In a previous post I wrote that guitar virtuoso Les Paul brought a solid-body guitar to his friends at Gibson in 1941 but they rebuffed the famed player until Leo Fender designed and marketed such an instrument with the introduction of the “Broadcaster” in 1948.

Clarence Leonidas Fender was born in 1909 near Anaheim, California, not far from the future site of his guitar factory on Fullerton. He studied to be an accountant, and was hired as one, but his love was electronics. As a part-time radio repairman he got involved with musical instruments when a local band asked him to design a P.A. system for them. After that he opened up his own electronics shop and quit his job.

Besides the demand for amplifiers and P.A. systems his guitar-playing customers would bring in their external pickups for their stage guitars for him to repair.  Guitarists at that time attached pickups to the tops of their hollow-bodied guitars. This led him to experiment with guitars and the sound from different pickup designs. Then, in 1948, his Broadcaster came out which, two years later, was renamed the Telelcaster. Amplifiers with his name began appearing and, as well, microphones and other accessories.

The introduction of the Precision Bass in 1950 brought a revolution in music. It relieved bass players of the cumbersome stand-up basses and created a new sound in bass reinforcement. Then, in 1954, he brought out the Stratocaster, a contoured, 3-pickup style that is the gold-standard for rock and country guitars the world over.

In 1965, Fender sold his business to CBS Musical Instruments. This was an auspicious occasion for guitar owners because it is widely received that, for many years afterward, the quality of the guitars went down.  The pre-CBS Fender is still the most sought-after guitars in the world.

In the 1970s, a rejuvenated Fender designed guitars, basses, and amplifiers for Music Man. Then in 1979 he started G&L Musical Products and took out new patents on magnetic pickups, vibrato systems, and neck construction among other innovations.

The name “Fender” will always be synonymous with rock and country music.