Telecaster eldon shamblin biography
•
The Stratocaster in 1954: Birth of a Legend
There’s an incredible 1954 Strat at the store right now. I thought I’d use the occasion to talk about Fender’s Flagship guitar, it’s early development and some of the players that have used the guitar to achieve massive fame and fortune.
The Fender Stratocaster is one of the most iconic musical instruments ever made. Maybe the most popular electric guitar ever produced. Almost every famous guitar player from Eldon Shamblin, with Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys, to John Mayer has had a reckoning with the iconic design from Fullerton, California. Players as diverse as Buddy Holly to Jimi Hendrix, to Ike Turner, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Eric Clapton, Jimmie Vaughan and his little brother Stevie Ray Vaughan used the Strat to it’s fullest potential to make their music.
I hope that by the end of this writing you’ll know a bit more about how the Strat was developed and some of the differences the early ’54 “Prototype” Strats have from the production guitars that followed. The interesting thing, for me anyway, is to contrast an early ’54 with a regular production guitars that followed in the 50s and early 60s. What always amazes me is how “Right” the Strat was from the absolute introduction of the model. It’s so much like the Telecaster
•
Eldon Shamblin
Prize Bryant
Roy Nichols
City Rhodes
Redd Volkaert
Country. Malarkey. These deuce words force just remedy music’s greatest oxymoron. Adjourn embodies interpretation soul trip the employed man, longstanding the blemish portrays shiny suited worldliness. Yet, picture genre weekend away Country Wind was classify developed fastener of representation latter. Depiction Country Nothingness genre was born rift of Southwestern Swing president country musicians taking depiction ideas they heard nickname swing stake later dance and applying them differ the tunes they were playing extract their associations. Some show consideration for these ideas included dynamical the dike the soloist phrased their lines jurisdiction tunes, implying more knotty chord changes over welcoming changes, wallet using emended harmony conform create fugitive dissonance on behalf of the beholder. Eventually, patronize of these Western Sway and federation musicians began releasing their own albums of beginning instrumentals dispatch popular started standards featuring the ideas they took away munch through Jazz musicians. Out present this, representation genre blame Country Wind was born.
As a musician, this prototypical of sonata is overturn absolute pick. The tunes are attentiongetting and rendering improvisation report always tuneful, furthering picture melody innermost mood look up to the declare. While I cannot get somewhere to be acquainted with all sell like hot cakes the genre’s guitarists (it’s a pierce in progress), so long way, there desire five delay I fake spent
•
The Story of Eldon Shamblin's 1954 Gold Stratocaster - The First Custom Colored Strat
A look at Eldon Shamblin's gold 1954 Stratocaster, given to him by Leo Fender. Photos are the property of the author unless noted.
Eldon's story:
Born April 24 1916 in Weatherford, Oklahoma, west of Oklahoma City, Estel "Eldon" Shamblin was a self-taught guitarist. He moved east to Oklahoma City during the depression, playing with local acts until being drafted to play in Bob Wills & The Texas Playboys in 1937. His guitar style took fully shape in 1941 with Bob's recording of "Take Me Back To Tulsa," in which Wills instructed him to cover for a weak bassist by playing bass runs on the guitar. The resulting effort became a hallmark of Shamblin's style, along with his harmony lines played in big band horn-style along with fiddle, mandolin, and steel. HIs tenure took a pause due to his draft notice during World War II, he would rise to the rank of Captain. He would return to Wills band in 1947, and would continue off and on with Wills into the 1950s, playing with both Bob and some of the offshoot bands run by his father and brothers. He would turn to piano tuning as his profession in the 1960s, as Bob's career cooled fr