitar, but it would be impossible to talk about the history of the instrument without acknowledging the tremendous impact his playing had on its development during his short career. Although he played during the swing era, he was a major influence on the development of be-bop and cool jazz.

Christian began playing in the territory bands that crisscrossed the American mid-west during the 1930s and began playing an electric guitar late in the decade. It was pianist Mary Lou Williams who told producer John Hammond that he should check out Charlie Christian’s playing. Hammond did and he suggested to Benny Goodman that Christian should be allowed to sit in with Goodman’s small group. According to legend, Goodman, somewhat annoyed with Hammond’s suggestion, called up the tune Rose Room, assuming Charlie would not know it. Not only did Christian know the piece, but he had been practicing it for years. What resulted was a 45-minute rendition of the song and Charlie Christian becoming a permanent member of the Goodman combo. He also played on some of the large group’s performances, as well.

Charlie Christian was an important member of the cohort of musicians that would regularly jam in Harlem at Minton’s Playhouse in the early 1940s. These musicians were chafing at the confines of the swing era big band and wanted to express themselves in a new way. This led to the development of bebop, a term that some of those musicians claimed was originated by Christian.

But Charlie Christian had tuberculosis and his health began to decline in the early 1940s. He was hospitalized several times and finally succumbed to the disease in 1942 at the age of 25. In his short life he changed the perception of the guitar in jazz and solidified its place as a solo instrument.

Here is a link to Charlie Christian playing Rose Room with the Benny Goodman Sextet during an October 1939 recording session:

"ROSE ROOM"