List of Telecaster players

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This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy certain standards for completeness. Revisions and sourced additions are welcome.

Fender Telecaster 50th Anniversary Edition

This is an alphabetized list of musicians who have made notable use of the Fender Telecaster, Broadcaster or Esquire in live performances or studio recordings. Because of the great popularity of this model, musicians are listed here only if their use of this instrument was especially significant — that is, they are players with long careers who have a history of faithful Telecaster use, or the particular guitar they used was unique or of historical importance, or their use of the Telecaster contributed significantly to the popularization of the instrument.

Esquire players are here listed alongside players of the more famous Telecaster, since Fender regards it as part of the "family of Telecaster guitars".^[1] While the one-pickup Esquire has been marketed as a separate model from the two-pickup Telecaster (which was originally named the Broadcaster) since its reintroduction in 1951, the Esquire and Telecaster are so intimately linked in their development and history, and so similar in design and tonal characteristics, that they are considered variations of the same model.

Contents 1 A-E 2 F-J 3 K-P 4 Q-Z 5 Citations 6 References

[edit] A-E

• Syd Barrett (1946–2006), a psychedelic icon and the original guitarist and lead singer for Pink Floyd, used a unique mirror-disk Esquire.^[2]
• Jeff Beck (b. 1944) Emerging in the mid 1960s with The Yardbirds, Beck proved that a ragged Fender Esquire could moan like a fuzzed-out violin. His lines in “Heart Full of Soul” and “Evil Hearted You” defined psychedelic guitar.^[3]
• Ed Bickert (b. 1932) is a premier jazz player who started playing a Telecaster when his regular guitar was in the shop, and he has used it for the rest of his career.^[4]
• Frank Black (b. 1965) of the Pixies has been a long-time Tele enthusiast.^[5]
• Jimmy Bryant (1925–1980), a prolific session musician, was given one of the first Broadcasters by Fender engineer George Fullerton. Fullerton compared this gift to "starting a prairie fire," and said that "[p]retty soon we couldn't make enough of those guitars."^[6]
• Roy Buchanan (1939–1988), a blues/rock musician whose playing inspired the likes of Jeff Beck, earning him the title "The Guitarist's Guitarist's Guitarist," was a faithful Tele man during his solo career.^[7]
• James Burton (b. 1939) has played a Telecaster since he was 13, and he has influenced many other guitarists. He was the most visible player of the Tele in the late '50s, appearing on television with Ricky Nelson almost every week on the Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.^[8] His most famous guitar is the Paisley Red Tele, which he first used while performing with Elvis Presley.^[9] He has also played with Gram Parsons and Merle Haggard. As a long-time Tele player, he wrote a foreword to A. R. Duchossoir's book detailing the history of the guitar.^[10]
• Mike Campbell (b. 1950), best known for his work with Tom Petty, has stated that his 1950 Broadcaster has been one of his live mainstay guitars since the beginning of the Heartbreakers. On their first and second albums, he recorded most of his solos & rhythm parts on songs such as "American Girl", "Breakdown", and "I Need to Know" using his Broadcaster exclusively. Mike also plays an early-'70s Telecaster with two humbuckers and Bigsby tremolo nicknamed "Big Red".^[11]
• Albert Collins (1932–1993) (AKA "The Master of the Telecaster")created his original blues sound using minor open tunings and a capo placed high up on the neck.^[12] Fender offers an Albert Collins Signature Telecaster based on his '66 model, which features a humbucker in the neck position.
• Hugh Cornwell (b. 1949) one of the founding members of the Stranglers is a long-standing Tele player.^[13]
• Steve Cropper (b. 1941) creates rhythm work known to be spare and crisp using the back pickup of the Telecaster, playing with Stax session band Booker T. & the MGs, who backed such stars as Otis Redding and Sam & Dave.^[14]
• Denny Dias of Steely Dan presaged the 1970s trend for dual-humbucker Teles by replacing both of the single coils in his guitar with humbuckers and installing a Stratocaster-style bridge.^[15]
• Jerry Donahue (b. 1946) of Fairport Convention released a solo album in 1986 called Telecasting and was a member of the Telecaster trio called the Hellecasters.^[16]
• Bob Dylan (b. 1941) owned a black and white 1958 telecaster which became one his first electric guitars, shaping his controversial electric sound, also using it on his epic 1966 tour of Australia and Europe. The tour culminated in a famously raucous confrontation between Dylan and his audience at the Manchester Free Trade Hall.^[17]

[edit] F-J

• Bill Frisell (born 1951), a jazz guitar player. he plays several guitars but the Telecaster is indissociable of the Frisell sounds (with violing effects with his sound pedal). You can see some of them here : [1] ^[18]
• Danny Gatton (1945–1994) played a customized '53 Tele whose specifications were replicated by Fender for his Signature model, including unique angled bridge saddles for improved intonation of the classic 3-saddle bridge, and use of Joe Barden pickups.^[19]
• Vince Gill (b. 1957), who replaced fellow Tele-player Albert Lee in Rodney Crowell's backing band, uses a '53 Telecaster as his primary stage guitar.^[20]
• David Gilmour (b. 1946) has used a Telecaster and Esquire from Fender in addition to his regularly used Fender Stratocaster. His beat-up looking Esquire was used on his 1978 self-titled solo album on backing tracks,^[21] the studio version of "Run Like Hell" from The Wall,^[22] it was pictured in the back of his 1984 solo album About Face^[21] and recently on Paul McCartney's Run Devil Run album. He used a Telecaster for some early recording and used a sunburst Telecaster for all of the guitar solos (both live and in studio) on the track "Dogs" from Pink Floyd's 1977 album Animals.^[23] He used a 1952 reissue yellow Esquire on live performances of "Run Like Hell" on Delicate Sound of Thunder and P*U*L*S*E,^[24][25] and on performances of "Astronomy Domine" on the tour in support of The Division Bell^[25] (a recording of the song included of P*U*L*S*E.)
• Ted Greene (1946–2005), a Southern California guitarist, helped Fender design an accurate '52 Telecaster vintage reissue (their first such reissue) by referencing his extensive collection of old Telecasters, Broadcasters and Nocasters. Ted was most famous as being one of the top jazz guitar instructors on the west coast. He was also the author of several instructional books "Chord Chemistry," "Modern Chord Progressions," and Single Note Soloing Volumes 1 and 2."^[26]
• Jonny Greenwood (b. 1971), along with bandmates Ed O'Brien and Thom Yorke of Radiohead, has made extensive use of the Telecaster since the '90s.^[27]
• George Harrison (1943–2001) of The Beatles received a prototype Rosewood Telecaster as a planned gift from Fender in 1968. Fender selected the better of two prototypes built, flew it to England in its own personal seat along with a courier, and hand-delivered the guitar to Apple offices in December of 1968. Harrison used this guitar during The Beatles infamous 'Get Back Sessions' as well as on the Beatles' 1969 album Let it Be and 1969's 'Abbey Road'. Of equal notability, Harrison used the rosewood Tele for the Beatles' last public performance in 1969, famously referred to as 'the Rooftop concert'. Harrison subsequently gave this instrument to Delaney Bramlett.^[28]
• PJ Harvey (b. 1969) used to play a borrowed 1967 Telecaster (from friend John Parish) during her early career. In a 1995 interview to Guitar Player, she declared: "John's Telecaster is closer to my heart. It's on all my records - I used to nick it all the time."^[29] Later, in 2000, when she received the Mercury Music Prize, she bought her own 60s Telecaster.
• Robyn Hitchcock (b. 1953) has used a Telecaster since 1979 for his distinctive English electric psychedelic sound, and said that it "... chose itself for me as my favourite electric guitar, because so many of my favourite guitar riffs were played on it."^[30]
• Chrissie Hynde (b. 1951) has often used her blue Telecaster with the The Pretenders, and it was pictured on the jacket of their album Get Close.^[31]
• Waylon Jennings (1937–2002), a country legend, has been honored by Fender with a Waylon Jennings Tribute Telecaster.^[32]

• John 5 (b. 1971)is a heavy metal/country guitarist who has played with Marilyn Manson and who is known for his proficiency at shredding. Fender now produces a J5 Signature Telecaster which John 5 co-designed.^[33]

[edit] K-P

• Bill Kirchen (b. 1947), longtime Telecaster devotee who played in Commander Cody and the Lost Planet Airmen during the 1970s and continues to drive his well-abused Tele to the limits of the rockabilly sound.^[34]
• Albert Lee (b. 1943), whose instrumental work has influenced many other guitarists, has played a Telecaster since 1963.^[16] As a long-time Tele player, he wrote a foreword to A. R. Duchossoir's book detailing the history of the guitar.^[35]
• Brent Mason, a prolific Nashville session musician,^[27] is considered to be "the most recorded guitar player alive."^[36] Gibson produces a Brent Mason Signature guitar, which is modeled after Mason's customized Telecaster. It features 2 "stacked" and one mini humbucker, and an additional tone control with series/parallel switch for the middle pickup.
• Roy Nichols (1932–2001) was a guitarist in Merle Haggard's group The Strangers, and famously used the "chicken pickin'" technique for which the Telecaster is so well suited. Fittingly, an image of a Telecaster is engraved on his tombstone.^[37]
• Ed O'Brien (b. 1968), along with bandmates Jonny Greenwood and Thom Yorke of Radiohead, has made extensive use of the Telecaster since the '90s.^[27]
• Mike Oldfield (b. 1953), aged 16, got a 66 blonde Telecaster which used to belong to Marc Bolan^[38]. He performed all the guitar parts of his breakthrough album Tubular Bells with this guitar, and most parts of his next albums.
• Buck Owens (1929–2006), along with Don Rich and their custom sparkle-finish Telecasters, helped create the distinctive Bakersfield sound of country music in the early 1960s.^[39]
• Jimmy Page (b. 1944), though more known for his use of the Gibson Les Paul, used a Telecaster in his earlier work with The Yardbirds, on Led Zeppelin's first three albums, as well as on Stairway to Heaven, probably his most famous track.^[40]
• Rick Parfitt (b. 1948) of Status Quo, "one of Britain's longest-lived bands," is a faithful Tele player.^[41]
• Brad Paisley (b. 1972) plays guitars from an extensive collection of Telecasters and Tele-inspired models, including his "warhorse," a '68 Red Paisley model (the same model that James Burton made famous) named "Old Pink." One notable feature on some of his guitars is a G-bender device. Paisley has custom Tele-inspired models made by Crook Guitars.^[42]
• Luther Perkins (1928–1968), a member of Johnny Cash's backing band The Tennessee Two/Three used his Esquire to create the "boom-chicka" rhythms that came to characterize much of Cash's music.^[43]

[edit] Q-Z

• Will Ray (b. 1950) has been part of the Telecaster trio the Hellecasters from 1993-on. He is known for extensive use of the B-Bender and finger-mount slide on his Telecaster. In recognition of the Hellecaster's contributions to the Telecaster, Fender has produced more signature models for the group than for any other group, including two Will Ray signature models: the Jazz-a-Caster and the Mojo-Tele.^[44]
• Don Rich (1942–1974) made the bassy rhythms and "chicken pickin'" of his custom sparkle-finish Telecaster an indispensable part of the Bakersfield sound while playing with Buck Owens & The Buckaroos.^[39]
• Keith Richards (b. 1943) has composed many classic riffs with The Rolling Stones using a variety of Telecasters.^[45] His main axe is a '52 Tele named Micawber, which features a 5-string open G tuning and a humbucker in the neck position.^[46]
• Robbie Robertson (b.1943) of The Band, used a Telecaster from 1958 to 1974. His trusty Telecaster can be heard on many of the Band's recordings.^[47]
• Francis Rossi (b. 1949) of Status Quo, "one of Britain's longest-lived bands," is a faithful Tele player.^[48]
• Arlen Roth (b. 1953) has been a respected artist ever since his first solo album won the Montreaux Critics’ Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 1978. He was Guitar Player Magazine's top columnist from 1982 to 1992. He has performed with such diverse artists as John Prine, Rick Wakeman, and Paul Simon.^[49] He is a Telecaster enthusiast, and has written the book Masters of the Telecaster, which details the licks of many famous Tele players.^[50][51]
• Bruce Springsteen (b. 1949) has long played a 1952 Esquire upgraded with a Telecaster neck pickup. The guitar appears on the cover of the album Born to Run.^[52][46]
• Sly Stone (b. 1944), along with his brother Freddie Stone of the Family Stone, proved the Tele to be as suited for funk as it was for country and rock.^[53]
• Joe Strummer (1952–2002) of The Clash was "the most visible Tele player" in late 1970s punk, using his famous stickered instrument.^[54]
• Marty Stuart (b. 1958) has been a career-long devotee of the guitar. The Fender Custom Shop makes a Limited Edition Marty Stuart Tribute Telecaster which blends features from his favorite historical guitars, as played by Buck Owens, Don Rich, Mick Ronson and Clarence White.^[55] Stuart is also the owner of the original Parsons/White prototype B-bender Telecaster originally owned by Clarence White and given to Stuart by the White family.^[56]
• Andy Summers (b. 1942) of the Police almost always used his '61/'63 Telecaster Custom, which he'd customized with a Gibson neck humbucker, a preamp and a phase switch.^[57]
• Pete Townshend (b. 1945), though famous for his Tele smashing in the '60s,^[58] spared his favorite guitar, a 1952 vintage Telecaster.^[59]
• Keith Urban (b. 1967) regularly plays Telecasters,^[60] one of which features decorative binding and three pickups.^[61]
• Redd Volkaert (b. 1948) was a successor to Roy Nichols in Merle Haggard's backing band, and is "among the country’s top Telecaster guitar slingers."^[62]
• Muddy Waters (1913–1983) helped build a bridge between the blues and rock with his "walls of electrified sound," played on his red '57 Telecaster.^[43] Fender sells a Muddy Waters Telecaster, one of the guitars in its Signature series.
• Clarence White (1944–1973) of the Byrds, along with drummer Gene Parsons, invented the B-Bender device for the Tele for emulating pedal steel guitar effects.^[63]
• Thom Yorke (b. 1968), along with bandmates Ed O'Brien and Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead, has made extensive use of the Telecaster since the '90s. Yorke has regularly used a Telecaster Deluxe, which features humbuckers and a wide Stratocaster-style headstock.^[64]

[edit] Citations

[edit] References

• Bacon, Tony (2005), Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster: The story of the world's first solidbody electric guitar, Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-856-7.
• Bacon, Tony & Paul Day (1998), The Fender Book: A complete history of Fender electric guitars (2nd ed.), Balafon Books, ISBN 0-87930-554-1.
• Burrows, Terry (1998), The Complete Encyclopedia of the Guitar: The definitive guide to the world's most popular instrument, Schirmer Books, ISBN 0-02-865027-1.
• Duchossoir, A.R. (1991), The Fender Telecaster: The Detailed Story of America's Senior Solid Body Electric Guitar, Hal Leonard Publishing Co., ISBN 0-7935-0860-6.