The Fender Custom Shop recreated Jimi Hendrix's infamous Olympic White 1968 Stratocaster in 2003.

Ten Iconic Fender Guitars

By Pauline France

Beyond merely being musical instruments, guitars can become highly coveted and revered objects. Much of that reverence comes not just from the instruments themselves, but from their role in the songs and stories of those who played them. An instrument may be remarkable in and of itself, but it can be rendered as much more than just an assembly of wood, metal, plastic and paint depending on what a player does with it.

With that in mind, here’s a list of Fender-wielding guitar heroes and some of their most revered instruments.

Clapton's Blackie was recreated by the Fender Custom Shop in 2006.

Jeff Beck’s 1954 Esquire. This 1954 Esquire became Beck’s property when he convinced Walker Brothers guitarist John Maus to sell it to him in 1965. The innovative and influential guitarist tore up track after track with the elegantly elemental guitar during his youthful mid-’60s tenure with the Yardbirds, and later presented it as a gift to pickup guru Seymour Duncan. Duncan subsequently loaned it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for public display, and the Fender Custom Shop unveiled a masterfully meticulous re-creation of the guitar in 2006. Watch Beck play “I’m a Man” on it with the Yardbirds on U.S. television in 1966.

Roy Buchanan’s 1953 Telecaster. Nicknamed “Nancy” by Buchanan, this 1953 Tele is in enviable condition for a guitar that’s nearly 60 years old. The enigmatic and eccentric Buchanan was one of the world’s foremost yet unsung Telecaster masters, with jaw-dropping feel, tone and technique that resulted in some of the world’s most distinctive electric guitar music. Nancy now belongs to vintage guitar collector Mac Yasuda and is on display at the Fullerton Museum Center in Fullerton, Calif. Watch Buchanan play blues-y excursion “Soul Dressing” here.

Eric Clapton’s “Blackie.” Undoubtedly one of the most famous electric guitars of all time, “Blackie” came to be in 1970 when Clapton pieced together parts from three late-’50s Strats he bought from a Nashville music store. He recorded and toured the world with his custom-built guitar for 12 years, creating some of his most famous solo work with it. Clapton eventually retired the guitar, and ultimately put it up for auction in 2004 through Christie’s to raise funds for his Caribbean treatment and rehab clinic, the Crossroads Centre. Guitar Center acquired the prized guitar, placing a winning bid of nearly a million dollars. Watch Clapton’s slow hands work some magic on “Blackie” here.

Buddy Guy’s Polka Dot Stratocaster. This  guitar received its distinctive polka dot finish at the request of Guy himself, a famously flamboyant electric blues master who wanted an instrument that reflected his personal style and panache. Polka dots did the trick. And when it comes to searing, screaming, seminal electric blues, nobody connects the dots like Guy, a massively influential figure in the blues and rock worlds. Behold it in its full glory right here.          

Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Stratocaster. We’re hard-pressed indeed to think of another Strat as thoroughly beat up as Gallagher’s battered ’61 model, which he put to such phenomenal use throughout his acclaimed and highly influential career. The Irish blues-rock master bought the guitar—reportedly one of thefirst Strats in Ireland, if not the first—at Crowley's Music Store in Cork in 1963, and modified it heavily over the years. Most notably, though, Gallagher literally wore most of the sunburst finish right off the guitar; a process hastened by the fact that he had a rare blood type that made his sweat unusually acidic (and he was a charismatic performer who sweated buckets in concert), leaving quite a lot of bare wood after years of heavy use. It was his favorite guitar, and he played it almost exclusively until his death in 1995. The treasured guitar now belongs to younger brother Dónal Gallagher. Watch Gallagher tear through “Tattoo’d Lady” on German television in 1979.          David Gilmour’s “0001.” Let’s be clear here—Gilmour’s 1954 Stratocaster was not the first Stratocaster ever made, but its “0001” serial number nonetheless makes it a highly unusual instrument. The guitar was previously owned by pickup maker Seymour Duncan, who sold it in the mid-1970s to Pink Floyd guitar tech Phil Taylor. When Taylor needed money a couple years later for a down payment on a home, Gilmour acquired the guitar for an undisclosed sum, using it from about 1977 onward on various Pink Floyd recordings and on work with Paul McCartney and Brian Ferry. See it in action here.

Gallagher's 1961 Strat was also taken on by the Fender Custom Shop, released in 2004.

George Harrison’s “Rocky.” Well before Harrison’s self-applied psychedelic paint job, this Stratocaster began life as an early-’60s custom-color model (Sonic Blue), which the Beatles guitarist acquired in early 1965. Sometime between the spring 1967 end of sessions for landmark album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and the famous “All You Need Is Love” global telecast of June 25, 1967, the Stratocaster underwent a radical transformation in the form of a new multicolored psychedelic paint job. Harrison himself was the artist, using dayglo paint and nail polish. It acquired a few other colorful touches in 1969, when Harrison applied the guitar’s nickname, “Rocky,” to the headstock, painted “Bebopalula” on the upper body and “Go Cat Go” on the pickguard. Harrison never parted with the guitar, and it remains in the possession of the Harrison estate. Harrison describes the artwork here.

The Fender Custom Shop released a tribute model of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Number One in 2004.

Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Number One.” Vaughan tore through the 1980s like a tornado, seemingly singlehandedly restoring electric blues to the top of the charts with blistering Stratocaster work that remains as revered and influential today as ever. He played several Strats, but his beloved 1963 model was his “Number One.” He bought the guitar in Austin, Texas, in the mid ’70s and proceeded to create some of the world’s most powerful and acclaimed electric Texas blues with it until his death in August 1990. The guitar now belongs to acclaimed artist and older brother Jimmie Vaughan. See the guitar here.

Bruce Springsteen’s Esquire. This guitar is familiar to millions because of its prominent appearance on the cover of Springsteen’s magnificent 1975 breakout album Born to Run. It’s also seen on the covers of Live/1975-85 (1986), Human Touch (1992), and Greatest Hits (1995). Although the addition of a neck pickup makes it look like a Telecaster, make no mistake—this is an early-’50s Esquire (’53 or ’54 according to the Boss’s camp). A heavily worn blackguard beauty, it’s so revered among Springsteen fans that it even has its own statue in Springsteen’s home state of New Jersey. Watch the Boss wield his Esquire right here.

Prince played this custom gold-leaf Fender Strat during his Welcome 2 America tour, and then auctioned if off to benefit the Harlem Children’s Zone.

When Prince arrived on the scene in the late 1970s, it didn’t take long for him to completely turn the music industry on its head.

Offering an amalgam of rock, funk and R&B, Prince was truly an originator. 

Androgynous, provocative, mysterious, sexy. All those adjectives could be used to describe the enigmatic Minneapolis native.

Prolific is another one.

While 1999, Purple Rain and Sign O’ the Times are Prince’s biggest hit albums, for sure, there are rumored to be hundreds of recordings tucked away in his private vault.

To understand Prince Rogers Nelson, one has to look at his incredible background and early rise as a musician.

Coming from a broken home, Prince was fronting his first band, Grand Central, by his early teens, and had already mastered multiple instruments. By the age of 18, Prince was signed to Warner Bros., quickly showing a glimpse into his genius mind with the release of his first two albums – For You (1978) and Prince (1979). 

“I Wanna Be Your Lover,” from the latter, was Prince’s first hit, a disco-tinged love song that showed his budding promiscuousness.

He followed that with 1980’s Dirty Mind, which propelled him into the decade’s new wave sound and earned him an opening spot for the Rolling Stones’ 1980-81 tour.

At this point, however, Prince was gearing up to conquer the charts, and in 1982, he did so with the landmark 1999.  A self-produced double album, it contained three major singles, “Little Red Corvette” (No. 6), “1999” (No. 12) and “Delirious” (No. 8).

The video for “1999” and Prince’s unique and sexed-up style caught the attention of a fledgling MTV, and soon ushered his music into the mainstream. This was also around the time legendary entertainers Michael Jackson and Madonna came on the scene.

The difference?

Prince not only wrote all of his music and lyrics, but he also played nearly every instrument on his recordings.

Then in 1984, along came Purple Rain.

One of the most-important albums of the 80s, Purple Rain saw Prince rise to a new level of uber-stardom.

Unleashing singles for nearly the entire year, Prince charted with “When Doves Cry” (No. 1), “Let’s Go Crazy” (No. 1), “Purple Rain” (No. 2), “I Would Die 4 U” (No. 8) and “Take Me With You” (No. 25).

“When Doves Cry” not only topped the Billboard Hot 100, but also the Dance and R&B chart.

Purple Rain

The record was even made into a popular movie, as Purple Rain grossed $80 million and won Prince an Oscar for Best Soundtrack.

Following a year when you owned the No. 1 album, single and movie would be a mountainous task for most artists. Not so for the Purple One. 

His next album, Around the World in a Day, yielded two more blockbuster hits: “Raspberry Beret” and “Pop Life.”  It was also his second-consecutive No. 1 album and the first to be released on his own Paisley Park label.

Sure, Prince miscued with 1986’s underperforming film, Under the Cherry Moon, but even the soundtrack to that, Parade, included the iconic hit, “Kiss.”

Prince didn’t falter, either. 

In 1987, he put out Sign O’ the Times, a double album that was trimmed down from an intended triple. With the well-known title track, “U Got the Look” and “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” hitting the airwaves, Prince never missed a beat.  

That was also the year his 65,000-square-foot production headquarters – Paisley Park – opened for business.

Prince continued releasing smoking-hot singles throughout the 80s, with “Alphabet St.” coming from 1988’s Lovesexy and “Batdance” from Tim Burton’s Batman movie soundtrack in 1989.

In the early 90s, Prince put together a new band, the New Power Generation, and debuted Diamonds and Pearls in 1991.  A holographic cover offered a glimpse into the epic nature of this album. Prince again took over the radio with “Gett Off” (No. 21), “Cream” (No. 1) and “Diamonds and Pearls” (No. 3). 

20Ten

Continuing his prolific production, Prince followed Diamonds with the first appearance of the symbol that would become his formal name a year later. The name change centered around his souring relationship with Warner Bros. Prince— who was soon dubbed the Artist Formerly Known as Prince — frequently appeared in public with the word “Slave” written on his face because of what he thought of as a one-sided relationship between label and artist, and an attempt to limit his creative expression.

The symbol served as the title of the 1992 album, commonly referred to as the Love Symbol Album and it opened with “My Name Is Prince,” with “7” and “Sexy MF” serving as major highlights.

Throughout it all, however, the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee always challenged the status quo, pushed boundaries and above all, made incredible music.

Prince has been bringing that music to the masses through his hit-spanning worldwide "Welcome 2" tour, which has been running through North America, Europe and Australia since late 2010.

Name change or no, the golden touch of Prince will forever be on the music industry. 

Grammy award-winning singer, songwriter and musician John Mayer will release his latest studio album, Born and Raised, on May 22.

Rolling Stone gave the album 4 stars, calling it "some of the most convincing music of Mayer's career...every breezy solo or sun-dappled acoustic spindle is comfy and luxe like a spun-silk blanket." 

Mayer produced Born and Raised with Don Was, who’s worked on albums for acts such as the Rolling Stones, B.B. King and Bonnie Raitt. 

Rock legends David Crosby and Graham Nash provide vocals on the album’s title song. Other musicians that joined Mayer on the album include highly-regarded keyboardist/pianist Chuck Leavell—who has worked with the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and The Allman Brothers Band—and previous collaborators Sean Hurley on bass and Aaron Sterling on drums. Jim Keltner makes a special appearance on drums on "Something Like Olivia."

Country-tinged lead single “Shadow Days” arrived back in March, and Mayer has been offering lyric videos for tracks such as “Queen of California” and “Love is a Verb” in recent days. Follow his website to view the most current videos. 

Though forced to take an indefinite hiatus from live performing due to the return of the granuloma in his throat, Mayer will be making the television rounds this week to discuss the new album.  He will appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 15, The Late Show With David Letterman on May 17, and on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on release day, May 22. 

Born and Raised Tracklisting:

1.  Queen of California
2. The Age of Worry
3. Shadow Days
4. Speak for Me
5. Something Like Olivia
6. Born & Raised
7. If I Ever Get Around To Living
8. Love is a Verb
9. Walt Grace’s Submarine Test, January 1967
10. 10.  Whiskey, Whiskey, Whiskey
11. 11.  A Face To Call Home
12. 12.  Born & Raised (Reprise)

May 6, 2012 - Chrissy Mauck

Midway through her set when a member of her crew bent over to fix a monitor and showed some unseemly plumber's crack, Bonnie Raitt cracked "Yeah, that's the photo your family wants to see."

The legendary blueswoman does nothing subtly.

Getty Images.

On Sunday afternoon at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival during a 90-minute set, Raitt was simply on fire.

The guitar goddess, decked out in a turquoise zebra-striped shirt to “honor the spirit of Ernie K-Doe”, had plenty of praise for the city of New Orleans, Jazz Fest and her fellow performers.

“We drove by the Mother-in-Law Lounge on the way here,” said Raitt of K-Doe’s famous New Orleans hotspot.

 And while she said she missed out on catching upcoming tour partner Mavis Staples, Raitt had time to watch festival performances by both John Mooney and Bluesiana and the Malone Brothers on Saturday.

“Man, it was slammin.’”

The same could be said of Raitt and her veteran band, featuring guitarist George Martinelli, bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson, drummer Ricky Fataar and keyboardist Mike Finnegan. New Orleans-based musician Jon Cleary also accompanied Raitt on piano for a few cuts, including “Love Sneakin’ Up On You” and “So Damn Good,” which they recorded live together at the 2009 Jazz Fest to benefit Earthjustice.

Raitt delivered a few more of her classics, the upbeat “Something To Talk About” and the slow ballad “Angel from Montgomery,” but mostly showcased songs from new album Slipstream, her first record in seven years and yet another one that showcases her legendary blues roots.

That list included the cover of Bob Dylan’s blues number “Million Miles,” a reggae-infused version of Gerry Rafferty's 1978 hit "Right Down the Line," “Can’t Fail Me Now,” “Aint Gonna Let You Go” and “Down to You.” The latter is a song she co-wrote with Randall Bramblett and has to do with having “too much whining around you.”

“I don't write a lot, but I’m really proud of this one on the new album,” Raitt said of the song. 

Raitt constantly bantered with both her stagemates and the audience, even pausing a couple of times to reapply her lipstick. The interaction made for a more intimate set even though the crowd stretched all the way back to the fence lines.

“Who could read the setlist?” quipped the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer midway through the set. After leaning closer, she remarked, “Oh, I love this one!”

If that wasn’t enough to peak the crowd, the opening bars of “Come to Me” from 1991’s Luck of the Draw quickly did the trick.

Later, upon returning for her encore, Raitt apologized for going over her allotted time and having to cut out a few songs.

“I don’t know whether to keep on rocking or play a sad song,” she said.

She did both, staring with hit-song “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”

After expressing gratitude to all those who have covered the song — Adele and Bon Iver to name a few — Raitt said, “I wouldn’t want to go without doing that for you.”

For the first time in her set, Raitt went sans guitar, sitting on a stool to belt out the famed ballad.

She immediately revved things back up with a cover of the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ “I Believe I’m in Love,” once again backed by Cleary.

However, midway through the song, Raitt announced a “special surprise,” as Allen Touissant, who performed Saturday afternoon at Jazz Fest, quietly snuck onstage to finish out the number.

Earlier in the set, Raitt talked about how thankful she was to always have New Orleans to come back to. With performances like today, we’re guessing the Big Easy will be more than happy to accommodate her anytime.

Foo Fighters Carry The Rock Torch On Jazz Fest's Final Day

By Mike Duffy

Heading into his band’s first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl was having some issues.

“I thought we were going to have to play some jazz, man,” he quipped.  “That shit is hard.”

For a festival that typically features the musical gems of Louisiana and the surrounding areas, not to mention headliners that fall into the country, roots rock, or classic rock categories, Foo Fighters carried the banner for all-out alternative.

And the group did not take such a task lightly.

Shiflett feeling the groove on his birthday.

Appearing on the Acura Stage Sunday around 3 p.m., Grohl and Co. ripped through a two-hour set that had a giant crowd relishing the comprehensive run through their 18-year catalog.

Such an epic event could have happened on the Foos’ last tour, but Grohl admitted that he didn’t realize he had skipped that part of the country as it was taking place.

Consider their appearance at Jazz Fest somewhat of an apology.

Never a band to skimp on songs, Grohl told the audience that they would “play until we feel like we’re going to barf.”

At this point, Foo Fighters have enough ammo to regurgitate hit after hit to cull together a full concert.

But even after opening with the anthemic “Times Like These” and getting into “The Pretender,” “My Hero” and “Learn to Fly” early, the interplay between audience and band made those tunes feel fresh.

Fans sang along with every song, jumped with every refrain and raised their hands skyward at the looming rainclouds. 

There was one point, however, when an apparent lack of enthusiasm didn’t win them favor with the Foos.

As the band dusted off the angst-ridden “Breakout” from its 2000 double-disc There Is Nothing Left to Lose, Grohl got silent as the chorus rained out from the lawn.

Unfortunately, it was too soft for the frontman, as he playfully ribbed the crowd for singing too meekly. “It goes like this,” he quipped before letting loose his trademark howl into the microphone.

That’s not to mention the way guitarists Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel, drummer Taylor Hawkins, and touring multi-instrumentalist Rami Jafee put everything into each song.

It’s a wonder the wiry Hawkins can even get through a show, considering how relentlessly he attacks his kit.

As if to give him a break for a moment, Grohl took a shot at his former Nirvana gig, subbing for Hawkins when the regular drummer sang “Cold Day in the Sun” midway through the set.

As Grohl stepped back out from his temporary perch, he joked, “Man, it’s hot up here.” 

Throughout the rest of the show, the Foo Fighters peppered new tracks from their most-recent release, the acclaimed Wasting Light, and even more classics, such as the rarely-played “Big Me” and “This is a Call” from their 1995 debut self-titled album.

At the one-hour, 40-minute mark, Grohl asked the crowd if they were done yet.

“Me either,” he said, gearing up for an epic finish.

Mendel jamming on his P Bass

First, the band celebrated Shiflett’s 41^st birthday, which came with the requisite singing of “Happy Birthday” and the added bonus of a cake brought out by the guitarist’s wife.

“She made me promise not to smash it in his face,” Grohl said.

Then, there was the somewhat mellow cover of Tom Petty’s “Break Down,” which came one week after the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer played in the same Jazz Fest venue.

Finally, the Foos closed with a scorching version of “Everlong,” inciting the sea of humanity to undulate from stage to the back fence of the Fair Grounds Race Course, playing air guitar and drums in unison.

As Foo Fighters walked off, a majority of the crowd remained, hopeful for an encore. 

Of course, as with most festivals, there are time constraints, so an encore was not in the offing. 

Be sure, though, that the Foos got the most out of every second they had.