Product Description

A glorious portrait of an iconic musical instrument and its makers and players. Launched by the fledgling Fender company in 1950, the Telecaster has become the longest-lived solidbody electric guitar, played by everyone from Muddy Waters to Chrissie Hynde. All who play know that the key to the Telecaster's importance and versatility is its sheer simplicity. Packed with high-quality photographs of great Telecasters, collectable catalogs, period press ads, and memorabilia, this tribute tells the story of the Telecaster and the Fender Company through exclusive interviews with Fender figures who were there when this musical star was born.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100795 in Books
• Published on: 2006-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 144 pages

About the Author
Tony Bacon has specialized in music journalism for over 20 years. He is author of many books and has served as an advisor to the BBC/Tribute TV documentary "Guitar Legends."

Customer Reviews

Deja Vu all over again...
Have you ever read a new book only to realize that it's something you've already read? Well, that's this book--a literary repackaging of Mr. Bacon's many previous writings about the Fender Telecaster, extracted from his prior works. While many of the pictures are new, much of the text is not. And, sadly, while there IS new material here, it's NOT that easy to ascertain, because it's contained mostly in the paragraph-long picture annotations and not in the text body itself. Also, while many pictures are new, there aren't many of the "newer" Telecaster models, such as the twelve-string Telecaster XII or the baritone Bajo-Sexto Telecaster, etc..

If you have already read Mr. Bacon's previous Fender books, you've already read THIS book.

New information
I feel compelled to respond to EARLES L. MCCAUL's misleading review. It is true that Tony Bacon has written two other Fender books, but 'Six Decades of the Fender Telecaster' is his first to cover a single Fender model. And yes, some information in 'Six Decades' matches some information in one or both of the other two books. But that is because facts are facts, and assuming they were reported correctly in the first place - which they were - there is bound to be some overlap. How many ways can you say that a particular model was launched at such-and-such a time? However, I would point out that there is a great deal of new information in the Telecaster book: in the general story pages, in the photo sections, and in the separate model history. Finally, what Mr McCaul fails to mention is the inclusion in this book of new interview material with such luminaries as Jeff Beck and James Burton.

Text heavy tomb with enough pictures to keep me happy
I ordered this through Amazon having not had a chance to flick through it in a shop. Weighing in at nearly 150 A4 pages, it's a treat if you even have a passing interest in all things tele. Starting with a bit of background it moves swiftly on to the 1950 Broadcaster & takes us right through to the 2005 range. nice big colour pictures of some classic teles from Esquires to signiture models via humbuckered teles & unusual paint jobs. Plenty of information to keep the most nerdy of guitar players happy & then some.
Layout wise, it regularly has a couple of pages of solid text before you get to more pictures but I felt there was plenty for everyone. Well worth the money at Amazons price.