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> No, Cliff Richard special-ordered the Strat for Hank direct from the
> Fender company, since there was an import ban on US-instruments in the UK
> then (which was to lapse in '60 or '61). This was in '59.
Thanks for the details, I knew there was a 'twist' in there, and it was the
ban thing.
> would be playing the top of the line model! Only later did they find that
> he was actually playing a Tele! (a thought: remember that Gene Vincent's
> Blue Caps also got matching Fenders sometime in '58 or '59, and they
> weren't from SoCal)
You got me there. There were a few 'hitters' that played Fenders around the
country, but by and large SoCal was the hotbed of Fender users. If you think
about it, since there were so few effects and even reverb didnt come along
till '62, the single coil Fenders and bitey amps were probably out of favor
for a reason by the people that played big halls or wanting to fill out the
sound. I cant imagine Scotty Moore vampin' behind Elvis with a razor sharp
Tele and a Bassman!
> Now, I'm pretty sure that a Strat was about the same price as most of the
> Gretsches at the time.
I'm pretty sure my dad told me a new Strat in 1961 was around $130-180, and
the Jazzmaster was closer to $300. I have no idea if those are accurate or
not, but I can say he had a blonde Strat and a black Jazzmaster in those
days.
> Anyway, besides the success of the Ventures pushing the Fenders (and I
> thought we were talking about all Fenders, not just Strats - after all,
> Strats were Fender's top of the line instrument from '54 to '59,
I'm with you on the timeline - James Burton was probably the first 'big
name' Fender player UH, since he was so good and unique, then comes the
Ventures and the Shadows, and then the Surf gods (I'll include the Beach
Boys here) and then Buck Owens. Fenders really did own the world there from
about '59 through '65, and on in the country ranks, '69 and up in rock.
> In Europe on the other hand, once the Hank-mania died down, Fenders were
> still in the public eye with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all
> playing Teles during their Yardbirds days
amazing isnt it, that the Tele never really 'took off' in rock even with
those stellar names playing them. I wonder why? uncomfortable? not phallic
enough? lol.
>and even George Harrison.... a Rosewood Tele
man, that sucker had to weigh a ton! And talk about oxymoron tone - the
razor tone guitar, dark as hell in rosewood. Pretty, but I wouldnt want to
play it.
>So the Fenders were not exactly
> unknown outside of SoCal until Hendrix came about!
I didnt mean to sound like they were unknown, just that they were never
'the' world-beater guitar until Hendrix made them all conquering, must have
instruments. I mean, remember the Strat WAS scheduled for discontinuation
because it just didnt sell, till Jimi showed up.
I've enjoyed this Ivan, I respect your history lesson even more than your
playing and thats saying something.
Robb
