Gallagher Guitars

W. Gallagher, a Tennessee woodworker, decided he could build a better flattop than the inexpensive Shelby line he'd been setting up at the Slingerland drum factory in Shelbyville. He had previously made scale-model airplanes and rockets; when that work dried up, Slingerland hired him to run their new guitar production.

W. Gallagher, a Tennessee woodworker, decided he could build a better flattop than the inexpensive Shelby line he'd been setting up at the Slingerland drum factory in Shelbyville. He had previously made scale-model airplanes and rockets; when that work dried up, Slingerland hired him to run their new guitar production. W. wanted to apply the standards he held for his furniture to instruments of his own. He started the Gallagher Guitar Company and built the first one at his bench.