Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. The original band line up of Ozzy Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terence "Geezer" Butler (bass), and Bill Ward (drums) is the same as the current line up (2007) although there have been many shifts of personnel over the years.

Black Sabbath remain a dominant influence in the heavy metal genre they helped create. VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock ranks them second, behind Led Zeppelin.

Currently, the early 1980s line-up of the band featuring Iommi, Butler, Ronnie James Dio and Vinny Appice are touring under the moniker Heaven and Hell, a title taken from the 1980 Black Sabbath album of the same name.

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Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin were an English rock band that formed in September 1968. Led Zeppelin consists of Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands. Their rock-infused interpretation of the blues also incorporated rockabilly, reggae, soul, funk, jazz, classical, Celtic, Indian, Arabic, folk, pop, Latin, and country. The band did not release the popular songs from their albums as singles in Britain, as they preferred to develop the concept of album-oriented rock.

Over 25 years after disbanding following Bonham's 1980 death, Led Zeppelin continue to be held in high regard for their artistic achievements, commercial success, and broad influence. The band have sold more than 300 million albums worldwide, including 109.5 million sales in the United States, and they are the only band to have had all their albums reach the U.S. Billboard Top 10. Led Zeppelin are ranked No. 1 on VH1's list of the 100 greatest artists of hard rock.

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History of Kramer Guitars

Kramer Guitars is an American manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. Kramer produced aluminum-necked electric guitars and basses in the 1970s and wooden-necked guitars catering to hard rock musicians in the 1980s; Kramer is currently a division of Gibson Guitar Corporation. The company was founded in the late 1970s by Dennis Berardi and Gary Kramer, a close friend and associate of Travis Bean, to manufacture aluminum-necked guitars. Gary Kramer, Dennis Berardi, Peter LaPlaca (a Vice President at Norlin, parent company of Gibson), and investor Henry Vaccaro joined forces to open a plant in Neptune, New Jersey. Soon thereafter, Gary Kramer moved to Los Angeles, and his connection with the company would be in name only. Kramer was endorsed by several famous musicians, such as Eddie Van Halen, Richie Sambora, Mick Mars, and Vivian Campbell.

History of Washburn Guitars

The Washburn guitar company started making guitars in 1833 in Chicago. The factory would later be involved and located near a musical movement in Chicago in the 1920s. The movement was a “Delta Blues” movement, which came as a result of an influx of African Americans to the area. This type of blues would change the way blues music was played, and would also change rock and roll. This blues movement helped in the success of Washburn guitars.Washburn guitars were very popular during the 1920s. The musicians played the guitars as well as making them by hand. The Washburn guitar and the blues movement that it was involved with are associated with Maxwell Street. This street is only a few blocks from the factory, and where Washburn guitars were first embraced. Today, Washburn guitars have embraced the image from its origins and the blues movement. Many famous and successful artists play Washburn instruments, and endorse Washburn instruments. Musicians like the guitar players for Matisyahu, Sum41, Avril Lavigne, CKY, and The Allman Brothers are all endorsed by Washburn. Washburn makes electric guitars, acoustic guitars, electric basses, acoustic basses, banjos, mandolins, travel guitars, and amplifiers. The company also makes accessories including guitar cases, clothing, and other parts like tuners, pick ups, and straps. Washburn is mostly known for its electric guitars and acoustic guitars. The company makes eight different styles or “Series” of both electric and acoustic guitars

History of Dean Guitars

Dean Guitars was created in 1977 by luthier Dean Zelinsky who began building guitars at an early age. Zelinsky thought that rock guitar design had stagnated and decided to do what he could to change things. The first Dean guitars were released in the mid-1970s and featured designs including "pointy" guitar bodies and large V-shaped headstocks. These designs quickly gained in popularity because of the radical look and also because of the improved tone and sustain of the guitars. They also had a unique neck.[citation needed]
Dean's marketing campaign, which featured models holding the guitars in alluring poses, was widely copied by other guitar manufacturers until the onset of the grunge rock movement in the 1990s. (Advertising-heavy magazines from this time, such as Guitar for the Practicing Musician, heavily influenced "lad mags" such as Maxim.) Dean has since revived this practice.
In 1986, Zelinsky decided he did not want to continue making guitars and sold the company to make furniture. He has attributed his decision to the popularity of the "superstrat", which he derides as a "Floyd Rose trem with a guitar attached to it." In the late 1990s, Elliott Rubinson (CEO of Dean Guitars) revived the brand name, later bringing Zelinsky back aboard as an executive and creative consultant. Since then, Dean Guitars has grown in to one of the leading guitar companies in the world.[citation needed]
Their online BBS community continues to be the most active in the entire industry with close to 10,000 active users and growing.