When was Gibson founded?
Gibson
Orville Gibson founded the company in 1902 as the "Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co. Ltd." in Kalamazoo, Michigan, to make mandolin-family instruments. Gibson invented archtop guitars by constructing the same type of carved, arched tops used on violins. By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars, used and popularized by Charlie Christian. In 1944, Gibson was bought by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), which was acquired in 1969 by Panama-based conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), that changed its name in the same year to Norlin Corporation. Gibson was owned by Norlin Corporation from 1969 to 1986. In 1986, the company was acquired by a group led by Henry Juszkiewicz and David H. Berryman.
Gibson Brothers
The three brothers, Chris (born 20 June 1954), (lead vocals, percussion), Patrick (vocals, drums) and Alex (vocals, keyboards), were born on Martinique in the West Indies. They recorded their first single "Come to America" in Paris in 1976, and both it and its follow-up "Non Stop Dance" made the charts in Europe, where they toured successfully. The following year they released "Heaven", which was picked up by TK Records in the U.S.