Zappa writes at length about the role of the saxophone even in his early career ( late 50s&#x2F;early 60s ).<p>Guitars came in strong ( outside jazz&#x2F;C&amp;W ) with Sun Studios, but about  the time Elvis joined the Army, it was Brill Building songs and piano. The Beatles then brought the guitar to prominence, but even then, almost as a stage prop more than an instrument - not to knock &#x27;em as really good rhythm players but the solos were a bit rough. They caught flack for it, too.<p>One thing to consider - <i>guitar players</i> had to get better. Even for &quot;stuff I&#x27;d played at 14&quot; guys like Tommy Tedesco were ringers on everything recorded in LA until the bands got to where the members could play their own parts ( roughly at the time of Buffalo Springfield &amp; The Byrds ). Same basic thing in England; Yardbirds&#x2F;Zep and all that.<p>Horn players were already deeply established as serious players long before this, back to the 1930s.