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/Miller Band
Gibson/Miller Band was formed in 1990, when Doug Johnson, then-vice president of Epic Records, introduced Dave Gibson and Blue Miller to each other, thinking that the two artists would work well together as songwriters. Among Gibson's cuts were "If It Don't Come Easy" by Tanya Tucker, "Ships That Don't Come In" by Joe Diffie and "Queen of Memphis" by Confederate Railroad. Gibson and Miller soon assembled a band and recorded a demo tape, which they sent to Johnson. By 1992, the band was signed to Epic Records; their debut single, "Big Heart", was released at the end of the year.