One of the forerunners in the popularization of the guitar in the music industry is Kay Guitar Company, which a manufacturer of musical instruments started in the 1890s. Kay guitars became more popular in the 1930s to the 1960s when the company produced inexpensive guitars that sold out in department stores. However in the late 1960s when there was economic recession in the US a lot of manufacturing plants closed and since then especially in the 1970s, Kay guitars existed only as a brand name adopted by several guitar companies mostly those from Asia.
Today, Kay guitars are still famous for their inexpensive lines of acoustic, electric, and bass guitars. They have also ventured into the manufacture of banjos, ukuleles, mandolins and resonators. Today, most forms of blues music are played using these guitars. For vintage music instrument collectors, among those valued are Kay guitars from the late 1950s that feature reverse painted plastic overlay and other art deco patterns. Some famous musicians like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page included some models of Kay guitars in their collections.
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