The history of guitar straps charts the rise in popularity of the instrument itself. Up until the mid-1930s, guitarists would typically sit on stage as they played. It wasn’t until folk artists such the Carter Family and Lead Belly decided to stand in front of their audiences that players started using rudimentary wound cords to affix guitars to their bodies.
The explosion of rock & roll in the 1950s meant guitarists were playing heavier, solid body guitars, and strutting their stuff with stylish new dance moves. This prompted manufacturers to introduce leather guitar straps with padding around the shoulders. Beatles Mania in the 1960s brought the 'jacquard' fabric weave to prominence, and the 1980s saw the introduction strap-locks designed to aid acrobatic shredding.