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Fender Telecaster
Manufacturer	Fender
Period	1950-present
Construction
Body type	Solid
Neck joint	Bolt-on neck
Scale	25.5"
Woods
Body	Ash, Alder, or Poplar
Neck	Maple
Fretboard	Maple or Rosewood
Hardware
Bridge	Fixed
Pickup(s)	3 Single-coil, 2 Single-coil, 2 Humbucker, 3 Humbucker, or 1 Single-coil and 1 Humbucker
Colors available
Butterscotch Blonde (shown above); other colors are available

The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele ( /ˈtɛli/), is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.

Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music. Introduced for national distribution as the Broadcaster in the autumn of 1950, it was the first guitar of its kind produced on a substantial scale. Its commercial production can be traced as far back as March 1950, when the single- and dual-pickup Esquire models were first sold. The Telecaster has been in continuous production in one form or another since its first incarnation.^[1] The Fender Telecaster has been mostly used in music genres such as country and rock, but is also sometimes used in jazz[1].

Origins[link]

The Fender Telecaster was developed by Leo Fender in Fullerton, California in 1950. In the period roughly between 1932 and 1949, several craftsmen and companies experimented with solid-body electric guitars, but none had made a significant impact on the market. Leo Fender's Telecaster was the design that finally put the solid-body guitar on the map.

Fender had an electronics repair shop called Fender's Radio Service where he first repaired, then designed, amplifiers and electromagnetic pickups for musicians—chiefly players of electric semi-acoustic guitars, electric Hawaiian (lap steel) guitars, and mandolins. Players had been 'wiring up' their instruments in search of greater volume and projection since the late 1920s, and electric semi-acoustics (such as the Gibson ES-150) had long been widely available. Tone had never, until then, been the primary reason for a guitarist to go electric, but in 1943, when Fender and his partner, Doc Kauffman, built a crude wooden guitar as a pickup test rig, local country players started asking to borrow it for gigs. It sounded shiny and sustaining. Fender got curious, and in 1949, when it was long understood that solid construction offered great advantages in electric instruments, but before any commercial solidbody Spanish guitars had caught on (the small Audiovox company apparently offered a modern, solidbody electric guitar as early as the mid-1930s), he built a better prototype.

That hand-built prototype, an anonymous white guitar, had most of the features of what would become the Telecaster. It was designed in the spirit of the solid-body Hawaiian guitars manufactured by Rickenbacker – small, simple units made of Bakelite and aluminum with the parts bolted together—but with wooden construction. (Rickenbacker, then spelled 'Rickenbacher,' also offered a solid Bakelite-bodied electric Spanish guitar in 1935 that seemed to echo details of Fender's design.)

The initial single-pickup production model appeared in 1950, and was called the Esquire. Fewer than fifty guitars were originally produced under that name, and most were replaced under warranty because of early manufacturing problems. In particular, the Esquire necks had no truss rod and many were replaced due to bent necks. Later in 1950, this single-pickup model was discontinued, and a two-pickup model was renamed the Broadcaster. From this point onwards all Fender necks incorporated truss rods. The Gretsch company, itself a manufacturer of hollowbody electric guitars (and now owned by Fender), claimed that "Broadcaster" violated the trademark for its Broadkaster line of drums, and as a newcomer to the industry, Fender decided to bend and changed the name to Telecaster, after the newly popular medium of television. (The guitars manufactured in the interim bore no name, and are now popularly called 'Nocasters.') The Esquire was reintroduced as a one-pickup Telecaster, at a lower price.

In 1951, Fender also released the Precision Bass as a stablemate to the Telecaster. This was later released as the Fender Telecaster Bass when Fender updated the Precision Bass to more closely resemble the Stratocaster.

Construction[link]

Leo Fender's simple and modular design was geared to mass production, and made servicing broken guitars easier. Guitars were not constructed individually, as in traditional luthiery. Rather, components were produced quickly and inexpensively in quantity and assembled into a guitar on an assembly line. The bodies were bandsawn and routed from slabs, rather than hand-carved individually, as with other guitars made at the time, such as Gibsons. Fender did not use the traditional glued-in neck, but rather a bolt-on. This not only made production easier, but allowed the neck to be quickly removed and serviced, or replaced entirely. In addition, the classic Telecaster neck was fashioned from a single piece of maple without a separate fingerboard, and the frets were slid directly into the side of the maple surface—a highly unorthodox approach in its day (guitars traditionally featured rosewood or ebony fingerboards glued onto mahogany necks). The electronics were easily accessed for repair or replacement through a removable control plate, a great advantage over typical construction, in which the electronics could only be accessed through the soundholes in the case of hollow-body instruments, or later by taking off the pickguard after removing the strings (as in Fender's own later design, the Stratocaster).

In its classic form, the guitar is simply constructed, with the neck and fingerboard comprising a single piece of maple, bolted to an ash or alder body inexpensively jigged with flat surfaces on the front and back. The hardware includes two single coil pickups controlled by a three-way selector switch, and one each of volume and tone controls. The pickguard was first Bakelite, soon thereafter it was celluloid (later plastic), screwed directly onto the body with five (later eight) screws. The bridge has three adjustable saddles, with strings doubled up on each. The guitar quickly gained a following, and soon other, more established guitar companies (such as Gibson, whose Les Paul model was introduced in 1952; and later Gretsch, Rickenbacker, and others) began working on wooden solid-body production models of their own. A large chromed cover, often called the "ashtray", was fitted over the bridge for improved shielding, but this is rarely seen as most players find it impedes their style.

The original switch configuration used from 1950 to 1952 allowed selection of neck pickup with treble tone cut in the first position (for a bassier sound), the neck pickup with its natural tone in the second position with no tone, and in the third switch position both pickups together with the neck pickup blended into the bridge, depending on the position of the second "tone" knob. The first knob functioned normally as a master volume control. This configuration did not have a true tone control knob.^[2]

In 1952 the pickup selection circuit was modified by Fender to incorporate a real tone control. Between 1953 and 1967 the neck could be selected alone with a pre-set bassy sound and no tone control, in the middle switch the neck could be selected alone with the tone control and finally the bridge could be selected with the tone control. Although this provided the player with a proper tone control, this assembly did away with any sort of pickup combination. Eventually from late 1967 Fender again modified the circuit for the final time to give the Telecaster a more traditional twin pickup switching system: neck pickup alone with tone control in the first position, both pickups together with the tone control in the middle position and in the third position the bridge pickup alone with the tone control.^[2]

Typical modern Telecasters (such as the American Standard version) incorporate several details different from the classic form. They typically feature 22 frets (rather than 21) and truss rod adjustment is made at the headstock end, rather than the body end, which had required removal of the neck on the original (the Custom Shop Bajo Sexto Baritone Tele was the only Telecaster featuring a two-octave 24-fret neck). The 3-saddle bridge of the original has been replaced with a 6-saddle version, allowing independent length and height adjustment for each string. The long saddle bridge screws allow a wide range of saddle bridge positions for intonation tuning. The stamped metal bridge plate has been replaced with a plain, flat plate, and the bridge grounding cover (which, while helping with the shielding, impedes players who like to mute strings at the bridge with the side of the palm, and makes it impossible to pick near the saddles to produce the characteristic Telecaster 'twang') has been discontinued for most models. Also different from the original is the wiring: The 3-way toggle switch selects neck pickup only in the first position, neck and bridge pickups together in the second position, and bridge pickup only in the third position. The first knob adjusts the master volume; the second is a master tone control affecting all the pickups.

During the CBS era in the 1970s, the Telecaster body style was changed to a new "notchless" shape, having a less pronounced notch in the crook where the upper bout meets the neck. The notchless body style was discontinued in 1982.

The short-lived Elite Telecaster of 1983 incorporated two specially designed humbucking pickups powered by an active circuitry that featured a "TBX" guitar expander and an MDX midrange booster with 12 dB of gain. Other features included a "Freeflyte" hardtail bridge and die-cast tuning machines with pearloid buttons. This guitar was among the latest CBS-era Fenders to feature a BiFlex truss-rod system, low-friction EasyGlider string trees and active electronics. After CBS sold Fender to a group of employees led by Bill C. Schultz in 1985, production ceased on the Elite Telecaster and other Elite models. Fender Japan made its own version of the Elite Telecaster in late 1984, which featured a 22-fret neck with medium-jumbo fretwire and a modern 9.5 inch fingerboard radius. Notable Elite Telecaster players include Johnny Hallyday and Dave Davies of The Kinks. Michael Houser w/ Widespread Panic and Andy Summers of The Police.

Higher-end models such as the American Deluxe and Plus Series Telecasters usually come with a Stratocaster-like contoured body for playing comfort.

The Telecaster sound[link]

The Telecaster is known for its ability to produce both bright, rich, cutting tone or mellow, warm, bluesy tone depending on the selected pickup, respectively "bridge" pickup or "neck" pickup. The bridge pickup has more windings than the neck pickup, hence producing higher output, which compensates for a lower amplitude of vibration of the strings at bridge position. At the same time, a capacitor between the slider of the volume control and the output, allows treble sounds to bleed through while damping mid and lower ranges.^[3] A slanted bridge pickup enhances the guitar's treble tone. The solid body allows the guitar to deliver a clean amplified version of the strings' tone. This was an improvement on previous electric guitar designs, whose hollow bodies made them prone to unwanted feedback. These design elements allowed musicians to emulate steel guitar sounds, making it particularly useful in country music. These characteristics make the Telecaster a versatile guitar, usable for most styles of music including country, blues, rock, and jazz.

Variants[link]

The Telecaster has also been a long-time favorite guitar for hot-rod customizing. Several variants of the guitar appeared throughout the years with a wide assortment of pickup configurations, such as a humbucker in the neck position, three single-coil pickups and even dual humbuckers with special wiring schemes. Fender offered hot-rodded Teles with such pickup configurations, the US Fat and Nashville B-Bender Telecasters around 1998. The Deluxe Blackout Tele was also equipped with 3 single-coil pickups, a "Strat-o-Tele" selector switch and a smaller headstock than a standard Telecaster. The most common variants of the standard two-pickup solid body Telecaster are the semi-hollow Thinline, the twin-humbucker Deluxe—and the Custom, which replaced the neck single coil-pickup with a humbucking pickup. The Custom and Deluxe were introduced during the CBS period and are still offered.

Telecaster Thinline[link]

A semi-hollow thinline version appeared in 1968/69, designed by German guitar maker Roger Rossmeisl. Today two versions of the Thinline are available, the '69 version has two standard Telecaster pickups and a mahogany body, while the '72 version, based on the Fender Telecaster Deluxe, yields two Fender Wide Range pickups and a solid natural swamp ash body. In 2011, Fender released the Modern Player Telecaster Thinline as a part of the Modern Player series. The guitar features two MP-90 pickups, similar to the Gibson P-90.

Telecaster Deluxe[link]

This model includes two Fender Wide Range humbucking pickups and was originally produced from 1972 to 1981 and have since then been reissued. The Tele Deluxe sported a large headstock similar to the Stratocaster, maple neck and a contoured body, as well as a tremolo bridge option on models manufactured after 1973/74.

Telecaster Custom[link]

The Tele Custom was popularized by Rolling Stones' guitarist and composer Keith Richards since its introduction in the early 1970s, featuring a Fender Wide Range humbucker in the neck position and a single-coil pickup in the bridge. The market generally refers to the guitar as the "1972 Custom", indicating the year this model was originally released.

Telecaster Plus[link]

Designed to restore Fender's reputation after a group of employees led by William C. Schultz took over ownership from CBS in the early 1980s. The pickups used in early models were dual humbucking Red Lace Sensors in the bridge position and a single Blue Lace Sensor in the neck position. Later models (post 1994 or so) used three Gold Lace Sensors or a Red/Silver/Blue set in a Strat-like configuration, as well as low-friction roller nuts, locking synchronized vibrato bridge and tuners, and a bound contoured alder body with ash veneers. These instruments were discontinued in 1998 with the advent of the American Deluxe series. In 2011 Fender released the Modern Player Telecaster Plus as a part of the Modern Player series. The guitar has a humbucker in the bridge, a Strat pickup in the middle, and a Tele pickup in the neck positions.

Tele Jr.[link]

The Fender Tele Jr. is a variant of the Fender Telecaster electric guitar that the Fender Custom Shop produced in a limited run of 100 units in the early 1990s. It uses a Telecaster body shape, scale length, and electronics controls (albeit, with a reversed control plate). However, many of its construction and electronic features—for example its set-in neck and P-90-style pickups—are similar to those of a Gibson Les Paul Junior(hence the name)and Gibson Les Paul Special electric guitars.

J5 Triple Tele Deluxe[link]

The Triple Tele Deluxe is Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie guitarist John5's signature model. It is similar to the regular Telecaster Deluxe, but it features three Fender "Enforcer" humbuckers and a chrome pickguard.

Models[link]

In keeping with other models Fender distinguishes product lines manufactured in different locations.

• The moderately-priced Standard, Classic and Deluxe Telecaster models are manufactured in Mexico, Japan and Korea. Each of these instruments has a feature set that makes them more affordable.
• The American Standard, American Vintage, American Deluxe, Special Edition and Highway One model lines are manufactured in the United States.

The American Deluxe Telecaster (introduced in 1998; upgraded in 2004, 2008, and 2010) features a pair of Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups and the S-1 switching system. Models made prior to 2004 featured two Fender Vintage Noiseless Tele single-coils, Fender/Fishman Powerbridge piezo system and 4-bolt neck fixing. Other refinements include a bound contoured alder or ash body and an abalone dot-inlaid maple neck with rosewood or maple fingerboard, 22 medium-jumbo frets, rolled fingerboard edges, and highly detailed nut and fret work. The HH model sported an ebony fingerboard, quilted or flamed maple top and a pair of Enforcer humbuckers with S-1 switching (discontinued as of 2008). As of March 23, 2010, Fender updated the American Deluxe Telecaster with a compound radius maple neck, N3 Noiseless Tele pickups and a reconfigured S-1 switching system for wider sonic possibilities. The new model now sports staggered, locking tuning machines, which provide better break angle over the nut for increased sustain and improved tuning stability.

The American Series model uses two single-coil pickups with DeltaTone system (featuring a high output bridge pickup and a reverse-wound neck pickup). Other features include a parchment pickguard, non-veneered alder or ash bodies and rolled fingerboard edges. Telecasters with a humbucking/single coil pickup arrangement, and with two humbucking pickups, Enforcer humbucking pickups, and S-1 switching which debuted in 2003 and were discontinued in 2007. As of 2008, all American Standard Telecasters came with a redesigned Tele bridge with vintage-style bent steel saddles. In March 2012 the American Standard Telecaster was been updated with Custom Shop pickups (Broadcaster in the bridge, Twisted in the neck); the body is now contoured for reduced weight and more comfort.

The American Nashville B-Bender guitar is modeled after the personally customized instruments of some of Nashville's top players, featuring a Fender/Parsons/Green B-Bender system, two American Tele single-coils (neck, bridge), a Texas Special Strat single-coil (middle) and five-way "Strat-O-Tele" pickup switching. Ideal for country bends and steel guitar glisses, this Tele is available only with a maple fingerboard.

The American Series Ash Telecaster is based on the '52 vintage reissue. It features an ash body, one-piece maple neck/fingerboard with 22 frets and two Modern Vintage Tele single-coil pickups. Fender discontinued this guitar in 2006.

The Custom Classic Telecaster was the Custom Shop version of the American Series Tele, featuring a pair of Classic and Twisted single-coils in the bridge and neck positions, as well as a reverse control plate. Earlier versions made before 2003 featured an American Tele single-coil paired with two Texas Special Strat pickups and 5-way switching. Discontinued in 2009 and replaced by the Custom Deluxe Telecaster series models.

The Highway One Telecaster (introduced in 2003) features a pair of distortion-friendly Alnico III single-coils, super-sized frets, Greasebucket circuit and 1970s styling (since 2006). The Texas Telecaster sports a 1-piece maple neck/fretboard with a modern 12” radius and 22 jumbo frets, solid ash body and a pair of Hot Vintage pickups.

In 2010, the American Special Telecaster was introduced. While retaining such features from the Highway One as jumbo frets, Greasebucket tone circuit and 1970s logo, the American Special also includes some upgrades such as a glossy urethane finish, compensated brass 3-saddle bridge and Texas Special pickups.

Artist Series Telecasters have features favored by world-famous Fender endorsees James Burton, John 5, Muddy Waters, Jim Root, G. E. Smith, Joe Strummer and Jim Adkins. Custom Artist models are made at the Fender Custom Shop, differing slightly quality and construction-wise; their prices are much higher than the standard production versions.

The Squier Telecaster was introduced in 1982 as an entry level version of the Telecaster It is similar to a Telecaster. The Affinity Series guitars are marketed for entry level guitarists, while the Classic Vibe, Vintage Modified and Standard Series are better quality guitars.

In September 2010, Fender introduced the Mexican-made Black Top Telecaster HH, featuring dual hot vintage alnico humbucking pickups, a one-piece maple neck with rosewood or maple fretboard and 22 medium-jumbo frets. Other features include a solid contoured alder body, a reversed control assembly and black skirted amp control knobs.

In 2011, Fender released the Modern Player series, which featured the Modern Player Telecaster Thinline and the Modern Player Telecaster Plus.

Significance[link]

The Telecaster was important in the evolution of country, electric blues, funk, rock and roll, and other forms of popular music. Its solid construction let guitarists play loudly as a lead instrument, with long sustain if desired. It produced less of the uncontrolled, whistling, 'hard' feedback ('microphonic feedback') that hollowbodied instruments tend to produce at volume (different from the controllable feedback later explored by Pete Townshend and countless other players). Even though the Telecaster is more than half a century old, and more sophisticated designs have appeared since the early 1950s (including Fender's own Stratocaster), the Telecaster remains in production. There have been numerous variations and modifications, but a model with something close to the original features has always been available.

Signature Telecaster players[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Paisley Red Telecaster (1968–1968), same model is often played by James Burton

Replica of Waylon Jennings' Telecaster, on display at Cooter's Museum and Store in Nashville, Tennessee

Over the years, many guitarists have made the Telecaster their signature instrument. In the early days, country session musicians were drawn to this instrument designed for the "working musician". These included The King of the Teli Roy Buchanan , Buck Owens, Guthrie Thomas, Waylon Jennings, James Burton who played with Ricky Nelson, Elvis Presley, and Merle Haggard (a Signature Telecaster model player himself). Burton's favorite guitar was his Pink Paisley (or Paisley Red^[4]) model Telecaster. Later, Danny Gatton blended diverse musical styles (including blues, rockabilly and bebop) and became known as the "telemaster". Eric Clapton used a Telecaster during his stint with The Yardbirds, and also played a custom Telecaster fitted with Brownie's neck while with Blind Faith. Roy Buchanan and Albert Collins proved the Telecaster equally suited for playing the blues. Muddy Waters also consistently used the Telecaster and Mike Bloomfield also used the guitar on his earlier works. Soul sessionist Steve Cropper used a Tele with Booker T. and the M.G.'s, Sam and Dave, Otis Redding and countless other soul and blues acts.

Additionally, George Harrison used a custom-built rosewood Telecaster during the recording sessions for The Beatles' Let It Be album (including the rooftop concert), played through a Leslie speaker. Pearl Jam singer and guitarist Eddie Vedder has been known to use a custom black Telecaster with a white pickguard containing a black arrow decal pointing towards a target design under the strings. Guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, known for the variety of acoustic and electric guitars that he used, occasionally played a Telecaster in his duets with Jerry Reed.^[5]

With the development of rock, the Tele inspired and sustained yet another genre. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones has composed many classic riffs on his battered "Micawber" Tele. Iconic are also worn-off green and respectively white Telecasters of the two frontmen of Status Quo, Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt. Another signature Telecaster player is Andy Summers of The Police. Jimmy Page used a psychedelic-coloured 1958 Telecaster, (painted by Page himself, and also known as the "Dragon Telecaster") on the first Led Zeppelin albums, and also for the lead solo in the 1971 song "Stairway to Heaven". The guitar had been given to Page by his friend Jeff Beck,^[6] but by the time of Led Zeppelin's fourth album, on which Stairway to Heaven appears, Page had begun using various Gibson electric guitars, so his use of the Telecaster was considered unusual. Bruce Springsteen used a custom Telecaster (with an Esquire neck) off and on throughout his career, both solo and with the E Street Band. David Knopfler, rhythm guitarist from Dire Straits played a sunburst custom Fender Telecaster with white ribboning when with the band.

Albert Lee's extensive use of the Telecaster earned him the nickname of "Mr. Telecaster". Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers has used Telecasters throughout his career. Joe Strummer (frontman of the punk band The Clash) used his worn and battered 1966 Telecaster (originally Sunburst but spray painted black) with its distinctive "Ignore Alien Orders" sticker from the beginning of his musical career until the day he died. In January 2007, Fender issued the G. E. Smith signature Telecaster in honour of Smith's reputation as a modern master of the Telecaster. G.E. Smith was the lead guitarist in the Hall & Oates band and the musical director of Saturday Night Live. Tom Morello of "Rage Against The Machine" plays a black American Telecaster called "Sendero Luminoso" (Shining Path) for songs in drop-D tuning. Jim Root from Slipknot had a signature Telecaster released in 2009. Prince plays a Telecaster in the opening scene of his film, Purple Rain. Singer and Songwriter Jeff Buckley (Son of musician Tim Buckley) played an American Telecaster throughout his career. Lynval Golding, one of the guitarists for 2-Tone band The Specials, used a yellow telecaster throughout his time as a Special. Jonny Greenwood, lead guitarist of Radiohead uses a Telecaster Plus model with lace sensor pickups as his main guitar. British singer and guitar player Anna Calvi exclusively plays a Telecaster through a Vox AC30. Danny Jones, of McFly, uses a Telecaster Vintage '52. Deryck Whibley (frontman and guitarist of the band Sum 41) uses his own signature Telecaster Deluxe, issued in 2005. It features one knob for volume and tone, a single humbucker pickup near the synchronized six-saddle bridge and without the traditional pickup selector switch.

References[link]

1. ^ Duchossoir, A. R. (1991). The Fender Telecaster: The detailed story of America's senior solid body electric guitar. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Publishing Co. ISBN 0-7935-0860-6.
2. ^ ^{a b} Duchossoir, 1991, 15
3. ^ The Telecaster Sound
4. ^ Dave Rogers, Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullaly, 1968--69 Paisley Red & Blue Flower Fender Telecasters, Premier Guitar, http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2009/Dec/1968_69_Paisley_Red_Blue_Flower_Fender_Telecasters.aspx 
5. ^ "Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed Play 'Baby's Coming Home'". 1976. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLqyNV1SMWE. Retrieved 2011-04-19. 
6. ^ 1977 Jimmy Page Interview (Audio/Text)

• Bacon, Tony (1991). The Ultimate Guitar Book. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. ISBN 0-375-70090-0.
• Bacon, Tony & Day, Paul (1998). The Fender Book: A complete history of Fender electric guitars (2nd ed.). London: Balafon Books. ISBN 0-87930-554-1.
• Burrows, Terry (general editor) (1998). The Complete Encyclopedia of the Guitar: The definitive guide to the world's most popular instrument. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-865027-1.
• Denyer, Ralph (1992). The Guitar Handbook. London: Dorling Kindersley Ltd. ISBN 0-679-74275-1.
• Kelly, Martin, Foster, Terry & Kelly, Paul (2010) Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970 London & New York: Cassell ISBN 1-84403-666-9.
• Freeth, Nick & Alexander, Charles (1999). The Electric Guitar. Philadelphia: Courage Books. ISBN 0-7624-0522-8.
• Wheeler, Tom (et al.), edited by Trynka, Paul (1993). The Electric Guitar: An illustrated history. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-0863-7.
• U.S. Patent No. D1642

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Telecaster

• Ten Terrific Telecaster Guitars - Descriptions, including the prototype (Archived version accessed 18 October 2006).

Leo Fender
Born	Clarence Leonidas Fender (1909-08-10)August 10, 1909 Anaheim, California, United States
Died	March 21, 1991(1991-03-21) (aged 81) Ione, California, United States
Occupation	Inventor

Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short. He left the company in the late 1960s, and later founded two other musical instrument companies, MusicMan and G&L Musical Instruments.

The guitars, bass guitars, and amplifiers he designed from the 1940s on are still relevant: the Fender Telecaster (1950) was the first mass-produced electric guitar; the Fender Stratocaster (1954) is among the world's most iconic electric guitars; the Fender Precision Bass (1951) set the standard for electric bass guitars; and the Fender Bassman amplifier, popular enough in its own right, became the basis for later amplifiers (notably by Marshall and Mesa Boogie) that dominated rock and roll music.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

This section requires expansion with: Teenage years if anything.

Clarence Leonidas Fender ("Leo") was born on August 10, 1909, to Clarence Monte Fender and Harriet Elvira Wood, owners of a successful orange grove located between Anaheim and Fullerton, California.

From an early age, Fender showed an interest in tinkering with electronics. When he was 13 years old, his uncle, who ran an automotive-electric shop, sent him a box filled with discarded car radio parts, and a battery. The following year, Leo visited his uncle's shop in Santa Maria, California, and was fascinated by a radio his uncle had built from spare parts and placed on display in the front of the shop. Leo later claimed that the loud music coming from the speaker of that radio made a lasting impression on him. Soon thereafter, Leo began repairing radios in a small shop in his parents' home.

In the spring of 1928, Fender graduated from Fullerton Union High School, and entered Fullerton Junior College that fall, as an accounting major. While he was studying to be an accountant, he continued to teach himself electronics, and tinker with radios and other electrical items but never took any kind of electronics course.

After college, Fender took a job as a deliveryman for Consolidated Ice and Cold Storage Company in Anaheim, where he later was made the bookkeeper. It was around this time that a local band leader approached Leo, asking him if he could build a public address system for use by the band at dances in Hollywood. Fender was contracted to build six of these PA systems.

In 1933, Fender met Esther Klosky, and they were married in 1934. About that time, he took a job as an accountant for the California Highway Department in San Luis Obispo. In a depression government change-up, his job was eliminated, and he then took a job in the accounting department of a tire company. After working there six months, Leo lost his job along with the other accountants in the company.

Fender Radio Service[link]

In 1938, with a borrowed $600, Leo and Esther returned to Fullerton, and Leo started his own radio repair shop, "Fender Radio Service." Soon, musicians and band leaders began coming to him for PA systems, which he built, rented, and sold. They also visited his store for amplification for the amplified acoustic guitars that were beginning to show up in the southern California music scene—in big band and jazz music, and for the electric "Hawaiian" or "lap steel" guitars becoming popular in country music.

Early guitar builds[link]

During World War II, Leo met Clayton Orr "Doc" Kauffman, an inventor and lap steel player who had worked for Rickenbacker, which had been building and selling lap steel guitars for a decade. While with Rickenbacker, Kauffman had invented the "Vibrola" tailpiece, a precursor to the later vibrato or "tremolo" tailpiece. Fender convinced him that they should team up, and they started the "K & F Manufacturing Corporation" to design and build amplified Hawaiian guitars and amplifiers. In 1944, Leo and Doc patented a lap steel guitar with an electric pickup already patented by Fender. In 1945, they began selling the guitar, in a kit with an amplifier designed by Fender.

Development of the electric guitar: Esquire/Broadcaster/Telecaster[link]

As the Big Bands fell out of vogue toward the end of World War II, small combos playing boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues, western swing, and honky-tonk formed throughout the United States. Many of these outfits embraced the electric guitar because it could give a few players the power of an entire horn section. Pickup-equipped archtops were the guitars of choice in the dance bands of the late-'40s, but the increasing popularity of roadhouses and dance halls created a growing need for louder, cheaper, and more durable instruments. Players also needed faster necks and better intonation to play what the country players called "take-off lead guitar." In the late 1940s, solidbody electric guitars began to emerge in popularity, yet they were still considered novelty items with the Rickenbacker Spanish Electro guitar being the most commercially available solidbody, and Les Paul's one-off home-made "Log" and the Bigsby Travis guitar made by Paul Bigsby for Merle Travis being the most visible early examples.

Fender recognized the potential for an electric guitar that was easy to hold, tune, and play, and would not feed back at dance hall volumes as the typical arch top would. In 1949, he finished the prototype of a thin solid-body electric; it was first released in 1950 as the Fender Esquire (with a solid body and one pickup), and renamed first Broadcaster and then Telecaster (with two pickups) the year after. Although he never admitted it, Fender seems to have based his design on the Rickenbacker Bakelite.^[1] The Telecaster, originally equipped with two single-coil pick-ups and widely used among country and western players, became one of the most popular electric guitars in history.

Stratocaster[link]

Instead of updating the Telecaster, Fender decided, based on customer feedback, to leave the Telecaster as it was and design a new, upscale solid body guitar to sell alongside the basic Telecaster. Western swing guitarist Bill Carson was one of the chief critics of the Telecaster, stating that the new design should have individually adjustable bridge saddles, four or five pickups, a vibrato unit that could be used in either direction and return to proper tuning, and a contoured body for enhanced comfort over the slab-body Telecaster's harsh edges. Fender, assisted by draftsman Freddie Tavares, began designing the Stratocaster in late 1953. It included a rounder, less "club-like" neck (at least for the first year of issue) and a double cutaway for easier reach to the upper registers.^[2]

Bass guitars: Precision, Jazz[link]

During this time, Fender also tackled the problems experienced by players of the acoustic double bass, who could no longer compete for volume with the other musicians. Besides, double basses were also large, bulky, and difficult to transport. With the Precision Bass (or "P-Bass"), released in 1951, Leo Fender addressed both issues: the Telecaster-based Precision Bass was small and portable, and its solid body construction and four magnet, single coil pickup let it play at higher volumes without feedback. Along with the Precision Bass (so named because its fretted neck allowed bassists to play with 'precision'), Fender introduced a bass amplifier, the Fender Bassman; a 45-watt amplifier with four 10" speakers (although initially with one 15" speaker).

1954 saw a redesign of the Precision Bass to coincide with the introduction of the Stratocaster. Incorporating some of the body contours of the Stratocaster, the redesign also included a split single coil pickup and a gold anodized pickguard. In 1960, rosewood fingerboards, wider color selections and a three-ply pickguard became available for the P-Bass.

1960 saw the release of the Jazz Bass, a sleeker, updated bass with a slimmer neck, and offset waist body and two single coil pickups (as opposed to the Precision Bass and its split-humbucking pickup that had been introduced in 1957). Like its predecessor, the Jazz Bass (or simply "J-Bass") was an instant hit and has remained popular to this day, and early models are highly sought after by collectors.

1970 — Music Man and G&L[link]

In the 1950s, Leo Fender contracted a strep infection that impaired his health to the point where he decided to wind up his business affairs, selling the Fender company to CBS in 1965. As part of this deal, Leo Fender signed a non-compete clause and remained a consultant with Fender for a while. Shortly after selling the company, he changed doctors and was cured of his illness.^{[citation needed]} In 1971 he returned to business and formed the Tri-Sonic company. In 1974, as the expiry date of the clause approached, the company's name changed to Music Man. In 1975, Leo Fender became its president.^[3]

The StingRay bass was an innovative early instrument. Though the body design borrowed heavily from the Precision Bass, the StingRay is largely considered the first production bass with active electronics. The StingRay's two-band active equalizer, high output humbucking pickup, and smooth satin finished neck became a favorite of many influential bassists, including Louis Johnson, John Deacon, and Flea. Later, a three-band active equalizer was introduced on the StingRay.^{[citation needed]} Music Man was active making amplifiers as well, but the HD-130 Reverb, designed to compete with the Twin Reverb, came at a time when the clean sounds of the Twin were going out of fashion.^[3]

In 1979, Leo Fender and old friends George Fullerton and Dale Hyatt started a new company called G&L (George & Leo)^[4] Musical Products. G&L guitar designs tended to lean heavily upon the looks of Fender's original guitars such as the Stratocaster and Telecaster, but incorporated innovations such as enhanced tremolo systems and electronics.

In 1979, Fender's wife Esther died of cancer. He remarried in 1980; Phyllis Fender is an Honorary Chairman of G&L. Despite suffering several minor strokes, Fender continued to produce guitars and basses. On March 21, 1991, he died, having long suffered from Parkinson's disease. He was buried at Fairhaven Memorial Park in Santa Ana, California. His accomplishments for "contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field" were acknowledged with a Technical Grammy Award in 2009. ^[5]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Fender Musical Instruments website
• G&L Guitars website

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (April 2010)

Philip Xenidis, better known as Phil X (born 10 March 1966), is a Greek-born Canadian ^[1] guitarist and co-founder of the Los Angeles-based turbo pop band Powder. He also has a second band, the Drills. He is best known as the guitarist who replaced Rik Emmett in the Canadian rock band Triumph, for the Edge of Excess album and tour and as the Guitar Reviewer of fretted americana^[2] on YouTube.

An early opportunity in Xenidis's career came when he was asked in 1990 to tour with Randy Coven, whom he met through Aldo Nova; in 1991, he toured the US with Aldo Nova.^[3]

Phil X is a prolific session guitarist, having played on albums by Tommy Lee, Methods of Mayhem, Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Orianthi, Rob Zombie, Chris Daughtry, Alice Cooper, Thousand Foot Krutch and many others. He wrote the song "Tired" and also played guitar on Tommy Lee's Tommyland: The Ride album. He has appeared with Lee on Ellen and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Phil X was featured in the "making of" video for the movie Josie and the Pussycats. He, along with his Powder bandmates, taught the young actresses to appear as if they were actually playing their instruments.^[4]

He has performed with the band Frozen Ghost. Phil X is also the inventor of the "Flip Stick," an innovative replacement for the "whammy bar" on Floyd-Rose-equipped guitars.

Since 2008, Phil X has been a faculty member of Camp Rock, a camp in Ontario for aspiring musicians.^{[citation needed]}

In April and May 2011, Phil X substituted for Bon Jovi's lead guitarist Richie Sambora, who could not be present for the required dates. He played the last 13 American shows of Bon Jovi's 2011 world tour.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Web site of Phil X
• Camp Rock Faculty member since 2008
• [1]

Keith Richards
Richards in February 2006
Background information
Born	(1943-12-18) 18 December 1943 (age 68) Dartford, Kent England, United Kingdom
Genres	Rock, blues, blues rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll
Occupations	Musician, Singer-songwriter, record Producer
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, percussion
Years active	1962–present
Labels	Decca, Rolling Stones, Virgin/EMI, Mindless
Associated acts	The Rolling Stones, The Dirty Strangers, The Dirty Mac, The New Barbarians, The X-Pensive Winos
Website	www.keithrichards.com
Notable instruments
1953 Fender Telecaster "Micawber" 1959 Gibson Les Paul Gibson ES-355 Fender Stratocaster

Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician and songwriter, and a founder member of The Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards has created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and has named him the 4th greatest guitarist of all time. Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting partner Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones' lead vocalist, are listed among Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".^[1][2][3] Richards' notoriety for illicit drug use stems in part from several drug busts during the late 1960s and 1970s.

Early life[link]

Keith Richards is the only child of Bert Richards and Doris Dupree Richards. He was born at Livingston Hospital in Dartford, Kent. His father was a factory worker injured in World War II during the Normandy invasion.^[4]

Richards' paternal grandparents were socialists and civic leaders whose family originated from Wales.^[5][6][7] His maternal grandfather, Augustus Theodore Dupree, who toured Britain with a jazz big band, "Gus Dupree and his Boys", fostered Richards' interest in guitar.^[8]

Richards' mother bought him his first guitar, and he played at home recording Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and others.^[9] His father on the other hand disparaged his son's musical enthusiasm.^[10] One of Richards' first guitar heroes was Scotty Moore.^[11]

Richards attended Wentworth Primary School with Mick Jagger and was his neighbour until 1954, when the family moved.^[12] From 1955 to 1959 he attended Dartford Technical High School for Boys.^[12][13] Recruited by Dartford Tech's choirmaster R. W. "Jake" Clare, Richards sang in a trio of boy sopranos at, among other occasions, Westminster Abbey for Queen Elizabeth II.^[14]

In 1959 Richards was expelled from Dartford "Tech" for truancy, and transferred to Sidcup Art College.^[15] At Sidcup he was diverted from his studies proper and devoted more time to playing guitar with other students in the boys' room. At this point Richards had learned most of Chuck Berry's solos.^[16]

Richards 1965

Richards met Jagger on a train as Jagger was headed to classes at the London School of Economics.^[17] The mail order rhythm & blues albums from Chess Records by Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters Jagger was carrying, revealed a mutual interest and led to a renewal of their friendship. Along with mutual friend, Dick Taylor, Jagger was singing in an amateur band: "Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys", which Richards soon joined. The Blues Boys folded when Brian Jones and Ian Stewart joined Richards, Jagger and Taylor into the just-forming Rolling Stones.^{[citation needed]}

In mid-1962 Richards had left Sidcup Art College to devote himself to music and moved into a London flat with Jagger and Jones. His parents divorced about the same time, resulting in his staying close to his mother and remaining estranged from his father until 1982 [Richards, Keith (2010). Life].^{[citation needed]}

After the Rolling Stones signed to Decca Records in 1963 their band manager, Andrew Loog Oldham, dropped the "s" from his surname believing "Keith Richard" in his words "looked more pop".^[18] In the late 1970s Richards re-established the "s" to his surname.

Musicianship[link]

Bandleader[link]

Richards 1972.

Richards views his role in the Rolling Stones as "oiling the machinery", while Stewart has called him the musical leader of the band. Both Bill Wyman and Ronnie Wood have said that, unlike most other bands which usually follow the drummer, the Rolling Stones, in Wyman's words, "have no way of not following him".^[19][20][21]

Guitar playing[link]

Richards' guitar playing shows a fascination with chords and rhythm while avoiding flamboyant virtuosity in favour of riffs described by Chris Spedding as "direct, incisive and unpretentious".^[19][22] Richards prefers to play in tandem with another guitarist and has always toured with one.^[23] Chuck Berry has been an inspiration for Richards,^[24] and it was Richards and Jagger who introduced Berry's songs to the Rolling Stones' early repertoire. Chicago artists such as Jimmy Reed and Muddy Waters provided the basis of a style of interwoven lead and rhythm guitar. Richards had adapted that method with Brian Jones, continued with Mick Taylor, and continues with the Rolling Stones' current guitarist, Ronnie Wood.^[25] In the late 1960s, Jones' declining contributions led Richards to record all guitar parts on many tracks, including slide guitar, which had been Jones' speciality in the band's early years. Jones' replacement guitarist Mick Taylor worked with the Rolling Stones from 1969 to 1974, and Taylor's virtuosity at lead guitar led to a much more pronounced separation between lead and rhythm guitar roles, notably onstage.^[19] In 1975 Taylor was replaced by Wood, marking a return to the style of guitar interplay that he and Richards described as "the ancient art of weaving".^[26]

The 1967-68 break in touring allowed Richards to focus on open tunings, which are commonly used for slide guitar. Instead, Richards primarily used open tunings for fingered chording, developing a distinctive style of syncopated and ringing I-IV chording heard on "Street Fighting Man" and "Start Me Up".^[27] Richards has used various open tunings (while continuing to use standard tuning) but has often favoured a five-string variant of open G tuning using GDGBD unencumbered by a low sixth string. Several of his Telecasters are tuned this way (see the "Guitars" section below), and this tuning is prominent on Rolling Stones tracks and concert renditions including "Honky Tonk Women", "Brown Sugar" and "Start Me Up".^[28]

Richards regards acoustic guitar as the basis for his playing,^[29] believing that the limitations of electric guitar would cause him to "lose that touch" if he didn't play acoustic.^[28] Richards plays acoustic guitar on many Rolling Stones' tracks including like "Not Fade Away", "Satisfaction", "Brown Sugar", and "Angie". All guitars on the studio versions of "Street Fighting Man" and "Jumping Jack Flash" feature acoustic guitars overloaded to a cassette recorder which were then reamped through a loudspeaker in the studio.^[30]

Vocals[link]

Richards sang in a school choir - most notably for Queen Elizabeth - until adolescence's effect on his voice forced him out of the choir.^[31] He has sung backing vocals on every Rolling Stones album. Since Between the Buttons (1967), he has sung lead or co-lead on at least one track (see list below).

During the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour Richards began singing lead vocals on "Happy", and has since then typically sung one lead vocal, progressing to two since 1986.^[32] During the 2006 and 2007 Rolling Stones' tours Richards sang "You Got the Silver" (1969) without self-accompaniment.^[33]

Other instruments[link]

Recordings of Richards playing other instruments besides guitar are not unusual. He has played bass on several Rolling Stones studio recordings, including "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" (1966) and "Infamy" (2005).^[34] Richards regards keyboards as a songwriting tool though he has played keyboards on several Rolling Stones recordings, and live he played keyboards for two Ronnie Wood concerts, and during The New Barbarians' 1979 tour. Richards has also played percussion on select Rolling Stones tracks, including the floor tom on "Jumpin' Jack Flash"^[35] and bicycle spokes on "Continental Drift" (1989).^[36]

Songwriting[link]

Richards and Jagger 1972

Richards and Jagger collaborated on songs in 1963, following the nearby example of The Beatles' Lennon–McCartney and the encouragement of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, who saw little future for a cover band.^[37] The earliest Jagger/Richards collaborations were recorded by other artists, including Gene Pitney, whose rendition of "That Girl Belongs to Yesterday" was their first top-ten single in the UK.^[38] Richards recalls: "We were writing these terrible pop songs that were becoming Top 10 hits... They had nothing to do with us, except we wrote 'em."^[39]

The Rolling Stones' first top-ten hit with a Jagger/Richards original was "The Last Time" (1965);^[40] "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (also 1965) was their first international #1 recording. (Richards has stated that the "Satisfaction" riff came to him in his sleep; he woke up just long enough to record it on a cassette player by his bed.)^[41] Since Aftermath (1966) most Rolling Stones albums have consisted mainly of Jagger/Richards originals. Their songs reflect the influence of blues, R&B, rock & roll, pop, soul, gospel and country, as well as forays into psychedelia and Dylanesque social commentary. Their work in the 1970s and beyond has incorporated elements of funk, disco, reggae and punk.^[39] Richards has also written and recorded slow torchy ballads, such as "All About You" (1980).

In his solo career, Richards has often shared co-writing credits with drummer and co-producer Steve Jordan. Richards has said: "I've always thought songs written by two people are better than those written by one. You get another angle on it."^[39]

Richards has frequently stated that he feels less like a creator than a conduit when writing songs: "I don't have that God aspect about it. I prefer to think of myself as an antenna. There's only one song, and Adam and Eve wrote it; the rest is a variation on a theme."^[39]

Richards was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1993.^[42]

Record production[link]

Richards has been active as a record producer since the 1960s. He was credited as producer and musical director on the 1966 album Today's Pop Symphony, one of manager Andrew Loog Oldham's side projects, although there are doubts about how much Richards was actually involved with it.^[43] On the Rolling Stones' 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request the entire band was credited as producer, but since 1974, Richards and Mick Jagger have frequently co-produced Rolling Stones and other artists' records under the joint name "the Glimmer Twins", often in collaboration with other producers.

Since the 1980s Richards has chalked up numerous production and co-production credits on projects with other artists including Aretha Franklin, Johnnie Johnson and Ronnie Spector, as well as on his own albums with the X-Pensive Winos (see below). In the 1990s Richards co-produced and added guitar and vocals to a recording of nyabinghi Rastafarian chanting and drumming entitled Wingless Angels, released on Richards's own record label, Mindless Records, in 1997.

Solo recordings[link]

Richards has released few solo recordings. His first solo single released in 1978 was versions of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come". In 1987, after Jagger pursued a solo recording and touring career, Richards formed the "X-pensive Winos" with co-songwriter, and co-producer Steve Jordan whom Richards assembled for his Chuck Berry documentary, Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll.

Additional members of the X-pensive Winos included guitarist Waddy Wachtel, saxist Bobby Keys, keyboardist Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton on bass. The first Winos' record,Talk Is Cheap also featured Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker. Since its release, Talk Is Cheap has gone gold and has sold consistently. Its release was followed by the first of the two U.S. tours Richards has done as a solo artist. Live at the Hollywood Palladium, 15 December 1988 documents the first of these tours. In 1992 the Winos' second studio record Main Offender was released, and was also followed by a tour.^[44]

Recordings with other artists[link]

Keith Richards 2005

During the 1960s most of Richards's recordings with artists other than the Rolling Stones were sessions for Andrew Oldham's Immediate Records label. Notable exceptions were when Richards, along with Mick Jagger and numerous other guests, sang on The Beatles' 1967 TV broadcast of "All You Need Is Love";^[44] and when he played bass with John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Mitch Mitchell, Ivry Gitlis and Yoko Ono as the Dirty Mac for The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus TV special, filmed in 1968.^[45]

In the 1970s Richards worked outside the Rolling Stones with Ronnie Wood on several occasions, contributing guitar, piano and vocals to Wood's first two solo albums and joining him on stage for two July 1974 concerts to promote I've Got My Own Album to Do. In December 1974 Richards also made a guest appearance at a Faces concert. In 1976–77 Richards played on and co-produced John Phillips' solo recording Pay, Pack & Follow (released in 2001). In 1979 he toured the U.S. with the New Barbarians, the band that Wood put together to promote his album Gimme Some Neck; he and Wood also contributed guitar and backing vocals to "Truly" on Ian McLagan's 1979 album Troublemaker (re-released in 2005 as Here Comes Trouble).^[44]

Since the 1980s Richards has made more frequent guest appearances. In 1981 he played on reggae singer Max Romeo's album Holding Out My Love to You. He has worked with Tom Waits on three occasions, adding guitar and backing vocals to Waits's 1985 album Rain Dogs (1992); co-writing, playing and sharing the lead vocal on "That Feel" on Bone Machine ; and adding guitar and vocals to Bad As Me (2011). In 1986 Richards produced and played on Aretha Franklin's rendition of "Jumping Jack Flash" and served as musical producer and band leader (or as he phrased it "S&M director")^[46] for the Chuck Berry film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll.^[44]

In the 1990s and 2000s Richards has continued to contribute to a wide range of musical projects as a guest artist. A few of the notable sessions he has done include guitar and vocals on Johnnie Johnson's 1991 release Johnnie B. Bad, which he also co-produced; and lead vocals and guitar on "Oh Lord, Don’t Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me" on the 1992 Charles Mingus tribute album Weird Nightmare. He duetted with country legend George Jones on "Say It's Not You" on the Bradley Barn Sessions (1994); a second duet from the same sessions – "Burn Your Playhouse Down" – appeared on Jones' 2008 release Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets. He partnered with Levon Helm on "Deuce and a Quarter" for Scotty Moore's album All the King's Men (1997). His guitar and lead vocals are featured on the Hank Williams tribute album Timeless (2001) and on veteran blues guitarist Hubert Sumlin's album About Them Shoes (2005). Richards also added guitar and vocals to Toots & the Maytals' recording of "Careless Ethiopians" for their 2004 album True Love and to their re-recording of "Pressure Drop", which came out in 2007 as the b-side to Richards's iTunes re-release of "Run Rudolph Run".^[44]

Rare and unreleased recordings[link]

In 2005 the Rolling Stones released Rarities 1971-2003, which includes some rare and limited-issue recordings, but Richards has described the band's released output as the "tip of the iceberg".^[47] Many of the band's unreleased songs and studio jam sessions are widely bootlegged, as are numerous Richards solo recordings, including his 1977 Toronto studio sessions, some 1981 studio sessions and tapes made during his 1983 wedding trip to Mexico.^[44]

Public image and private life[link]

Music journalist Nick Kent attached to Richards Lord Byron's epithet of "mad, bad, and dangerous to know". Jagger thought that Richards' image had "contributed to him becoming a junkie".^[48] In 1994 Richards said his image was "like a long shadow ... Even though that was nearly twenty years ago, you cannot convince some people that I'm not a mad drug addict."^[49] In 2010, Peter Hitchens wrote of Richards that he is "a capering streak of living gristle who ought to be exhibited as a warning to the young of what drugs can do to you even if you're lucky enough not to choke on your own vomit".^[50]

Richards has been tried on drug-related charges five times: in 1967, twice in 1973, in 1977 and in 1978.^[51][52] The first trial – the only one involving a prison sentence^[52] – resulted from a February 1967 police raid on Redlands, Richards's Sussex estate, where he and some friends, including Jagger, were spending the weekend.^[53] The subsequent arrest of Richards and Jagger put them on trial before the British courts while also exposing them to public opinion. On 29 June 1967, Jagger was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for possession of four amphetamine tablets; Richards was found guilty of allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property and sentenced to one year in prison.^[54] Both Jagger and Richards were imprisoned at that point: Jagger was taken to Brixton Prison in south London,^[55] and Richards to Wormwood Scrubs Prison in west London.^[56] Both were released on bail the next day pending appeal.^[57] On 1 July The Times ran an editorial entitled "Who breaks a butterfly on a wheel?", portraying Jagger's sentence as persecution, and public sentiment against the convictions increased.^[58] A month later the appeals court overturned Richards's conviction for lack of evidence, while Jagger was given a conditional discharge.^[59]

Toronto hotel, site of his 1977 drug bust

On 27 February 1977, while Richards was staying in a Toronto hotel, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police found heroin in his room and he was charged with "possession of heroin for the purpose of trafficking" – an offence that under the Criminal Code of Canada can result in prison sentences of seven years to life.^[60] His passport was confiscated and Richards and his family remained in Toronto until 1 April, when Richards was allowed to enter the United States on a medical visa for treatment for heroin addiction.^[61] The charge against him was later reduced to "simple possession of heroin".^[62]

For the next two years, Richards lived under threat of criminal sanction. Throughout this period he remained active with the Rolling Stones, recording their biggest-selling studio album, Some Girls, and touring North America. Richards was tried in October 1978, pleading guilty to possession of heroin.^[63][64] He was given a suspended sentence and put on probation for one year, with orders to continue treatment for heroin addiction and to perform a benefit concert on behalf of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.^[65] Although the prosecution had filed an appeal of the sentence, Richards performed two CNIB benefit concerts at Oshawa Civic Auditorium on 22 April 1979; both shows featured the Rolling Stones and the New Barbarians.^[66] In September 1979 the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld the original sentence.^[67]

Later in 1979, Richards met his future wife, model Patti Hansen. They married on 18 December 1983, Richards' 40th birthday, and have two daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, born in 1985 and 1986 respectively.

Richards maintains cordial relations with Italian-born actress Anita Pallenberg, the mother of his first three children; although they were never married, Richards and Pallenberg were a couple from 1967 to 1979. Together they have a son, Marlon (named after the actor Marlon Brando), born in 1969,^[68] and a daughter, Angela (originally named Dandelion), born in 1972.^[69] Their third child, a boy named Tara (after Richards's and Pallenberg's friend Guinness heir Tara Browne), died on 6 June 1976, less than three months after his birth.^[70]

Richards still owns Redlands, the Sussex estate he purchased in 1966, as well as a home in Weston, Connecticut and another in Turks & Caicos.^[71] His primary home is in Weston.^[72] He is an avid reader with a strong interest in history and owns an extensive library.^[73][74] An April 2010 article revealed that Richards yearns to be a librarian.^[75]

21st century[link]

On 27 April 2006, Richards, while in Fiji, suffered a head injury after falling out of a tree; he subsequently underwent cranial surgery at a New Zealand hospital.^[76] The incident caused a six-week delay in launching the Rolling Stones' 2006 European tour and the rescheduling of several shows; the revised tour schedule included a brief statement from Richards apologising for "falling off his perch".^[77] The band made up most of the postponed dates in 2006, and toured Europe in the summer of 2007 to make up the remainder.

In August 2006 Richards was granted a pardon by Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee for a 1975 reckless driving citation.^[78][79]

On 12 March 2007 Richards attended the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to induct the Ronettes; he also played guitar during the ceremony's all-star jam session.^[44]

Richards at the premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean 3

In an April 2007 interview for NME magazine, music journalist Mark Beaumont asked Richards what the strangest thing he ever snorted was,^[80] and quoted him as replying: "My father. I snorted my father. He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared ... It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive."^[81][82] In the media uproar that followed, Richards' manager said that the anecdote had been meant as a joke;^[83] Beaumont told Uncut magazine that the interview had been conducted by international telephone and that he had misquoted Richards at one point (reporting that Richards had said he listens to Motörhead, when what he had said was Mozart), but that he believed the ash-snorting anecdote was true.^[80][84] Musician Jay Farrar from the band Son Volt wrote a song titled 'Cocaine And Ashes', which was inspired by Richards' drug habits.^[85]

Doris Richards, Richards' 91-year-old mother, died of cancer in England on 21 April 2007. An official statement released by a family representative stated that Keith kept a vigil by her bedside during her last days.^[86][87]

Richards made a cameo appearance as Captain Teague, the father of Captain Jack Sparrow (played by Johnny Depp), in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, released in May 2007,^[88] and won the Best Celebrity Cameo award at the 2007 Spike Horror Awards for the role.^[89] Depp has stated that he based many of Sparrow's mannerisms on Richards.^[88] Richards reprised his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, released in May 2011.

In March 2008 fashion house Louis Vuitton unveiled an advertising campaign featuring a photo of Richards with his ebony Gibson ES-355, taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz. Richards donated the fee for his involvement to the Climate Project, an organisation for raising environmental awareness.^[90]

On 28 October 2008 Richards appeared at the Musicians' Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee, joining the newly inducted Crickets on stage for performances of "Peggy Sue", "Not Fade Away" and "That'll Be the Day".^[91][92]

In August 2009, Richards was ranked #4 in Time magazine's list of the 10 best electric guitar players of all time.^[93] In September 2009 Richards revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that in addition to anticipating a new Rolling Stones album, he has done some recording with Jack White: "I enjoy working with Jack," he said. "We’ve done a couple of tracks."^[94] On 17 October 2009, Richards received the Rock Immortal Award at Spike TV’s Scream 2009 awards ceremony at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles; the award was presented by Johnny Depp.^[95] "I liked the living legend, that was all right," Richards said, referring to an award he received in 1989,^[96] "but immortal is even better."^[97]

In 2009, a book of Richards' quotations was published, titled What Would Keith Richards Do?: Daily Affirmations from a Rock 'n' Roll Survivor.^[98]

In August 2007 Richards signed a publishing deal for his autobiography,^[99] Life, which was released 26 October 2010.^[100] On 15 October 2010, the Associated Press published an article stating that Richards refers to Mick Jagger as "unbearable" in the book and notes that their relationship has been strained "for decades".^[101]

Musical equipment[link]

Guitars[link]

Richards playing Micawber, a 1953 Telecaster, 2006.

Richards has a collection of approximately 3,000 guitars.^[102] Even though Richards has used many different guitar models, in a 1986 Guitar World interview he joked that no matter what model he plays, "give me five minutes and I'll make 'em all sound the same."^[19] However, Richards has often thanked Leo Fender, and other guitar manufacturers for making the instruments, as he did during the induction ceremony of the Rolling Stones into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Some of his notable instruments are:

• Harmony Meteor: This was Richards main guitar in the Stones' early periods it was all but retired in 1964 when he acquired his Les Paul Standard.
• 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard: Richards acquired this instrument, fitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, in 1964.^[103] The guitar was the first "star-owned" Les Paul in Britain and served as one of Richards's main instruments through 1966.^[104] He later sold the guitar to future Rolling Stones bandmate Mick Taylor.^[105] The guitar was most likely stolen during the Nellcote burglary in July 1971.
• 1961 Epiphone Casino: Richards first used this instrument in May 1964, shortly before the Stones' first tour of America. The guitar (along with the 1959 Les Paul Standard) became a frequently used guitar by Richards until 1966.^{[106][107][108][109]}
• 1957 Gibson Les Paul Custom: In 1966 Richards acquired a 1957 Les Paul Custom,^[110] and hand-painted it with psychedelic patterns in 1968. It served as his main stage and studio guitar from 1966 through the end of the Rolling Stones' 1971 UK tour. The guitar was most likely stolen during the Nellcote burglary in July 1971, and ended up in the hands of a collector in the mid-1990s.
• A second late 1950s Gibson Les Paul Custom was acquired in 1969 to be used in open-G tuning on the 1969 and 1970 tour.
• Gibson ES-355s: Richards used this semi-hollow model on stage during the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour;^[111] it was a favourite for both Richards and Taylor during recording sessions for Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St.. Richards has also used ES-355s on every tour since 1997. In 2006 he also unveiled a white Gibson ES-345.^[112][113]
• Gibson Les Paul Juniors: Richards has regularly used both single-cutaway and double-cutaway Juniors since 1973. The one he is most frequently seen with is a TV-yellow double-cutaway instrument nicknamed "Dice", which he has used since 1979. On recent tours he has used this guitar for "Midnight Rambler" and "Out of Control".^{[citation needed]}
• 1953 Fender Telecaster: Richards acquired this butterscotch Telecaster in 1971. Nicknamed "Micawber", after a character in Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield, it is set up for five-string open-G tuning (-GDGBD), and has only five bridge saddles. The neck pick-up has been replaced by a Gibson PAF humbucking pick-up, and the bridge pick-up has been replaced by a Fender lap steel pick-up (similar to a Fender Broadcaster pick-up). "Micawber" is one of Richards' main stage guitars, and is often used to play "Brown Sugar", "Before They Make Me Run", and "Honky Tonk Women".^[114] In 2012 the guitar was featured in a painting by modern artist Karl Haglund.
• 1954 Fender Telecaster: A second Telecaster, nicknamed both "Malcolm" and "Number 2", is also set up for 5-string open-G tuning and has a Gibson PAF pick-up in the neck position. It has a natural finish and the wood grain is visible.^[114]
• 1967 Fender Telecaster: A third Telecaster used for five-string open-G playing is a dark sunburst model which is also fitted with a Gibson PAF pick-up; the PAF on this guitar has had its cover removed, exposing the bobbins.^[114] Richards has used this guitar on stage for many songs, including "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Tumbling Dice".
• 1958 Fender Stratocaster: Fellow Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood gave Richards his 1958 Mary Kaye Signature Stratocaster after the band's 1982 tour. The guitar is finished in see-through blond and fitted with gold hardware.^[114] Richards has used this guitar onstage for "You Don't Have to Mean It" and "Miss You".
• 1975 Fender Telecaster Custom: Richards first used this guitar on the Rolling Stones' 1975 Tour of the Americas, and it was his main stage and recording guitar until 1986. It was later adapted for five-string open-G tuning, and reappeared on stage in 2005.
• Ampeg Dan Armstrong plexiglas guitar: The Dan Armstrong guitar was given to Richards during rehearsals for the 1969 tour^[115] and became one of his main stage and studio guitars until it was stolen during the Nellcote burglary in July 1971. For the 1972 tour he purchased two new Dan Armstrongs which he only used during the first couple of shows. Fitted with a custom-made "sustained treble" humbucker pick-up, the guitar was used mainly in standard tuning and can be heard on "Carol", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Midnight Rambler" on Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out. On the 1970 tour Richards added a second Dan Armstrong guitar fitted with a "rock treble" pick-up.
• Gibson L6-S Custom: Played around the time of "Black And Blue". Appears in a video performance of "Crazy Mama".
• Zemaitis Five-String: Custom-made in 1974 by British luthier Tony Zemaitis, the guitar nicknamed both "Macabre" and "the Pirate Zemaitis" was decorated with skulls, a pistol and a dagger. Richards used it as his main open-G guitar from 1975 to 1978, when it was destroyed in a fire at his rented Los Angeles home. Richards used a Japanese-made replica on the 2005-06 tour.^{[citation needed]}
• Newman-Jones custom guitars: Texas luthier Ted Newman-Jones made several custom five-string instruments that Richards used on the 1973 tours of Australasia and Europe. Richards used another Newman-Jones custom model on the 1979 New Barbarians tour.

Amplifiers[link]

Richards's amplifier preferences have changed repeatedly, but some of his notable amplifiers are:

• Mesa Boogie Mark 1 A804 – Used between 1977 and 1993, this 100-watt 1x12" combo is finished in hardwood with a wicker grille. It can be heard on the Rolling Stones albums Love You Live, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You, as well as on Richards's two solo albums Talk is Cheap and Main Offender. This amplifier was handcrafted by Randall Smith and delivered to Richards in March 1977.^[116]
• Fender Twin – Since the 1990s, Richards has tended to use a variety of Fender "tweed" Twins on stage. Containing a pair of 12" speakers, the Fender Twin was, by 1958, an 80-watt all-tube guitar amplifier. Richards has utilised a pair of Fender Twins to "to achieve his signature clean/dirty rhythm and lead sound."^[117]
• Fender Dual Showman – first acquired in 1964, Richards made frequent use of his blackface Dual Showman amp through mid-1966. Used to record The Rolling Stones, Now!, Out of Our Heads, December's Children and Aftermath before switching over to various prototype amplifiers from Vox in 1967 and the fairly new Hiwatt in 1968
• Ampeg V-4 and V-2 heads and VT-22 and VT-40 Combos – With 120 watts (V-4/VT-22) and 60 watts (V-2/VT-40) respectively these powerful Ampeg amps' midrange control, midrange shift switch, input pads, treble control with bright switch and incredibly effective and full sounding spring reverb shaped the guitar sound of 1970s Stones. Used live by Keith from '69-78, as shown in tour photos and the documentary "Stones In Exile", the Ampeg V4, SVT, VT22 and VT40 amps shared duties in the studio with Fender Twins.

Effects[link]

Richards, Rolling Stones Voodoo Lounge World Tour, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1995.

In 1965 Richards used a Gibson Maestro fuzzbox to achieve the distinctive tone of his riff on "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction";^[118] the success of the resulting single boosted the sales of the device to the extent that all available stock had sold out by the end of 1965.^[119] In the 1970s and early 1980s Richards frequently used guitar effects such as a wah-wah pedal, a phaser and a Leslie speaker,^[120] but he mainly relies on combining "the right amp with the right guitar" to achieve the sound he wants.^[121]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Guest appearances on other artists' releases[link]

• The Beatles: backing vocals on "All You Need Is Love" broadcast (1967)
• The Dirty Mac: The Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus (recorded 1968, released 2004): bass on "Yer Blues" and "Her Blues"
• Billy Preston: That's the Way God Planned It (1969): bass
• Alexis Korner: Musically Rich...and Famous: Anthology 1967–1982 (2003): guitar on "Get Off of My Cloud" (recorded 1974 or 1975)
• Ronnie Wood: I've Got My Own Album to Do (1974): co-composer, guitar and vocals on "Sure the One You Need"; co-composer, guitar, piano and backing vocals on "Act Together"; guitar and backing vocals on several other tracks; The First Barbarians Live From Kilburn (recorded 1974, released 2007): guitar, vocals, keyboards; Now Look (1975): guitar and backing vocals on "Breathe on Me", "I Can't Stand the Rain" and "I Can Say She's Alright"; Gimme Some Neck (1979): guitar and backing vocals on "Buried Alive", backing vocals on "Seven Days"
• Faces: The Faces' Final Concert (recorded 1974, released 2000): guitar on "Sweet Little Rock & Roller", "I’d Rather Go Blind" and "Twistin’ the Night Away"
• John Phillips: Pay, Pack & Follow (recorded 1976–77, released 2001) and Pussycat (outtakes and alternate mixes – recorded 1976–77, released 2008): co-producer, guitar, backing vocals
• Peter Tosh: Bush Doctor (1978): guitar
• The New Barbarians: Buried Alive: Live in Maryland (recorded 1979, released 2006): guitar, piano, lead and backing vocals
• Ian McLagan: Troublemaker (1979, re-released in 2005 as Here Comes Trouble): guitar and backing vocals on "Truly"
• Screamin' Jay Hawkins: Portrait of a Man: A History of Screamin' Jay Hawkins (1979): guitar on "I Put a Spell on You" and "Armpit #6"
• Max Romeo: Holding Out My Love For You (1981): guitar, mixing
• Tom Waits: Rain Dogs (1985): guitar and backing vocals on "Big Black Mariah", "Union Square" and "Blind Love"; Bone Machine (1992): co-composer, guitar and vocals on "That Feel"; Bad As Me (2011): guitar on "Chicago", "Satisfied" and "Hell Broke Luce"; guitar and vocals on "Last Leaf"
• Sun City: Artists United Against Apartheid (1985): co-composer and guitar on "Silver and Gold"
• Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker & Earl Slick: Phantom Rocker and Slick (1986): guitar on "My Mistake"
• Aretha Franklin: Jumpin' Jack Flash film soundtrack (1986): producer and guitar on title track, also on Jewels in the Crown: All-Star Duets with the Queen (2007)
• Chuck Berry concert film Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (1987): musical producer, guitar and backing vocals
• Nona Hendryx: Female Trouble (1987): guitar on "Rock This House"
• Ziggy Marley: Conscious Party (1988): guitar on "Lee & Molly"
• Feargal Sharkey: Wish (1988): guitar on "More Love"
• The Dirty Strangers: Dirty Strangers (1988): guitar; From W12 to Wittering (2009): piano on five tracks, co-composer of "Real Botticelli"
• Johnnie Johnson: Johnnie B. Bad (1991): co-producer, guitar and vocals on "Key to the Highway", co-composer and guitar on "Tanqueray"
• John Lee Hooker: Mr. Lucky (1991): guitar on "Crawling King Snake", guitar and backing vocals on "Whiskey and Wimmen"
• The Neville Brothers: Uptown (1991): guitar
• Weird Nightmare: Meditations on Mingus (1992): guitar and vocals on "Oh Lord Don't Let Them Drop That Atomic Bomb on Me"
• George Jones: Bradley Barn Sessions (1994): guitar and vocals on "Say It's Not You"; Burn Your Playhouse Down – The Unreleased Duets (2008): vocals on "Burn Your Playhouse Down" (recorded in 1994)
• Bernie Worrell: Funk of Ages (1994): guitar
• Bobby Womack: Resurrection (1994): guitar
• Marianne Faithfull: A Collection (1994): co-producer and guitar on "Ghost Dance"; Easy Come, Easy Go (2008): guitar and harmony vocals on "Sing Me Back Home"
• The Chieftains: Long Black Veil (1995): guitar on "The Rocky Road to Dublin"
• Ivan Neville: Thanks (1995): guitar; Scrape (2004): guitar
• Bo Diddley: A Man Amongst Men (1996): guitar on "Bo Diddley Is Crazy"
• B.B. King: Deuces Wild (1997): guitar on "Paying the Cost to Be the Boss"
• Wingless Angels (1997): co-producer, guitar, backing vocals
• Scotty Moore: All the King's Men (1997): guitar and vocals on "Deuce and a Quarter"
• Jimmy Rogers All-Stars: Blues Blues Blues (1999): guitar on "Trouble No More", "Don't Start Me Talkin'" and "Goin' Away"
• Sheryl Crow: Sheryl Crow & Friends: Live From Central Park (1999): guitar and vocals on "Happy"
• Charlie Watts: Charlie Watts – Jim Keltner Project (2000): guitar on "The Elvin Suite"
• Timeless: Tribute to Hank Williams (2001): guitar and vocals on "You Win Again"
• The Simpsons: voice on the episode entitled "How I Spent My Strummer Vacation"
• Peter Wolf: Sleepless (2002): guitar and vocals on "Too Close Together"
• Willie Nelson & Friends: Stars & Guitars (2002): guitar and vocals on "Dead Flowers"; Outlaws & Angels (2004): guitar and vocals on "We Had It All", guitar on "Trouble in Mind" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On"
• Hubert Sumlin: About Them Shoes (2004): guitar and vocals on "Still a Fool", guitar on "I Love the Life I Lead" and "Little Girl"
• Toots & the Maytals: True Love (2004): guitar and vocals on "Careless Ethiopians"; guitar and backing vocals on "Pressure Drop" (released 2007)
• Return to Sin City: A Tribute to Gram Parsons (2004): guitar and vocals on "Love Hurts", "Hickory Wind" and "Wild Horses"
• Make It Funky (2005): guitar and vocals on "I'm Ready"
• Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played (2005): guitar on "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl"
• Buddy Guy: Bring 'Em In (2005): guitar on "The Price You Gotta Pay"
• Jerry Lee Lewis: Last Man Standing: The Duets (2006): guitar and vocals on "That Kind of Fool"
• Ronnie Spector: Last of the Rock Stars (2006): guitar and vocals on "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", guitar on "All I Want"
• Lee "Scratch" Perry: Scratch Came Scratch Saw Scratch Conquered (2008): guitar on "Heavy Voodoo" and "Once There's a Will There's a Way"; 2010 Revelations (2010): guitar, piano, bass and drum on "Book of Moses"
• Little Steven's Underground Garage: Christmas a Go-Go (2008): guitar and vocals on "Run Rudolph Run"
• Ben Waters: Boogie for Stu: A Tribute to Ian Stewart (2011): guitar on "Rooming House Boogie" and "Watching the River Flow"; vocals on "Worried Life Blues"

Lead vocals on Rolling Stones tracks[link]

Below is a list of the officially released Rolling Stones tracks on which Richards sings lead vocals or shares lead-vocal duties:

Filmography[link]

References[link]