On This Day in Guitar History: July 18
Edited by Cadence · Reviewed
July 18 spans four decades of guitar history. Blues-rock pioneer Lonnie Mack was born in 1941. The Byrds released Fifth Dimension, built on Roger McGuinn's twelve-string, in 1966. The Beatles cut the first, wildest takes of Helter Skelter, including the longest recording of their career, in 1968. System of a Down's Daron Malakian was born in 1975. Def Leppard played their first-ever show, for five pounds, in 1978.
On July 18 in guitar history
1941 · Born
Blues-rock guitar pioneer Lonnie Mack is born in West Harrison, Indiana
Lonnie Mack, born Lonnie McIntosh, went on to record 1963's Memphis and Wham! on his Gibson Flying V Number 7, tracks historians credit with making the electric guitar rock's lead solo instrument. His playing directly influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, and Duane Allman.
Source: Lonnie Mack
1966 · Release
The Byrds release Fifth Dimension, built on Roger McGuinn's twelve-string
Columbia released the Byrds' third album, their first made without departed songwriter Gene Clark. Eight Miles High, driven by McGuinn's Rickenbacker 360-12 and a Coltrane-and-raga-inspired guitar break, helped originate psychedelic rock.
Source: Fifth Dimension (album)
1968 · Release
The Beatles finish Cry Baby Cry and cut the first, loosest takes of Helter Skelter
Two Abbey Road sessions produced the final overdubs on Cry Baby Cry and the earliest, blues-jam versions of Helter Skelter. One take ran 27 minutes and 11 seconds, still the longest recording the Beatles ever made. The tighter, more aggressive White Album version wasn't cut until that September.
Source: 18 July 1968: Recording: Cry Baby Cry, Helter Skelter
1975 · Born
Daron Malakian of System of a Down is born in Hollywood
Daron Malakian, System of a Down's guitarist, second vocalist, and primary songwriter, was born in Hollywood, California. He picked up guitar at 11 and built the band's drop-C riffing out of thrash metal, the Beatles, and Armenian and Arabic folk scales.
Source: Daron Malakian
1978 · Performance
Def Leppard plays its first-ever public show at a Sheffield school dance
Def Leppard debuted live at Westfield School in Sheffield, England, in front of roughly 50 to 150 students. Guitarist Steve Clark's amp failed on the opening chord after being left on standby, and the band was paid five pounds by a supervising teacher. They encored with a cover of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak.
Source: Def Leppard History 18th July 1978 (First Public Live Show)
Why we track this
Guitar history keeps getting made on every date on the calendar, not just the ones with round-number anniversaries. This page collects what is actually documented for July 18, and it grows every time we verify another event for the date. Two guitarists who built genuinely different sounds, blues-rock pioneer Lonnie Mack and System of a Down's Daron Malakian, share this exact birthday, 34 years apart. If today has you thinking about your own guitar, the Ernie Ball Regular Slinky is still the closest thing the instrument has to a default set.
Start your own July 18
Whichever era of this page speaks to you, from Lonnie Mack's 1963 Flying V instrumentals to the Byrds' 1966 raga-rock turn to Def Leppard's five-pound 1978 debut, the through-line is six strings under someone's hands. If yours need a change, our guide to string gauge and scale length covers how gauge choice actually changes your tone and feel, and the set below is the one we point most beginners to first.
Regular Slinky
Why this one: A widely played, balanced electric set and a safe starting point no matter which era of guitar history brought you here today.
More guitar history
This page is part of an evergreen series, one per calendar day, filled in as we verify more events. Browse our artist profiles for deeper dives on the players named above, or head to the full history index to see which dates are live so far.