PHOTO COURTESY KICKER

Kicker, an aftermarket stereo company and the parent of Kicker Marine Audio, is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Kicker was founded in 1973 when Steve Irby asked his father to lend him $300 to buy a speaker for his band and his father gave him a book on how to build speakers, according to a statement.

Irby built a speaker with his dad and later used an inheritance from his grandfather to rent a building, purchase materials and launch Stillwater Designs in Stillwater, Okla., to build concert stage speakers.

Irby got into mobile audio equipment when he created a full-frequency speaker that fit behind a truck seat and a later system that went behind a Corvette seat.

“I went into car audio kicking and screaming because it wasn’t very good, and I was building good sound — concert-like quality,” Irby said in the statement. “People were wanting more.”

In 2006, Kicker launched its marine audio line with tower systems, coaxials, subwoofers, amplifiers, receivers, service units and remote controls for music and lighting.