70 years ago today, the world of guitar would change forever.
Fender patented the mighty Telecaster!
The ‘T-style’ as it’s known, had a single coil sister guitar, The Esquire, but Leo Fender and guitarists wanted more. The first iteration, The Broadcaster, was marketed worldwide before a lawsuit from Gretsch enforced a name change in 1950.
The next year Leo Fender secured the name ‘Telecaster’ and Fender never looked back:
Some of the worlds most legendary guitarists couldn’t escape that highly distinguishable, unmistakable tone.
Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, Jeff Buckley, Denny Dias of Steely Dan, George Harrison (you’ve gotta know his band already), Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine and the list goes on and on!
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) has used a Telecaster and Esquire in addition to his famous Stratocaster. His Esquire was used on his 1978 self-titled solo album on backing tracks and the studio version of “Run Like Hell” from The Wall.
Probably one of the most famous guitarists to ever play a ‘Tele’ was, of course, Keith Richards. His main guitar is a ’53 Tele named Micawber, which features a 5-string open G tuning and was used to create almost every classic Rolling Stones riff throughout their illustrious career.
Enough talk though, let’s hear it. Here’s a pristine Tele jam from The Rolling Stones and an incredible story from Jimmy Page about his Tele!
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