Star Guitars: 101 Guitars That Rocked the World

289 Pages·2010·142.44 MB·English

by  Dave Hunter

For Jess, Freddie, and Flo.
Thanks for putting up with all the noise.
First published in 2010 by Voyageur Press, an imprint of
MEl Publishing Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300,
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
Copyright © 2010, 2011 by Voyageur Press
All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages
for the purposes of review, no part of this publication may be
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disclaims any liability incurred in connection with the use of
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ISBN-13: 978-0-7603-3821-6
Digital edition: 978-1-61059-767-8
Softcover edition: 978-0-760-33821-6
Editors: Dennis Pernu and Michael Dregni
Design managers: Katie Sonmor and John Sticha
Design: John Barnett / 4Eyes Design
Layout: Sandra Salamony
Cover design: Jason Anscomb
Printed in China

"
• • my
orse.
IS IS
-WI LLI N
~ ~LSON,
on naming his Martin guitar "Trigger"
NIGEL TUFNEL: Now this is special, too,
it's a ... look, see, still got the 01' tag on
it. See, never even played it.
"All the Americans will wish
MOVIE DIRECTOR MARTY DIBERGI: You
just bought it and ...
they could play on this
TUFNEL: Don't touch it! Don't touch it! No
guitar! At least it's got tone,
one, no one, no! Don't touch it!
DIBERGI: Well, I wasn't, uh, I wasn't gonna
you can hear the chords
touch it. I was just pointing at it.
like you can on the piano.
TUFNEL: Well, don't point, even.
DIBERGI: Don't even point?
Don't talk to me any more
TUFNEL: No. It can't be played ... never.
about their tinpot guitars!
DIBERGI: Can I look at it?
TUFNEL: No. Listen to this, it speaks like
-This Is Spinal Tap
a cathedral! "
-DJANGO REINHARDT
"Right after I'd seen Steve Winwood playing his white Strat, I was
in Nashville and I went into this shop called Sho-Bud where they
had stacks of Strats going for virtually nothing because they were so
unfashionable and so unwanted. I bought a big pile of
them all for a song-they were really cheap, like $300
"It doesn't have any dead spots
or $400 each-and I took them home and gave them
or any high spots-which is very,
out. ... I made Blackie out of a group of them: I took
the pickups out of one, the scratchplate off another, very strange. It makes it fun to
and the neck off another and I made my own guitar
play lead, because you don't
a hybrid guitar that had all the best bits from all these
have to worry where you're at. It's
Strats .... What makes Blackie unique for me is the
fact that I made it! It was one of the last guitars that not much of a solo instrument,
I actually built myself, really. Therefore it felt like it
but I can't really play by myself
was invested with some kind of soul, you know."
worth a darn, so it doesn't make
-ERIC CLAPTON
much of a difference."
RAWLINGS
-DAV ~
" joke that
shou d
"I used to playa place called Twist, Arkansas, on weekends,
mostly at the beginning of my career. It got quite cold in
just have a
Twist, so they would take a big garbage can, half-fill it
with kerosene, and light that fuel for heat. One night in
co ection of
1949 two guys got to fighting, and one of them knocked
the other over on that container and it spilled on the floor.
Jazzmasters
It looked like a river of fire. Everybody started running
for the front door, including B.B. King. But when I got
and Jaguars.
outside, I realized that I left my guitar, a Gibson acoustic,
and I went back for it. When I did, the building started to
can do pretty
collapse around me. I almost lost my life trying to save my
guitar. The next morning
much anything,
we found out that the two
"There's no reason for guys had been fighting
about a lady. I never did get any sound
my guitar being called
meet her, but I learned
Micawber, apart from
her name was Lucille. So from my
the fact that it's such an
I named my guitar-and
unlikely name. There's every guitar I had since Jazzmasters
then-Lucille, to remind
no one around me called
me never to do a thing like and don't
Micawber, so when I
that again."
scream for Micawber
-B. B. KING need another
everyone knows what I'm
"
guitar.
talking about."
-KEITH RICHARDS
eLi
-N [;LS N [;
"She's a '59 Stratocaster. I've always called her my
first wife. And she don't talk back to me, she talks
for me. She don't scream at me, she screams for me."
-STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

l()l GUITARS
ROCKED TIff W(lRI.D
Ttt~\T
BY DAVE HUNTEJI
F(lREW(lRO BY BILLY F
GIBRO~C;
Voyageur Press
Foreword by Billy F Gibbons . . . . . . . . ... 10
Introduction . .. . ....... . . . ... . ... . .. 12
CHET ATKINS: Gretsch 6120 .................... 14 NUS CUNE: 1959 Fender Jazzmaster ............. 48
,JEFF RECK: 1954 Fender Esquire ... . ............ 18 KURT CORAIN: 1969 Competition
Series Fender Mustang .... .... .. ... ... . .. 50
CHUCK RERRY: Gibson ES-350Ts ........... . .... 20
EDDIE COCHRAN: Mid-1950s Gretsch 6120 . ....... 52
RITCHIE RI.ACKMORE: Fender Stratocasters ........ 24
STEVE CROPPER: 1963 Fender Telecaster .......... 54
MICHAU RI.OOMFIUD: 1959 Gibson Les Paul. ...... 26
DICK DAI.E: Fender Stratocaster "The Beast" .. . ... 56
ROR ROGI.E. NOKIE EDWARDS. AND DON WII.SON:
Mosrite Ventures Models ........ . ...... . .. 28 DlMERAG DARREI.I.: 1981 Dean ML ..... . ......... 58
CI.ARENCE "GATEMOUTH" RROWN: DAVE DAVIES: Late-1950s Gibson Flying V ........ 60
Mid-1960s Gibson Firebird ................ 30
RO DIDDI.EY: 1958 Rectangular Gretsch ........... 62
ROY RUCHANAN: 1953 Fender Telecaster "Nancy" .. 32
ROR DYl.AN: Gibson Nick Lucas Special .......... 66
PETER RUCK: 1970s Rickenbacker 360 . . .. . .. . . .. . 34
DUANE EDDY: 1957 Gretsch 6120 ........ . ..... . . 68
MAYREI.I.E CARTER: 1928 Gibson L-5 ............. 36
THE EDGE: 1976 Gibson Explorer. ............... 70
CHARUE CHRISTIAN: Gibson ES-150 .............. 38
PETER FRAMPTON: 1954 Les Paul Custom ......... 72
ERIC CI.APTON: "Beano" Gibson Les Paul,
RORY GAI.I.AGHER: 1961 Fender Stratocaster ....... 74
1964-65 Gibson SG "The Fool,"
1964 Gibson ES-335, & CUFF GAI.I.UP: 1955 Gretsch Duo Jet ............. 78
Fender Stratocaster "Blackie" . . . .... . ...... 40
,JERRY GARCIA: Doug Irwin "Tiger" .............. 82
[
DANNY GATTON: Redneck Jazz Guitars .... .. .... .. 84 MARK KNOPFLER: 1937 National Style O .... .. ... 142
RILLY F GIRRONS: 1959 Gibson .JOHN I.ENNON AND GEORGE HARRISON:
Les Paul "Pearly Gates" ................... 88 1958 Rickenbacker 325 &
1957 Gretsch Duo Jet .................... 146
DAVID GILMOUR: 1954 Fender Stratocaster "0001" .. 94
I.ONNIE MACK: 1958 Gibson Flying V .. .... .. . . . 152
PETER GREEN: 1959 Les Paul Standard ... .. .... .. 98
YNGWIE MAI.MSTEEN:
WOODY GUTHRIE: Fascist-Slaying Guitars ........ 100
1972 Fender Stratocaster "The Duck" ....... 154
RUDDY GUY: Fender Stratocasters .............. 102
ROR MARLEY: 1957 Gibson Les Paul Special. ..... 158
REVEREND HORTON HEAT: Gretsch 6120W .. .. .... . 108
HANK MARVIN: 1959 Fender Stratocaster ... .. ... 160
.IIMI HENDRIX: Fender Stratocasters. . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
.J MASCIS: Fender Jazzmasters ... . ... . .... .. ... 162
RUDDY HOLLY: 1957 Fender Stratocaster ......... 118
RRIAN MAY: The Red Special .......... . .... . .. 164
SON HOUSE: National Duolian and Style O ....... 120
ROGER MCGUINN: Rickenbacker 360/12 .......... 168
TONY IOMMI: Jaydee "Old Boy" ... . ..... .. .... . 122
WES MONTGOMERY: Gibson L-5CES ... . .... .. ... 170
WAYLON .JENNINGS: 1953 Fender Telecaster . .... . 124
SCOTTY MOORE: Gibson ES-295 ................ 172
ERIC .JOHNSON: 1957 Fender Stratocaster ........ 126
THURSTON MOORE AND I.EE RANAI.DO:
RORERT .JOHNSON: Gibson L-l ................. 128 Fender Jazzmasters ..................... 174
RRIAN .JONES: Vox Phantom Mark III Prototype . . . 130 WILLIE NELSON: Late-1960s Martin N-20 "Trigger" . 180
STEVE .JONES: 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom .. .. . 132 RICK NIELSEN: Custom Hamer Five-Necks ....... 184
ALRERT KING: Flying Vs ...................... 134 TED NUGENT: 1960s Gibson Byrdlands .......... 188
R. R. KING: Gibson "Lucille" ..... . ..... .. . . ... 138 .IIMMY PAGE: Gibson EDS-1275 . . ... . .... .. ... 192
~ ...... , ... • " "ll ,
RRAD PAISLEY: 1968 Paisley Fender Telecaster . ... 196 ANDY SUMMERS: 1961 Fender Telecaster Custom .. 242
I.ES PAUL: "The Log" & the Recording Model ..... 198 SISTER ROSETTA THARPE: Gospel Guitars ......... 244
CARl. PERKINS: Gibson Les Paul Goldtops ........ 202 .JOHNNY THUNDERS: Late-1950s Les Paul Junior ... 246
I.UTHER PERKINS: Fender Esquires . . .... .. .. . . . . 204 PETE TOWNSHEND: Export Version Rickenbackers . 248
ElVIS PRESI.EY: 1942 Martin D-18 & Gibson J-200 .. 206 NIGEl TUFNEl: Ernie Ball/Music Man
"Mr. Horsepower" ...................... 250
PRINCE: Hohner HG490 ...................... 210
EDWARD VAN HAI.EN: "Frankenstrat" ............ 252
RONNIE RAITT: 1965 Fender Stratocaster ..... . ... 212
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN: 1962 Fender Stratocaster
.JOHNNY RAMONE: Mosrite Ventures II . . ..... . ... 214
"Number One" & Early 1960s Fender
DAVE RAWI.JNGS: 1935 Epiphone Olympic ....... 216 Stratocaster "Lenny" .................... 258
D.IANGO REINHARDT: T-RONE WAI.KER: Gibson ES-5N ................ 264
Selmer Modele Django Reinhardt . ..... . ... 218
MUDDY WATERS: Late-1950s Fender Telecaster .. . . 266
KEITH RICHARDS: Early 1950s
.IACK WHITE: 1964 Airline Res-O-Glas .. .. .... .. 270
Fender Telecaster "Micawber" ........ . ... 220
.JOHNNY WINTER: 1963 Gibson Firebird V ........ 272
MICK RONSON: 1968 Gibson Les Paul Custom .... 222
RONNIE WOOD: 1971 Zemaitis ................. 274
CARI.OS SANTANA: PRS Santana ... . . . .. . . . .. . .. 224
ANGUS AND MAI.COJ.M YOUNG: 1968 Gibson
RRIAN SETZER: Gretsch Guitars ..... . . . .. . .. . . . 226
SG Standard & 1963 Gretsch Jet Firebird . . . . 276
SI.ASH: Kris Derrig Les Paul Copy ............. 230
NEIL YOUNG: 1953 Gibson Les Paul "Old Black" .. 282
RRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: 1950s Fender Esquire ...... 234
.JOE STRUMMER: 1966 Fender Telecaster ..... . ... 236
Acknowledgments . .. ......... . ... . . 286
HURERT SUMI.JN: Mid-1950s Les Paul Goldtop . ... 240 Index ............. ... ............. 287