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Founded in Hollywood by Wayne Mitchell in 1961 as The Organ Center, a retailer of Electronic Organ s for home and church usage, it became a major seller of '''Vox''' Electric Guitar s and Guitar Amplifier s, changing its name to '''The Vox Center''' in 1964 . Toward the end of the 1960s , Vox's line—whose sales derived largely from its association with The Beatles , who made extensive use of its amplifiers—fell in popularity as Marshall amplifier users Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix captured musicians' imaginations. Accordingly, Mitchell once again changed its name, to Guitar Center. The popularity of Rock And Roll in the 1970s allowed Mitchell to open stores in San Francisco and San Diego , as well as several Suburb s of Los Angeles . Although Synthesizer -driven Disco and New Wave pop sapped rock's audience in the late 1970s, the 1980s "guitar rock" revival led by Van Halen and a concurrent influx of high-quality, affordable Japanese -produced instruments brought guitar sales to unprecedented levels. Guitar Center took full advantage of this sales bonanza, and by the end of the decade began an ambitious program of expansion across the entire United States. Using its size as leverage over the disorganized cottage industry that is the musical instrument business, it developed into the largest musical instrument retailer in the country, and made an Initial Public Offering of stock in 1997 . Soon after, it purchased Mail Order and Internet retail house Musician's Friend, further consolidating its dominance over the sector. Its position was strengthened further by the 2003 demise of one of its two principal rivals, MARS Music , leaving only Sam Ash as competition. In 2005 , Guitar Center Inc. acquired Music And Arts Centers , and merged their subsidiary Band and Orchestral chain American Music Group into Music and Arts Centers. HOLLYWOOD'S ROCKWALK The Sunset Boulevard location in Los Angeles hosts Hollywood's Rockwalk, a hall of fame honoring notable musical artists ranging from Chuck Berry and Bill Haley And His Comets to Robert Cray and Stevie Ray Vaughn . Artists are invited to place their handprints into cement blocks that are put on display at the Guitar Center. For a list of artists who have placed their handprints into cement at the Rockwalk, see here . EXTERNAL LINKS
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