But like so many American manufacturers of the time, Kay were hit by increasingly strong competition from overseas (especially Japanese) guitar makers. Kay were distributed by Hohner in the UK, gaining niche respect from the ranks of Chicago blues fans making up many British bands at the time. Sales were good and production moved to a new plant, Elk Grove Village, still in Illinois. Louis Music), Truetone (Western Auto), and Penncrest (JC Penney). But Kay (along with Harmony and other manufacturers) also manufactured numerous guitars with alternate branding for the American department stores of the time: Silvertone (Sears), Sherwood and Airline (Montgomery Ward), Old Kraftsman (Spiegel), Custom Kraft (St. They also produced amplifiers, although this was subcontracted to Valco in the '50s. In the 1950s and early 1960s, Kay was famous for a number of entry, mid level and rather respectable electric acoustic guitars, most notably Barney Kessel Jazz Special, and the Thin Twin, famously played by bluesman Jimmy Reed. Bluesman Jimmy Reed with his Kay Thin Twin
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