United Breaks Guitars Not the First Broken Guitar Video: Rock’s Top Guitar Smashes

ABOVE: “United Breaks Guitars” may be a viral hit, bit the Who’s Pete Townshend is still rock’s most famous guitar smasher. Videos of rock’s top guitar smashes, burns and breaks, below.

Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Carroll may have had the best luck of his musical career when airline baggage handlers broke his guitar.

The incident inspired the frustrated musician to record the “United Breaks Guitars” video and the song quickly became an internet hit. In response, United has even asked for permission to use the video in training sessions to teach employees the importance of customer service.

While “United Breaks Guitars” is getting a lot of attention, it made us think of all the musicians who have broken their guitars on purpose while performing onstage.

So, today we’re taking a look at the most famous guitar breakers, smashers and burners in rock’n'roll history!

Did we forget your favorite? Tell us about it!

Top Burned, Broken and Smashed Guitars in Rock History:

1. Pete Townshend (the Who)
One of the first rock musicians to gain fame for destroying his guitar onstage, Townshend’s first smash came as the result of being frustrated with a guitar that had accidentally been damaged during a concert, thus prompting Townshend to dramatically smash it into pieces before grabbing a backup guitar and continuing the song. The event drew so much attention, that it became a regular part of the Who’s live shows.

2. Jeff Beck
For a scene in the 1966 Italian film Blowup, Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds (guitar hero Jimmy Page’s pre-Led Zeppelin band) destroyed his guitar after being directed to “act like the Who” (at about 2:20 in this clip).

3. Jimi Hendrix
Inspired by Townshend’s antics, Woodstock star Hendrix didn’t smash his guitar, but he did set it on fire repeatedly, most famously during his performance on stage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 after performing his version of the Troggs’ hit, “Wild Thing.”

4. Paul Simonon (the Clash)
Immortalized in the Elvis-inspired cover photograph of the album London Calling, Clash bassist Simonon is seen destroying his Fender bass during a concert at New York City’s Palladium in 1979.

5. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana)
One of the most self-destructive guitar-smashing incidents occurred during Nirvana’s performance of “Lithium” at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. At the end of the song, Novoselic threw his bass high into the air and–because rock stars aren’t immune to gravity–it promptly crashed down on his head. Singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain added to the chaos by wrecking the stage and knocking over drums and amps.

6. Win Butler (Arcade Fire)
The seemingly reserved singer/guitarist of Canada’s Arcade Fire may have overreacted when he destroyed an acoustic guitar after breaking a string during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 2007.

PLUS: Proving that guitarists shouldn’t be having all the fun, some other famous players have shown their own appetites for destruction over the years, including:

7. Keith Moon (the Who)
When the Who made its American TV debut on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967, the group went out with a bang–literally! Drummer Keith Moon packed his bass drum with explosive charges which ignited during an already raucous performance of the Who hit  “My Generation.”  It is believed that the explosion may have contributed to guitar-smashing bandmate Townshend’s hearing problems and tinnitus. (Video above)

8. Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock’n'roll legend has it that Jerry Lee Lewis set his piano on fire because he was unhappy over being forced to open for Chuck Berry (Lewis thought he should headline instead). Stories of the Killer’s penchant for destroying pianos has likely been exaggerated over the years, but the idea of a wild rock’n'roll pianist setting fire to a piano in the ’50s is so cool that we want to believe, even if it isn’t true (below, you can see a “reenactment” of the scene during the Jerry Lee movie Great Balls of Fire, around the 3:15 mark).