Thanks all, for the responses. I've been going back and listening to the cuts that have been mentioned. Lots of great music. Alan, I particularly enjoyed listening again to Charlie Christian. I have his recordings with Goodman, but I hadn't heard this live recording at Minton's:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x52x5hjpD5k There's definitely some distortion there. Not over the top, but a much grittier tone than many of the jazz guitarists that came after him. Yes, intent is hard to prove. Maybe he was just trying to play loud enough to hold his own with the horns. Or maybe he was embracing the sort of raspy tone that the horn players used. I like the idea of the distorted harmonica connection. I think trumpets, and especially saxophones were staking out this ground even earlier. (Maybe trombones got there first?) Here's the cut I keep coming back to. Listen to Big Bill Broonzy's brief intro in 1947: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjrvmzCqGl8 I think he's the first guitarist to turn it to 11. Youtube doesn't have it, but his intro to Plow Hand Blues, from the same session, is much more like the Christian at Minton's tone. So what do you think? Deliberate? And what was Big Bill playing? It looks like a Gibson to me, but someone here can probably be more precise. One more side of "deliberate": live recordings tend to have a raunchier tone. Who knows how much of that is accidental? And who knows how many guitarists were routinely using distortion in their live performances, but had their tone "cleaned up" by the record producers, or recording engineers. I'm pretty sure that situation continued well into the rock era.
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I think Walter also played guitar, but I can't say I've ever heard any of his guitar work. It makes me think he probably did this for guitar too, though, and I know the guitar on a lot of his work has some dirt to it.