In late 1959, these English kids included 16-year-olds Keith Richards and George Harrison, 15-year-olds Jeff Beck and James Page, 14-year-olds Eric Clapton and Peter Townshend, 13-year-old schoolmates Roger Syd Barrett and David Gilmour, 17-year-old Andy Summers and a great many more. That year also saw the introduction of the American Nashville B-Bender Telecaster, which uses a mechanical device that raises the pitch of the B string by a whole tone (up to C#), producing plaintive, sinuous bends very much like those produced on a pedal steel guitar. Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/M9cINH9yob4?rel=0. This would keep Fender instruments in production and combat the cheap copies that were voraciously eating away at Fenders Far East sales. King and Clarence Gatemouth Brown took readily to the Telecaster. His guitars distinctive metal tops, often with elaborately engraved designs provided by Danny OBrien, can be seen with some of the eras most legendary guitar players, but it was his connection to the Faces that really put Zemaitis instruments on the map. 1984, however, was also the year that CBS decided to sell Fender. A 1953 "blackguard"? This bass was with him for early Faces performances and could easily have been used on some of these classic recordings, including the albums First Step and Long Player. Even today, 60 years after its invention, a basic modern Telecaster outwardly differs very little from its ancestors of 1951. TheRolling Stonereprint led to interest from public television station WNET, flagship of the then-new PBS network, which produced an hour-long documentary,Introducing Roy Buchanan, which aired that November and shifted his career into high gear. The British Invasion of 1964 needs little introduction. In Nashville in July 1956, Johnny Burnette and the Rock and Roll Trio recorded an energetic rock version of 1951 jump blues song The Train Kept-A-Rollin; lead guitarist Paul Burlison used his Telecaster to play one of the first recorded instancesif notthefirst recorded instanceof a contemporary fuzz guitar sound. As a member of the duos backing band that year, Cropper appeared with them onSaturday Night Liveand on chart-topping debut albumBriefcase Full of Blues. The selector switch in the front (neck) position delivered the neck pickup alone with the preset bassier sound and a non-functioning rear knob (as before). The Telecaster is an original that remains, simply and more than ever, indispensable. The sad loss of Ronnie Lane to multiple sclerosis in 1997 makes this instrument even more special. Richards, in fact, became something of a Telecaster connoisseur during the 1970s, acquiring and further nicknaming instruments of various vintages, including a blonde 1954 model (Malcolm) and a sunburst 1966 model (Sonny). In 1951, putting the selector switch in the rear (bridge) position delivered both pickups, with the rear knob serving as a blend control that governed the amount of neck pickup sound mixed into the bridge pickup sound. Farther west, in Bakersfield, Calif., Buck Owens was discovering how to put the Telecaster to work in a loud and stripped-down country style that stood in stark contrast to the slick, string-heavy country sound then in vogue in Nashville. As the 50th anniversary of the Telecaster approached, the Fender Custom Shop celebrated by introducing a limited edition run of 50 Leo Fender Broadcaster models in 2000 that featured Leo Fenders signature on the headstock in place of the standard logo. Elsewhere in London, in 1965, Who guitarist Pete Townshend faced a vexing issue. Artistically, the Telecaster served as the main musical voice of two monumental debut albums recorded in 1968, both by U.K. artists. It debuted in early 1951 as an innovative new kind of instrument from a small upstart Southern California maker that served the regions Western swing and dance band guitarists. They couldnt possibly have. But the ever-ubiquitous Telecaster found itself right at home there, too. The American Standard Telecaster appeared in 1988, updated with 22 frets, a more robust-sounding bridge pickup and a six-saddle bridge. At Fender, 1973 saw the last of the three major design revisions to the Telecaster. The controls were another matter. Schultz and a group of investors bought Fender in a sale that was completed in March 1985, ending 20 years of unpopular CBS rule. In the same building at the same time, Syd Barrett used his Telecaster and Esquire models to record Pink Floyd debut albumThe Piper at the Gates of Dawn. All those kids who found themselves with a powerful new cultural movement of their own in the post-war mid-1950s could get their hands on great-sounding, solidly built Fender guitars easily enough. The bass was played locally from the late 1970s until about three years ago, when that owner passed away, leaving the bass to his cousin. Rock n roll, it turned out, was alive and well in the U.K.; rescued by skinny English kids who couldnt get enough of authentic U.S. blues and rock n roll and who eagerly devoured every James Burton solo, every Chuck Berry riff, every Eddy Cochran lyric and every Scotty Moore chord voicing. The first significant new version of the model didnt appear until 1959, when the Custom Telecaster was introduced, with a bound body and rosewood fingerboard. This headstock has flourishes fit for a kingpossibly of clubs. They spent 1960-1962 continuing to absorb U.S. rock n roll and furthering their mostly self-taught musical educations; some were already performing publicly with their earliest bands. The decade would later see further big changes and even more acclaim and success for both men. First, James Burton had just joined Elvis Presleys band the year before, playing a red Telecaster; now he was using the paisley Telecaster that would thereafter become so closely identified with him. In the U.K., Keith Richards got his hands on a butterscotch 1953 Telecaster in 1971 that soon became his number-one instrument for many years thereafter. His love of folk and country music even left its mark upon early Rod Stewart solo records on which Lane and his Faces bandmates played a large part. These were the Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups developed by Seth Lover, who had pioneered hum-cancelling pickups at Gibson in the mid-1950s (the PAF, most famously) and had joined Fender in 1967. The bass pictured here was one of his earliest custom designs for Ronnie Lane. Nonetheless, Fenders innovative new instruments fed the rise of the small, loud bands that, by the mid-1950s, had largely supplanted the big bands of the 1930s and 1940s, a phenomenon that in turn fueled the concurrent explosion of U.S. youth culture. First, Fender (sold by Leo Fender in 1965 and now under the corporate banner of CBS) reconfigured the guitars controls so that the three-way switch delivered neck pickup/both pickups/bridge pickup operation. Though largely unchanged during the 1950s, a few minor tweaks to the Telecasterwereimplemented in the guitars first decade though. Across the Atlantic, sweeping change had struck the U.K. music scene in mid-decade. Combining influences as varied as instrumental funk la the Meters, traditional folk music, and a heavy dose of rhythm and blues, the Faces brand of rock n roll can be heard in some way or another in the music of countless bands that followed. Elsewhere in London of that era, another band coalesced that would achieve even greater heights; the very loftiest heights, in fact. Elvis Presley was in the Army; Little Richard had traded his piano for the pulpit; Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and Alan Freed all but vanished amid scandal and legal woes; Buddy Holly perished in a 1959 plane crash and Eddie Cochran was killed in a 1960 automobile accident. Telecaster? In late 1959, with the decade rapidly closing, quite a few of these English kids were eagerly soaking up every Telecaster-fueled note they could get their hands on. And it can still take a beating. Some of the most famous of these players include James Burton, Roy Buchanan, and Danny Gatton. Motown house guitarist Joe Messina often used a Telecaster, and out west, Bakersfield, Calif., singer/guitarist Buck Owens was pioneering a loud, no-frills anti-Nashville country sound dominated by the sound of his Telecaster. In the late 1940s, Leo Fender began work on a no-nonsense solidbody electric guitar. Although the venue itself was wholly unimpressive, Zito wrote that What makes the Crossroads remarkable is the presence of one man, Roy Buchanan, who provides what may well be the best rock guitar picking in the world.. The Telecaster also made great inroads in the 1950s as a must-have studio session instrument. In 1953, the list price for the Deluxe was $99. He uses his Telecasters extensively to this day. While Leo Fender and the staff of his small Southern California instrument- and amp-making company knew that theyd built a revolutionary new guitar when they introduced the Telecaster in early 1951, they had no idea of the size and scope of the musical revolution their unusual new invention would start. In this control scheme, there was no switch setting in which both pickups were on at the same time, an arrangement that lasted until the late 1960s. For many guitarists and collectors, a 1953 blackguard Telecaster is considered the Holy Grail of all Teles. Since that late-80s resurrection, the Telecaster once again reigns supreme as a must-have instrument for guitarists of all types and styles worldwide. Danny in this case being Danny Gatton, a stylistically eclectic guitar virtuoso regarded throughout the remainder of his career as one of the most technically dazzling players ever to wield a Telecaster. Unlike many existing guitars at the time, the Telecasters strings were pulled straight over the nut, with all the tuners on one side of the headstockideas that Leo himself said he borrowed from 19-century Istrian folk guitars and Viennese Staufer guitars. In the country world, Luther Perkins accompanied Johnny Cash from 1954 on by playing bright, catchy lines on a Telecaster and an Esquire. These Vintage series Japanese instruments were soon introduced into the European market under the Squier name. Zemaitis instruments hold a special place in the evolution of guitar design, and the masterful engravings of Danny OBrien are unmistakable. Engraver Danny OBriens handiwork on the heel plate and control cavity covers are on display in this view of the bass back. From prog to punk, rockabilly-inflected jazz to FM rock and an unexpected blues revival to chart-topping pop, Fenders first guitarstill largely unchangedwas more ubiquitous than ever in the middle of its third decade. Strummer brought his battered 1966 Telecaster along with him. Soon after the rooftop concert, Harrison gave his rosewood Telecaster to Delaney Bramlett of Delaney & Bonnie (Delaney put the guitar up for auction in 2003; it was bought by actor Ed Begley Jr. on behalf of the Harrison estate). Every piece of metal, from the pickup surrounds, knobs, tailpieceeven the heel plate and control cavity coverhave been intricately engraved by OBrien. Its title track was an enormous hit; both it and the album introduced the world to the impeccable phrasing of Missouri-born guitarist/producer/songwriter Steve Cropper. His research over the past few years led him to realize the provenance of the instrument in his possession, and he ultimately confirmed his findings with us at Rumble Seat Music in Nashville, where this legendary instrument is now proudly offereda perfect example of the kind of rock n roll artifact we love! Early players such as Jimmy Wyble, Charlie Aldrich, Jimmy Bryant, Roy Watkins and Bill Carson took to the instrument with missionary zeal, and Fender Sales chief Don Randalls carefully built sales network made sure the appeal of the Telecaster slowly but surely radiated from Southern California all the way to the East Coast. Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/-0uV15BjBzg?rel=0. "We asked PG readers what is the coolest guitar shop they've been to in the US. Back in the United States, the Telecaster bided its time through 1960-1962 as its brothers, the by now well-established Stratocaster (1954) and the Jazzmaster (1958), kept a tenuous hold on the charts by fueling instrumental and vocal surf music by performers and acts such as Dick Dale, the Beach Boys and the Ventures. The 1970s began for the Telecaster with its two most acclaimed U.S. masters making some big changes. Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/embed/feN8kZA5H3Q?rel=0. Throughout the remainder of the decade, as a member of Booker T. & the M.G.s and as a house guitarist for the Stax label, Croppers graceful Telecaster work appeared on many seminal hits, including (Sittin On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding, 1965), In the Midnight Hour (Wilson Pickett, 1965) and Soul Man (Sam and Dave, 1967). The first wasBlack Claw & Country Fever, by virtuoso country/rockabilly/rock/R&B guitarist Albert Lee, subsequently widely known to many as Mr. Telecaster. The second was the eponymous debut album by Led Zeppelin, which Jimmy Page had formed from the ashes of the Yardbirds. Nonetheless, he remained a revered post-punk figure as the Clash soldiered on until 1986, and he too was honored (posthumously; Strummer passed away in 2002) by Fender in the late 2000s with a tribute Telecaster model that reproduced his battle-hardened guitar down to the last detail. Strummer wielded his 1966 Telecaster with authoritative swagger through two other hit Clash albums of the period,Sandinista! In 2017 Fender released the American Professional Telecaster (also available for lefties and the Telecaster Deluxe Shawbucker featuring classic design and innovative new features. However, players were quick to discover that the Telecasters three-position switch could be precariously balanced in the two in-between switch positions to deliver in-phase or out-of-phase sounds (depending on the polarity of the pickups) in which both pickups were on (an unintentional design feature exploited by players to even greater extent on the Stratocaster). The selector switch in the middle position delivered the neck pickup alone, with the rear knob again acting as a tone control. Owens and his band, the Buckaroos, recorded Johnny Russell-penned song Act Naturally in Los Angeles in February 1963 at a session marked by Buckaroos fiddle player Don Richs first appearance on lead guitar (Owenss Telecaster). Ever since recording Ticket to Ride in February 1965 with a droning Stratocaster part, the Beatles had made steadily increasing use of Fender gear, and it was in the groups final chapter that the Telecaster came into significant play. Fender was brash, young, innovative and West Coast; not old, staid and East Coast. George Harrison received a prototype custom all-rosewood Telecaster built by Fenders Philip Kubicki. It had a simple black pickguard (of fiber or Bakelite) held on with five screws. The U.S. factory did produce the short-lived Elite Telecaster of 1983-1984, which was intended as a high-end model with humbucking pickups and active circuitry. This model proved reasonably popular, as several prominent guitarists had started modding their Telecasters with humbucking pickups (especially at the neck position) in the late 1960s. Though all of Tonys designs are one-of-a-kind, this stands out as a bass guitar truly unlike any other weve ever seen. Whether its because more were made than in the previous years due to the new factorys increased production capabilities, or because three years had been spent perfecting building techniques, a large number of legendary Tele artists were known to favor 53s. Burton gigged extensively with Presley until the stars death in August 1977; hed also found time to record and perform with Emmylou Harris and John Denver. Fender instruments and amps were fun, tough and affordable rather than delicate and expensive. A late 70s Telecaster may havelookedlike its 1950s or early 1960s ancestors, but that was about it, and it was around this time that word began to circulate that if you wanted a really good Fender instrument, you needed an old one (this is when the oft-heard term pre-CBS originated). Renowned German luthier Roger Rossmeisl, who arrived at Fender in early 1962 after an enormously influential career at Rickenbacker and successfully engineered Fenders entry into the world of acoustic guitars basically hollowed out a Telecaster body, routing sections on both sides from the rear and gluing a thin panel over the back.