I’ve always disliked the guitar-smashing thing, don’t know how any musician can do it. Apparently Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix fought over who would “get to do it” at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967......
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monterey_Pop_Festival
The Who
Although already a big act in the UK, and gaining some attention in the US, Monterey was the concert that propelled The Who into the American mainstream. The band’s famed performance was decided by a coin toss, since guitarists Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix each refused to go on after the other. The Who won, and went on to perform an explosive show which ended with the band destroying their instruments.
Jimi Hendrix
Hendrix, inspired by Pete Townshend’s guitar-smashing, ended his Monterey performance with an unpredictable version of “Wild Thing”, which he capped by kneeling over his guitar with playful reverence, pouring lighter fluid over it, setting it aflame, and then smashing it.[4] This produced unforeseen sounds and these actions contributed to his rising popularity in the USA [5]
I’ve got a book somewhere with a picture of Hendrix playing a white Strat with two large cracks in the body. It looks like the guitar was smashed and reassembled.