From Fender
![]() Different worlds, same guitar: The Telecaster in the hands of (clockwise from upper left) Jimmy Bryant (circa early 1950s), John5, Marty Stuart and the Smithereens’ Jim Babjak. |
![]() The Telecaster provides the main instrumental sound of both these albums, 1969’s Led Zeppelin(above) and Brad Paisley’s 2009 American Saturday Night. ![]() |
A selection of great guitarists across the popular music spectrum who currently play the Telecaster or who have played it at some point in their careers: |
Country, blues, jazz, roots, etc. |
Rock |
Jimmy Bryant |
Jim Babjak |
Roy Buchanan |
Syd Barrett |
James Burton |
Jeff Beck |
Albert Collins |
Frank Black |
Steve Cropper |
Marc Bolan |
Jerry Donahue |
Peter Buck |
Bill Frisell |
Jeff Buckley |
Danny Gatton |
Mike Campbell |
Vince Gill |
Eric Clapton |
Ted Greene |
Hugh Cornwell |
Merle Haggard |
Graham Coxon |
Waylon Jennings |
Ray Davies |
Bill Kirchen |
Bob Dylan |
Albert Lee |
John5 |
Brent Mason |
David Gilmour |
Roy Nichols |
Johnny Greenwood |
Buck Owens |
George Harrison |
Brad Paisley |
Robyn Hitchcock |
Luther Perkins |
Steve Howe |
Will Ray |
Chrissie Hynde |
Don Rich |
Wilko Johnson |
Arlen Roth |
Alex Lifeson |
G.E. Smith |
Jimmy Page |
Mike Stern |
Keith Richards |
Marty Stuart |
Robbie Robertson |
Guthrie Trapp |
Jim Root |
Keith Urban |
Bruce Springsteen |
Redd Volkaert |
Andy Summers |
Muddy Waters |
Joe Strummer |
Clarence White |
Pete Townshend |
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Celebrating 60 Years of the Fender Telecaster
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From NPR
The Telecaster: Still Wailing at 60
Sixty years ago this month, a musical icon was born. If you've listened to any kind of popular music from the past 60 years, you've heard a Telecaster.
Source: YouTube
It's a sound that changed guitar-making, guitar-playing and, ultimately, popular music.
There had been efforts to design a solid-body electric guitar since the 1930s, but it wasn't until Leo Fender introduced the perfect blend of musical form and function that fundamental problems were resolved: A Telecaster could be mass-produced, was easy to repair and, unlike a traditional hollow-body electrified guitar, could be played loud without feedback.
Source: YouTube
Nobody is exactly sure when the guitar was christened — legal issues loomed over its original name ("Broadcaster"), and sometime in February 1951 the name was officially changed to Telecaster. Country players were the new instrument's first champions.
Source: YouTube
Jimmy Bryant, James Burton, Muddy Waters, Steve Cropper,Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Bruce Springsteen, Albert Lee, Danny Gatton, Vince Gill, Prince, Keith Urban, Johnny Greenwood — these are just a few of the notable guitarists who've played a Telecaster. It would be a very short list of guitar greats who haven't spent time with one. Even jazz guitarists picked it up, including Mike Stern and Ted Greene.
Source: YouTube
The Telecaster has been in continuous production since 1951. For those who worship in the church of guitar, it holds sacred status as the eldest of the electric guitar's holy trinity: Stratocaster, Les Paul and Telecaster.
It was the first electric guitar I played (though I recorded all of my guitar parts with the Urban Verbs on a Strat or a Les Paul), and the closest I've come to ever grasping any sort of holy relic happened nearly 40 years ago when — with his bemused approval — I somehow mustered the temerity to play the legendary Roy Buchanan's battered, early-'50s Tele. The soundshe could conjure from it were nothing short of astounding.
Source: YouTube
For the Telecaster, it's been a remarkably popular and active life — and this is a birthday any 60-year-old would celebrate, loudly.
two words:
WOW! WOW!
© 2023 Created by Ted Crocker.
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