The names John D’Angelico and D’Angelico Guitars are well known to music connoisseurs. After all, the brand is known as the 20th century’s finest builder of archtop guitars and an iconic name in the music space. A group of NYC music enthusiasts, including CEO Brenden Cohen, recently purchased the company and are looking to bring the legendary D’Angelico name back into the limelight. So far, these guitar aficionados have been quite successful.

Bernie Williams

Since its resurrection in 2011, NYC-based D’Angelico has attracted a wide following of devoted musicians including Chet Atkins, John Mayer, Nile Rogers, Pete Townshend, Susan Tedeschi, guitar legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Eric Clapton, and retired Yankee star and accomplished musician Bernie Williams to name a few. Most recently, Howard Stern applauded the brand on his Sirius/XM radio show as he strummed along to “Hurt” by Johnny Cash on a brand-new EXL -1 Vintage Sunburst from D’Angelico’s premiere guitar line.

D’Angelico’s pedigree is the standard of excellence in the guitar world. The iconic name is synonymous with the now legendary tradition of great archtop guitar builders prevalent in the early 20th century and that tradition continues today. “Our team at D’Angelico promises to build instruments that respect and honor John D’Angelico’s legacy of excellence and carry on the tradition of one of the world’s finest guitar brands,” said CEO Brenden Cohen. “The new 2014 models are replicas of John D’Angelico’s legendary aesthetic, attention to detail and the level of excellence established long ago by this master luthier.”

To understand why D’Angelico is such an iconic brand, we must start at the beginning.

· 1905- A Legend Is Born: John D’Angelico was born in Little Italy, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the oldest of four children, to a hard working, God-fearing Italian family. Music was in his blood and from the age of nine, he was apprenticed to his grand uncle Signor Ciani, a violin and mandolin maker. His apprenticeship with these instruments became the basis of construction principles he later incorporated in his archtop guitars.

· 1932- Open Up Shop: D’Angelico’s small shop was located at 40 Kenmare Street in New York City, but 27 years later, the business moved across the street due to rising rent costs. D’Angelico instruments were strictly handmade in limited quantities. During the late 1930s, when production was at its peak, D’Angelico was able to make approximately 35 instruments per year with the aid of two or three workers.

· 1944- A Symbol Of New York: The 1940s were scarred by the earth shaking reverberations of World War II. Once again, music was a fundamental source of emotional stability and guitar players in the service and at home depended on D’Angelico for their instruments. His recognition as the “finest builder of archtop guitars” brought offers from the larger companies including Fred Gretsch who said “John, close up your shop and come to work for me. I’ll put you in charge here. You’ll never have to worry about money again!” But John had his patent reply, “Big money? Big title? For what? I want to build guitars under my own name, for my own customers, the way I do it! For me that’s a good life!”

· 1952- The Apprentice: James D’Aquisto was a skilled musician who studied jazz guitar and played the bass. As a teenager, he was taken to visit D’Angelico’s workshop and was immediately entranced by the idea of instrument building. He was offered a job as an apprentice in 1952 at age seventeen. D’Angelico never could have foreseen that this young, mildly annoying, but sincere teenager, would one day save his business, go on to secure the future of archtop guitars and the D’Angelico legend for generations to come.

· 1964- A Cold Winter: In the winter of 1964, John D’Angelico was found dead of heart failure at the age of 59 by his apprentice, D’Aquisto− who was just 29 years old at the time. D’Angelico and D’Aquisto are generally regarded as the two greatest archtop guitar makers of the 20th century. For the last five years of D’Angelico’s life, D’Aquisto was the only other worker in the shop, and he gradually took over more responsibilities, eventually purchasing the shop from the D’Angelico family.

· 2011-Present- The Power Of An Idea: Renewed artist desire for archtop tone and a major 2011 exhibition featuring John D’Angelico at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (Guitar Heroes: Legendary Craftsmen from Italy to New York) fueled tremendous new interest in the D’Angelico brand. The timing was perfect as D’Angelico Guitars had recently been purchased and a new management team was set in place. The D’Angelico brand was revitalized to its former glory with a new, state of the art manufacturing, warehousing and distribution infrastructure. The desire to continue the legacy of making premium guitars provided the backbone for the successful relaunch of the brand. Today, D’Angelico’s new models are embraced by an increasing number of professional guitarists and serious enthusiasts.

For more information http://dangelicoguitars.com/