A hero amongst men, a righteous
dude called Leo Fender made the very first solid body guitar in 1946, which he hailed the “Broadcaster". After
a few readjustments the Broadcaster was renamed the “Telecaster” 1948 two years later. Following some more
tweaking and gaining of devoted fans , Mr. Fender unveiled the STRATOCASTER, or "Strat" for short, Fender's most
famous guitar, in 1954. For the blossoming rock world, it was love at first
chord. Its famous 50's design flowed with the player's body and made the guitarist rather sexy, if we may say so.
In 1954 the first shipment was made. One of the first to use it was Dick Dale, a pioneer of surf music.
But the ones who pushed it into the mainstream were a couple of unruly brits:
John Lennon and George Harrison. But it took the budding Pyromaniac Jimi Hendrix to dominate the guitar
universe with it.
The mighty problem the Fender
Strat faced? Well, Fender sold the Company to CBS in 1965, and they made loads
of Strats- Strats that no one bought. If anyone wanted a Strat they wanted a vintage one.
Once-devoted Strat-fans now saw Fender as a bunch of sellouts. It was a total slap in the face. Sales plummeted,
and the Fender Strat slipped off the VIP list. CBS was losing money, and all hope was lost for most players.
Eventually, CBS learned its lesson and sold the company back
to Fender in 1985. Guitarists like Clapton, Hendrix, George Harrison and Dave Gilmour picked the Strat
up off the ground after its fall from grace. The sun came out of the corporate clouds! Sales were never back to what they used to be,
but the Strats were back in the righteous hands of the greats! The legends
who strummed, vibratoed, shred-tapped and overall ROCKED their way to glory! The heroes that made
this world what it is today: ROCKIN’
In this era, Strats are still viewed as treasures. The crowd stills cherishes
these legendary beauties. The Strat
has even had kids such as the Squire
Stratocaster- by Fender. Variations have been made, such as the "Fat Strat", or HSS Strat, with 2 single-coil pick-ups and
a bridge humbucker for added versatility. Fenders are a rock staple.
So what have we learned? Just
that Rock n' Roll's powertool, the love of our lives, Hendrix's firewood, or whatever you call it, nothing
can ever replace:
THE FENDER STRATOCASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
