Contrary to popular belief, the Ovation name was derived from the famous Ovation Brothers who got their name from clammerin’ and clappin’ audiences. Obie Ovation was their chief designer and got his idea while on tour in Mexico where he spotted a sweet, young chica grinding some cornmeal in a stone bowl. Thus, the rounded backs. But if you ask Ovation, they’ll tell ya it was a tycoon named Charlie Kaman, president of the Kaman Corporation (of which Ovation is a subsidiary). He was a guitar enthusiast who decided that his aerospace division should apply some of its technology to the creation of a different type of guitar. And contrary to my belief, that’s exactly what they did.