feature Gretsch 140th Anniversary
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 after the difficult Baldwinowned years. Who better, then, to tell the inside story of how the company revolutionised guitar?
“The contribution of women to the business is seldom mentioned, but incredibly integral. My mother was a cheerleader for the business from 1942 to ’64 and, certainly, one of the reasons that I was in the business. My grandmother Charlotte, if we go back to 1904, married into the Gretsch family. She passed away in 1928. Next week it’s the 95th anniversary of her passing – unbelievable. In any case, she was engaged with the business for 24 years and she had three sons who were future leaders in the business.
“Without my mother’s encouragement and if she hadn’t kept the family in New York when dad died in ’48 – she was from Missouri – I wouldn’t have had a chance to visit the factory at 60 Broadway with my grandfather, as a young lad, and first experience Gretsch instrument production there.
“As I said, dad died in ’48 and his older brother, Fred Jr – who was my mentor in the business and encouraged me to work – took the bus from Forest Hills in Queens down Metropolitan Avenue, to the factory there, in Brooklyn. The bus fare was 15¢ back when I first took it in the 50s, and I worked there during the summer of ’58 as an office boy. I started there [full ‐time] in ’65. So, if it hadn’t been for the women, us guys wouldn’t be around.”
GRETSCH WAS A LIFELONG CALLING
“A quick family sketch on the men: obviously the founder… his story is out there. I didn’t know him, of course, since he died in 1895. But his eldest son, my grandfather, I did know – and he first took me to the business in 1950. He was 36 years old when they completed that [Gretsch] building at 60 Broadway.
“Of course, we built all the Gretsch instruments there from 1916 to 1969, when Baldwin moved the business to Arkansas. In any case, grandpa engaged in the business from 1895 to 1952, an incredible 57 years. His oldest son, Fred Jr, graduated from Cornell University in 1926 and his middle son – my dad, Bill
– came into the business in ’25 and worked until ’48, until he passed away.
“So, 57 years with grandpa in the business, 45 years with Fred Jr, 23 years with my dad… That’s the guys in the family story. I started in March of ’65, so I’m finishing 58 years this year. We see it as a commitment to serving the worldwide community of musicians, music lovers, artists and fans. That’s the Gretsch religion.”
WEBSTER WAS A PRIME MOVER
“Jimmie Webster joined Gretsch before the war, I think, which means he would have been hired by Fred
