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The crowd went wild for it, and Townshend eventually started smashing his guitar at nearly every show. According to an analysis by TheWho.net, Townshend broke more than 35 guitars in 1967 alone.
Jerry Lee Lewis earned his nickname as "rock n' roll's first great wild man" because he was the first well-known rock artist to have destroyed his pianos on stage by walking or dancing on them, flipping them, and even reportedly setting fire to one.
Destruction was contagious in the 1960s, and The Who's Keith Moon would also join in and destroy his drum set. The most notorious episode was during their TV performance on 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' in 1967, involving explosives…
Indeed, one of the earliest accounts of instrument destruction is by the famed 19th-century composer Franz Liszt, who was said to have hammered a piano to pieces at a concert, and upon seeing the reaction that it got, he continued doing it at subsequent shows, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Moon overloaded his bass drum with explosive charges that were detonated during the finale of the song 'My Generation,' causing a bigger explosion than he anticipated, with dangerous shrapnel flying out. Rumors say it contributed to Pete Townshend's partial deafness and tinnitus.
Famed jazz musician Charles Mingus, who was known for his temper, reportedly smashed his US$20,000 double bass in response to audience hecklers at New York's Five Spot.
Jimi Hendrix, widely regarded as one of the most influential electric guitarists of all time, followed in The Who's footsteps as well. Early in 1967, it's said he accidentally cracked one of his guitars backstage and decided to wreck it as part of his act. Audiences liked it, but he sought a more creative form of destruction.
His most famous moment of destruction was at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival, on the same day The Who performed, when Hendrix one-upped them by pouring lighter fluid on his guitar and setting it on fire, then smashing it while the guitar was still aflame, propelling him to international fame.
A year after she and Kurt Cobain met in 1990, his penchant for destruction seemed to have rubbed off on the Hole front woman as she demolished her instrument when opening for the Smashing Pumpkins in 1991.
The Kings of Leon front man infamously smashed his 1972 Gibson ES-325 on stage at a 2011 festival out of frustration over a repeated sound issue. The guitar had massive sentimental value for him, however, so he later asked the audience to return the pieces, and Gibson helped him repair it.
During her performance of 'We R Who We R' at the 2010 American Music Awards, Kesha held up her guitar to reveal the word "HATE" crossed out on the back, and then proceeded to smash the guitar to pieces on the glossy TV stage.
At the 2012 iHeartRadio music festival in Las Vegas, Green Day front man Billie Joe Armstrong famously had a meltdown onstage due to the festival's time constraints, and he destroyed his guitar, with bassist Mike Dirnt trashing his bass in solidarity with his bandmate. Soon after, it was revealed Armstrong was experiencing a substance abuse relapse.
Arcade Fire guitarist Win Butler smashed his guitar while performing on 'Saturday Night Live' in 2007 after a string had broken during their performance of 'Intervention.'
The singer-songwriter is a big fan of smashing guitars on stage, so much so that she included it in her music video for 'Ohio,' in which she stomps on the guitar and smashes it through the drum set too.
Sources: (Rolling Stone) (The Daily Telegraph) (TheWho.net) (Atlas Obscura) (Alt Press) (All Music)
See also: Female rock stars who shaped the history of rock 'n' roll
KISS were no stranger to theatrics, and Paul Stanley took a quick liking to guitar-smashing. He said in an interview, "The idea of almost ritualistically smashing a guitar is something so cool and touches a nerve in so many people that it seemed like a great way to put a period or to dot the I or cross the T at the end of a show … Once I did it, I did it the next night, and I believe it's probably been a good 30 years now."
Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain also followed in his rock predecessor's footsteps, but he really made an art out of his destruction, consistently leaving a long trail of smashed (though cheap) guitars and even busted amps in his wake.
The Clash bassist Paul Simonon famously destroyed his Fender Precision Bass out of frustration over the bouncers not allowing the audience to stand up. A photograph of his one-time instrument destruction was captured by Pennie Smith and later became the iconic cover to their 'London Calling' album.
One of the most famous guitars he destroyed was a Fender Stratocaster built in Japan, which he reportedly smashed while in the studio recording 'Endless, Nameless.' He got it repaired, but then smashed it again during a live performance in Chicago.
Then a member of The Yardbirds, Jeff Beck destroyed a guitar in the 1966 film 'Blowup,' after director Michelangelo Antonioni wanted him to emulate The Who, though Beck was reportedly reluctant about it.
One of the founding members of Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore was also known for smashing guitars in the '70s, though at the 1974 California Jam he didn't just obliterate his guitar: he destroyed a massive camera filming the performance, which appears to viewers like he's trying to break through their TV.
One of the funniest destructive episodes was when Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic threw his bass up in the air during their performance at the MTV VMAs, only to have it crash down onto his head. As he stumbled away, Kurt Cobain shoved the neck of his guitar into an amp.
The Who's guitarist Pete Townshend is largely credited as the first guitar-smashing rock artist. His first time was said to be an accident, however, as he was on a stage with a low ceiling in 1964 and cracked the headstock on his Rickenbacker, but decided to take the damage all the way, according to Atlas Obscura.
The Plasmatics were an American punk rock and heavy metal band, and founding member/front woman Wendy O. Williams had a flair for theatrics. She didn't just smash instruments at shows—she would detonate cars and bust out sledgehammers and chainsaws to tear instruments apart.
Country music stars caught the rock n' roll bug, and in 1991 Garth Brooks and then-band-member Ty England smashed their acoustic guitars at the end of their performance of 'Friends in Low Places' at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
The Muse front man actually set a Guinness world record for breaking the most guitars in one tour, as he smashed 140 six-strings during the band's 2004 tour.
Guitarist Nancy Wilson is an often overlooked rock star, but in 2011 she joined her destructive forefathers and smashed her custom-made Hard Knocks guitar while closing out the band's run with Def Leppard. The broken instrument later sold for nearly US$1,000, according to Alt Press.
There are many styles that have come and gone with the rock n’ roll lifestyle, but destruction in some way, shape, or form has been a mainstay. Though hotel rooms have enjoyed their rock star notoriety, instrument destruction has long been one of the most electrifying forms of rebellion against reason.
But where did it start, and who has carried the torch up till now? Click through to find out.
A brief history of how smashing instruments became cool
See which musicians are notorious for destroying their instruments
MUSIC Rock n roll
There are many styles that have come and gone with the rock n’ roll lifestyle, but destruction in some way, shape, or form has been a mainstay. Though hotel rooms have enjoyed their rock star notoriety, instrument destruction has long been one of the most electrifying forms of rebellion against reason.
But where did it start, and who has carried the torch up till now? Click through to find out.