Hello, this is Chris Nakka.

I work on the Atlas Obscura podcast, mostly behind the scenes, but sometimes I will get

in front of a mic, especially if there's an unusual rodent involved.

When I found out we were picking a week of episodes to reshare for women's history month,

I immediately thought of our story about the Kalamazoo gals, a group of women in Michigan

whose work, manufacturing Gibson guitars during World War II, was covered up for decades.

That is until an avid guitar collector, who also happens to be a law professor, started

asking questions.

I hope you enjoy this story as much as I do and appreciate getting a chance to hear what

these rare instruments sound like.

If you want to learn more about Atlas Obscura's Women's History Month project, please

visit the link in the show notes.

Even if you don't play guitar, you've probably still heard of Gibson guitars.

And if you've never heard of Gibson, you've still definitely heard a Gibson.

The electric guitars have a tone that is thick and heavy, this powerful sound.

It's the sound of Jimmy Page and Carlos Santana, of BB King and Sister Rosetta Tharve.

There is an incredible kind of vibe to a Gibson guitar.

That doesn't even include the acoustic guitars.

That's the guitar of Robert Johnson and Emilou Harris.

The sound of a Gibson is iconic, and so are so many of the famous musicians who strum

them.

So it's easy to forget that there's a whole team of people by every one of these guitars.

...