Mike Longworth, guitar craftsman and collector
who wrote the definitive history of Martin Guitar
Co., died January 25th in Nashville's Veterans Affairs
Medical Center after a prolonged illness. He was
64 years old. The Chattanooga native learned the
decorative art of pearl inlay in his teens and later
worked for Martin, the seminal American acoustic
guitar maker in Nazareth, Pa. Between 1968 and 1995,
he worked for Martin as an inlay specialist, historian
and customer relations emissary, writing thousands
of letters in answer to individuals' questions about
the vast legacy of Martin instruments.
