It tells how Paul Kelly's How to Make Gravy, James Reyne's Reckless and even Mike Brady's footy anthem Up There Cazaly were all written or recorded on Matons. Elvis Presley, Keith Richards and George Harrison are among international superstars pictured playing a Maton.

The book, The Music That Maton Made, tells how in 1946 woodwork teacher and band guitarist Bill May and his machinist brother Reg started making guitars for friends from their Thornbury garage.

Maton​ (from the surname May and pronounced May-tone) outgrew subsequent premises in Canterbury and Bayswater and in 1998 moved to their current retro former printing factory in Box Hill.

Bill died in 1993 and his daughter Linda Kitchen and her husband Neville Kitchen now employ 70 people, making 8000 acoustic and electric guitars and ukeleles per year. They export to 18 countries.

Linda and Neville's daughter Chantal de Fraga spent 10 years combing family archives and interviewing Bill's widow, Vera, now 96, for the book. Music writers Andrew McUtchen​, Jeff Jenkins and Barry Divola​ interviewed artists and photographer James Geer​ took pictures.

Mrs Kitchen said her father would have been "blown away" to learn that Elvis Presley played a Maton in the 1957 movie Jailhouse Rock, but it was brought to the family's attention only 10 years ago.

An American Elvis researcher pointed out that Elvis's character in the movie, ex-prisoner and aspiring rock singer Vince Everett, plays a Maton Hillbilly acoustic flat top, an HG100, in a scene where Everett records the song Don't Leave Me Now.

The book also tells how on the original recording of the Rolling Stones' 1969 song Gimme Shelter, Keith Richards plays a Maton EG240 Supreme.

Mike Brady wrote Up There Cazaly on a Maton Messiah,

and jingles including Hard Yakka, SPC Baked Beans and Spaghetti and Lucky You're with AAMI.

James Reyne tells how in September 1982 while filming the mini-series Return to Eden in Sydney, with his girlfriend overseas, he wrote the hit song Reckless on his Maton guitar in 10 minutes, while watching a Manly ferry.

Mrs Kitchen said the book was a fitting way to celebrate the company's contribution to local music and manufacturing.

"It's an Australian story that we should be proud of. When dad started, no one would think that Australia could produce something as good as anything else in the world, especially America, but we've shown that we can do it."

For its 70th birthday, Maton is releasing special editions of its Dreadnought and 808 acoustic models. The book is published by Scribe Publications and retails from May 16 for $75.