I have a great story about S.R.V. and a guitar he payed once that also has some real mystery to it. In the Summer of his tragic demise, 1990, I was about the same age and an aspiring rock & Roll guitar player. I also began designing and building instruments including the world's first, and only it turns out, archtop and then solid body electric sitars. So I often visited to guitar shops around "The Twin Cities" looking for parts and new ideas. In a long gone shop in St. Paul, Minnesota, owned by a very nice guy named Pete I once saw a odd Fender Stratocaster hanging high on the wall in a back corner - a left hand guitar strung right handed with a small pic of Jimi Hendrix on it. I was told this is not for sale because it is the prototype from Fender Custom Shop for a special edition like this. It was just supposed to be there for a few weeks, and it did sound a lot like the ones used by lefty Hendrix, but i was poor at the time (still am) not for sale anyway and so it went back on the wall. Pete was known to keep the really special, costly, guitars in a private room and ALL the rock stars that came thru town knew this and went there. So a few days later i go to see SRV playing a huge outdoor show, Forth of July weekend, near the River in St. Paul. Being an outdoor festival field show I got to stand right at the fence in front of him a few feet away. SO I knew right away when he brought out this rare white lefty Strat it was the same one i had just played in that shop. NOT for sale but Mr. Vaughn can borrow it, sure no problem! In fact he loved this guitar so much that he played it for 46 minutes, nearly all of the second set, I timed him! HOW he was able to spin around and have a guitar behind his back and keep playing, a real big mystery there, and even in slow motion it is hard to see how he does it, WITH the big white suitcoat and hat even. The mystery here is no one seem to know what became of this Olympic White Custom Shop Hendrix Stratocaster prototype. Pete himself died in a tragic car crash (another story tooo long to digress into yet it was just after he came back from a visit with George harrison in London) Was the guitar returned to Pete's and then the custom shop in California to be used as a pattern for the special models to follow? {Controvertial since they were made in Japan, according to the book 'Electric Guitars') Did Fender allow SRV to buy the guitar and it was lost in the circumstances of his sudden death at a show in Wisconsin? It is possible he left it with a guitar tech to tune to his specs, when he spent 3 weeks at home between the Summer shows. I do know he had found the guitar he loved to play and perform with the most, his guitar of a lifetime and SO easy to spot with the reversed headstock on it. He often changed guitars on each song, since they tend to go way out of tune the way he hit them hard - "I use heavy strings, tune low and hit them hard." is a popular quote of his. One book about him says he bought that guitar but it was sold soon after his death. I emailed the Custom Shop but did not get much of an answer. Does someone have this in a collection or case and not know of the historical signifigance? Anyone? I have looked thus many pictures of that show in St. Paul, or the Alpine Valley ones, but no pics of him playing a white guitar with a reverse headstock can be found - anyone seen such a picture?
Great story. In terms of the "spin" to play behind his back. He undoes the strap with his right hand before he starts spinning. He then spins and reattaches the strap whiling spinning so when he comes around to the forward position with the guitar behind his back, the strap is reattached. Great move, and I'm sure it had to be practiced quite a bit to get it so smooth.
Here's the REAL STORY OF Stevie's #1: I grew up in Georgetown, Tx just north of Austin. The first 6 guitars I ever owned all came out of Heart of Texas Music down on South Lamar. I talked to Ray constantly when I was in there, he was a very rough ol' guy when you first met him but once he got to know you, he was a great guy, like an uncle or grandfather. So Ray does this trade with Chris Cross and by that time, Ray already knew Stevie pretty good. He knew Stevie didn't have a lot of money, but he knew he had talent and was gonna be big soon. Ray had LOANED Stevie a late '60's Olympic White stratocaster and Stevie carried it in with him one day. Stevie saw this old, ragged strat hanging on the back wall. He played it for about 2 hours without plugging it in to an amp and finally asked Ray about it. He asked "does it work?" Ray said " it's a Fender, yeah it probably works go on over there and plug it in." He played it plugged in for about another 2 hours. Ray said while Stevie was playing it, he kept helping other customers and thinking to himself "well, Stevie would like that ragged ol' thing" because Stevie was pretty much just a little runt kid back then. Finally Stevie asked Ray if he could give back the Olympic White strat and borrow the beat up strat instead. Ray jumped all over the deal because he figured he could sell the white strat faster and for more money because it was in better shape. He said the grin on Stevie's face was all he needed to know, he knew Stevie would never bring that guitar back to the store to return it to him, and Ray said he was fine with it. Stevie never paid Ray a dime for that guitar, that's how good of a man Ray was to the musicians there in Austin.
I spoke with Ray Henning in 2009 during a visit to his store in Austin. I asked him, "So you are the one who sold Stevie his #1 huh?" Ray chuckled and replies, "Stevie didn't have two nickels to rub together back then. I gave him that guitar." He went on to tell me that guitar was the biggest p.o.s. in his shop at the time, but Stevie just fell in love with. He said he spent a few hours with Stevie after closing time setting up the guitar the way Stevie wanted it. He had many other Stevie stories he shared with me that afternoon. I think Ray was an angel on earth. May he rest in peace.
That is about right, but the entire story is that Stevie had a newer, nicer Stratocaster that Ray had loaned him. Stevie noticed the old beat up Strat that became #1, and asked Ray if he’d trade him the old one for the newer one, which Ray did. So, yes he basically gave the guitar to Stevie, since he actually owned the one Stevie traded in too. I lived about a mile from Ray’s Heart of Music store, and used to go there to buy strings occasionally, and enjoyed hearing the stories, back about 20+ years ago. Ray was a very nice man, and always willing to talk to everyone. Wish I had been around to see Stevie noodling around on the guitars there before he made it big, but that was about 20 years before I came to Austin.
I spent a lot of hours in that store back in the 80’s. You never knew who would walk in. Saw Eric Johnson many times there. Ran into Stevie in Austin at a Health food store I was working in as a 16 year old. Very nice. Treated me great. I followed him out to his car to get his autograph. He was happy to give it and was the nicest guy.
That toy guitar is 4 string Wyatt Earp guitar by Jefferson Manufacturing. There's still an old reverb listing of one from 64 where you can see a lot of good photos
Every story is worth listenting to when you post! It keeps things colorful for us! And always remembering Stevie Ray Vaughn( Which of course , is the day we lost him becuse if that hellicopter crash)..
I'll chime in with a Stevie tale. Around '88 or '89, in the summer, he played at a fairgrounds in Gardner, MA. It was a humid and raining. The bandstand was under a tent. There was a keg of beer where the audience stood in the muddy grass. There may have been one food truck. I'll say that at most, fifty people were there, sipping beers and rocking out while SRV and band played an absolutely blistering few sets. During each song, you could see at least one, usually two strings break during the song. After each song, he'd hand his guitar off to the tech who was sitting next to him. They'd go into another song, the tech would re-string as fast as possible to have the axe ready, and Stevie would tear through another number and break more strings. They were just smoking that day. A year or two after that, he was gone for the ages. Dang.
I drove from SA to Austin just to have my Strat setup at Ray Hennig's shop. Absolutely, without a doubt, the finest bunch of employees I've ever met in a guitar shop.
As a retired professional guitar player, I can assure you that SRV did not own only 4 or 5 guitars. I would bet he had hundreds. There is your explanation as to what that "mystery" guitar is. He definitely had his favorites that he performed with but there should be many others that didn't make the cut for performances sitting around his home. I am not rich but I have 10 in my stable. I doubt that SRV owned fewer than me.
It is worth noting that sharpie does NOT last on finish. I have had guitars signed in several places (including my white Strat I had signed by Jimmie years ago) and when you’re playing them regularly the sharpie just plain wears off. Stevie got so sweaty and played so much with that guitar that there’s no way that signature would have survived that much use. Great video. ❤
Right, right, the conjecturing about autograph go weird, went way off the rails, and got all tangled up in the weeds, there’s no way SRV “carved out” a sharpie autograph, on his #1, as to preserve it safely anywhere else!…🎸💥🪓
I'm good friends with Steve Wilson, who was Stevie's touring amp tech at the time of his death, so if you ever want to interview him, I can ask him for you. Good video, by the way!
I am interviewing folks this weekend on the timing of the “extensive body work” that I believe removed the signature - so absolutely! Have him reach out to me rootsmusichistory@gmail.com or my instagram!
That Lenny Guitar chapter revealed what I've noticed along my own journey, every guitar has a song or series of songs in it. Each one makes you play just slightly differently, even matching models.
Great in depth video. Never knew all this info about one of my guitar heroes who passed way too early. Sweet home Chicago live at alpine valley his final song haunts me to this day.
In 2017, I built an SRV #1 replica out of a 2010’s MIM Strat and despite the fact that it began as a $600 guitar, I was able to sell it for twice that. Which is just a testament to just how insanely popular the SRV brand is still to this very day.
Did he not play the song 'Lenny' on the guitar 'Lenny' on 'Live at the El Mocambo'? The video is on RUclips. It was just after he played 'Third Stone From the Sun' using 'Number 1' and broke at least one string. The next song was 'Lenny' and he played it on what appears to me to be 'Lenny' while 'Number 1" was being serviced by his tech.
Your video is extremely comprehensive, and I think you made great effort to go through some of the details which can be confusing. But I love the way you brought in the history of all the other people (who were never heard of) who really tried to help the new musicians. They were so unselfish with trying to help others. That's one of the most beautiful parts of your video. Thank you for taking the time to do all your research and present a variety of different views to the whole history of Stevie Ray's guitars. God love you and God bless. 🙏🕊️❤️
In the book soul to soul that I read about 25 years ago, seems I remember it being written Stevie had what was called a tomato nose. And that it was given to him by his brother Jimmy for playing the telecaster when he told him not to. And after that he give Stevie the guitar.
Around 25 years ago I read a book called soul to soul in that book it said that when Stevie died his number one guitar was given to his mother fort resided with her in the family home..
Referring to 24:35 Stevie stopped playing THE SONG Lenny in concert around the time of their actual divorce in '86. He was making a life with Janna at that point. Yes, he did play Lenny THE GUITAR on the album "In Step," however he did not stop playing Lenny THE GUITAR in concert & it did not sit at home much. An example is one of his finest performances in his entire career, Austin City Limits 1989. The entire show can also be found on RUclips. During this show he played Riviera Paradise on Lenny. Number One is currently on display at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin Texas until August 11, 2024 as part of a temporary exhibit called Music America. I am trying to find out where this exhibit will be after it leaves Austin. Would appreciate the info if any knows.
I was stationed at Ft hood tx in early 90s around 93 I went to heart of texas music. I met Ray and he personally sold me a strat ultra , with lace sensors ,roller nut, tremsetter tremolo, it was tiger stripe blue, locking tuners. I wish I kept it. At that point in my life I was so busy and didn't know what I had, its a big regret but I think that's one reason I tried to make it up to myself with other guitars ever since
Had to pause this to buy the Texas Flood album. You made my evening - love the back story. I saw the Jimbo guitar at MOPOP in Seattle. Thank you SOOOO MUCH for this video! 💐❤
I was front row center for Jimmie's show in Chattanooga last April and got to meet him afterwards. Super cool guy. It ended up costing me a lot of money because seeing him play drove me to buy another Stratocaster that I didn't at all need.
Great work and a fantastic video, thank you, I really enjoyed it. But I don't believe for a New York minute that Stevie carved out or paid to have Mickey Mantle's autograph carved out of the back of #1. I'm fairly convinced that it simply wore off via the many performances Stevie did afterwards. Note how Mantle's autograph is still present on "Lenny" while also noting that Stevie didn't play Lenny hardly at all after it was signed by Mantle. I honestly believe THAT is the reason he didn't play Lenny very much, and NOT due to the volatile breakup & ensuing divorce with his wife Lenora. This would certainly make more sense, in my humble opinion. I believe Stevie figured: "If I preserve Lenny by playing it very little, I can at least still have a single autograph from Mickey Mantle, even though it is addressed to Lenora." But hey, I could be wrong. I guess we'll never really know.
Great job on the G.O.A.T very accurate an S.R.V fan for 40 years now and remember crying my eyes out at hearing about his death i had tickets to see him when he died ! What a great soal of a man 🙏 R.I.P stevie 😢
Thanks you for doing such an informative & in-depth documentary on Stevie Ray and his guitars. I must apologize and confess I've not known of you prior to this; the link for this came up after another SRV video I'd watched. I look forward to viewing more from you now especially about SRV. Thanks and great job!
Yes, you're absolutely right behind every good man. There is a good woman, have you noticed? It's always behind him, not in front of him or alongside of, but behind him, where they belong
Hi everyone! I just want to say wow and thank you so much for all the positive comments and for supporting the Roots History Research! It means so much to me and I am having the time of my life going through and reading everything! I have a few more things I'd like to address about SRV before we continue into the Van Halen series (working on a follow up to some of the questions/points mentioned in this video now). I almost didn't post this because I just got a new microphone and I'm not satisfied with the settings yet. So glad you were still able to absorb the content and appreciate the work and channel! Hopefully the audio is even better in the next one. Thank you for being here and for being part of the Roots Music History Family!
Try to find out more about SRV RED Telecaster because there is pictures of him using a RED Telecaster playing on stage with other blues guitarist. I'm not sure what year this Red Telecaster is. I know Jimmie Vaughan use to play telecasters in the 70's with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, yes in the 70's ( not the 80s ) which this could have been one of Jimmie Vaughans Telecaster but I have also seen SRV use a Yellow Telecaster playing with Jimmie Vaughan at various live concerts. The Yellow Telecaster is Jimmie Vaughans because he use to play it in the 70's with the Fabulous Thunderbirds but not sure which year the guitar is. CLICK HERE to see SRV playing the Yellow Telecaster ruclips.net/video/T3ydLc4Zmzc/видео.html
The mystery of the Mickey Mantel autograph question is quite interesting. Given Fender’s extreme attention to detail in recreating both #1 and Lenny, I would argue that their copies would reflect exactly what they found on those two guitars while in their possession, as closely as humanly possible. And it’s also noteworthy to point out that the picture shown at 32:52 of #1 with the autograph in the left side frame, and the right side without the autograph appear to be two different guitars. The wear pattern is different on both, which could be explained by different times in which the photos were taken, but the tremolo block on the one without the autograph is a huge red flag to me. On the left side photo, with the autograph, the tremolo block is very thick, and something I would expect to see on all of Stevie’s guitars, while the tremolo block on the right photo is very thin, and looks more like a very cheap block you’d find on a $100 foreign made guitar. I have no direct proof of this, but I do not believe Rene Martinez (Stevie’s guitar tech) would EVER put such a thin cheap block like that on one of Stevie’s guitars. In fact, I would need Rene Martinez himself to confess to installing that thin block before I would believe that photo on the right side to be authentic. Every indication is that it’s not a photo of the authentic #1, nor even a Fender clone of #1. As for the theory of having deliberately removed the autograph, I don’t think that is possible, without being extremely obvious, visually. You’d have to remove a good bit of wood material (along with the chipped away pattern in the finish, which would be as obvious as a pink elephant) and very easily noticeable. Adding to the mystery is the fact that #1 is the guitar used to play the Anthem in Houston, not Lenny, so it would have been the guitar most readily available if the story is accurate and the autograph was gotten then. The only plausible theory I can come up with is that #1 was autographed first, and later, Stevie had Lenny autographed too. Then, as Stevie played #1 moving forward, the autograph was simply worn away naturally, while the autograph on Lenny was not, since it wasn’t played regularly. But the issue is very intriguing, because based on my recollection, the autograph was always associated with Lenny
Your audio is fine, but you could reduce room echo by keeping the mic within a couple inches of your mouth. With a close mic, you do have to be careful about plosives. Either use a pop filter or speak past, not directly at, the mic. I do the latter.
SRV used Bass frets and gauge 13 strings on his Strats . The Fender Stratocaster is the greatest Electric guitar ever designed . My own US Standard is 25 this year and its hands down the best guitar ive ever owned . Stevie said when asked why a Stratocaster ? 'I find it does everything I need and is very versatile ' .
Great video! You must have spent a lot of time on it. I was hoping to hear something about the guitar that SRV was using in 1979 or 1980 at the Rome Inn in Austin. This was previously Little Bit O Italy, a restaurant that had been converted for live music and dancing. SRV and Double Trouble were a new, obscure band then but those who were going to hear them, knew they were going to be big someday. Stevie was playing a Jazzmaster, not a Strat. I remember well because I would stand right in front of the stage which was actually the entrance to the venue, as it had been when it was a restaurant and I wondered what all those switches did on his guitar. His #1 must have been in the shop at that time.
That was a very interesting history of SRV and his guitars. I wasn't a huge fan of his music, but his guitar playing. Thank you for posting this video. You did an excellent job of narration.
I really liked Heart of Texas on Lamar. Ray was very friendly but he was also a salesman. He would tell you what he knew about guitars. Multiple times I ended up walking out with what as Ray would say a "big ol guitar". Never met Stevie or heard him play live. If we ever figure out time travel I would definitely be going to hear him play live, or back to Heart of Texas to hang out and visit with the helpful and friendly folks there!
32:28 I think that's a different guitar on the right. The trem block is a cheap thin one, the body seam is offset, and it has MORE laquer in places previously worn off. Check the area near the strap lock, which you can locate in both pictures. In the left picture there is about an inch of bare wood all around the lower bout, but it isn't an inch in the right hand side one. Does anyone else see it? ❤
My theory on why he plays Lenny on those 2 specific tracks is that while No. 1 had a 12" radius, Lenny may have had a vintage 7.25" radius. The song "Lenny" has some chordal work that is difficult to play cleanly on the flatter 12" radius, but much easier to play on a more curved 9.5" or 7.25" radius. The one guitar of SRV's I wish you would have covered is the Rickenbacker he played in the 70s. A very atypical guitar for playing the blues on.
Just found this channel, what a treasure! Thanks for all the research obviously put into this, I didn't think at this point there could be any fresh SRV takes I hadn't seen, heard or read, but lots in here I didn't know. Great stuff! Can't wait to dive into the rest of the channel.
I really appreciate your diligence producing this video, I could talk to you for hours about guitars.... may you have success in all you pursue........
Thank you so much!!! #1 was traded into Ray Hennig’s the Heart of Texas music store by Christopher Cross, yes! Lenny was the Pooled together funds by Lenora Bailey :) Thank you for being here and I hope this clarified some things! (Or in my case raised a very important question for me, how could fender miss this Mickey Mantle autograph 😮)
I still wear a Soul patch in 2024 (flavor saver) in honor of Stevie. As I continued to watch I heard you nail even the neck years haha highly enjoying Your Channel 🎼🎸 Thank you so much for sharing. 🎼🙏 Early@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
I worked at a guitar store that had both of the reissues in the early 2000’s. amazing instruments . One thing people often miss is the electrical wire casing he would use to protect the strings at the bridge. I’m sure it made some tone difference. But if it keeps you from breaking strings it is probably worth it.
Thank you so so much! I almost didn't post this because I just got a new microphone and I'm not satisfied with the settings yet. So glad you were still able to absorb the content and appreciate the work and channel!
You packed a lot of information into such a short period of time and I absorbed most of it, I think? You did a wonderful job! And not only about Stevie's guitars; Ray Hennig is my new hero. I read what you posted about him a few days ago and it reminded me of the era and how kind and wonderful people used to be. Well, most people.. I also remember the legendary Astrodome and my Dodgers travelling to Houston every summer. Getting Mickey's autograph?? Priceless! I actually got Willie Mays' autograph when my buddy and I shagged golf balls at the local country club and sell them back to the golfers in the early 70s. Willie tore a scorecard in half and put his John Hancock (in pencil) on them for the both of us. That was an awesome day! I seriously doubt I'll ever make it to Nashville, but because of you, I feel like I've already been there. But never say "never." You'd be the first person I'd look for and truth be told, we'd likely chew each other's ears off. Thank you for hard work and diligence and I believe Stevie is thanking you as well!😎
Ray Hennig was my favorite part of this episode so I’m so glad you gave him another shout out here in the comments! I think I will do another video just solely as a tribute to him. I also love that you feel as though you’ve been here! I need to do more Roots Rockumentaries about the locals here. I did one on George Gruhn if you search roots music history George gruhn gruhn guitars. There’s so much history I’m so blessed to be here and to be able to share it with you!
I forgot to mention that little Spinal Tap clip you inserted. Very cute, funny, and timely! I've watched a few of your other podcasts on my flat-screen. The cable service I use includes RUclips, though it doesn't allow comments or the ability to like videos. I'll check out the George Gruhn segment, and I'll be waiting for Ray Hennig and I remember you saying something about a Van Halen podcast? Oh, and Janice as well. If you can't tell by now already, I really like your podcasts! Intelligent conversations such as the ones we've had are a truly welcome bonus🤓@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
@@sillymanblues THANK YOU for laughing at the spinal tap insert with me!!!! lol! I try to include them here and there bahahaha. I will find myself laughing hysterically at them at the most awkward times. Like alone on a plane. lol.
@@sillymanblues And yes 100% I have Ray Hennig and Van Halen on cue! I have a whole list, honestly. It's hard sometimes to have a schedule or a definite date for a certain documentary. It depends on when I can schedule interviews or visit certain locations, etc. Sometimes I can post a new Roots every week - other times it's one or twice a month. But rest assured those are on the list!
I know it takes a while to get these things done ,and some days everything falls into place-------and other days? Not so much. After I watched your piece on George Gruhn yesterday, RUclips sent me a questionnaire asking me to rate the segment and why I liked it. So I guess they're paying attention, as they should be. Have a great weekend and I'll catch you on your next podcast. :))@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
SRV was a world class guitarist but i never really dug his aesthetic including and especially his guitars.. gaudy and loud (just my personal preference here- don't get bent) Now are they ok for him, certainly; but someone else wondering into a guitrar center (aging myself) and picking up a guitar with a giant SRV across it?? i never got that
I'm fortunate enough to have seen Stevie play a free concert at UCONN just a year or two before he died... about 10 rows away from the stage. It was magical. You had to experience it. He had just gotten sober/clean and was singing and playing better than ever. I still shed a tear when I think of the loss of his talent. Watching this video, I will say you did some awesome in-depth digging... but there is something I think you missed hidden in plain sight. In the photo of #1 with the Mickey signature - notice how much of the darker part of the burst is missing around and near the signature... and in the picture of #1 with your surmised scratched out/carved away missing Mickey signature, the darker burst finish magically reappears near the bare wood. It does not even look like the identical guitar... the wear marks do not match. When I saw that shot my gut tells me there was/is #1 and probably a clone or two. Only Jimmie Vaughn and Fender would know for sure... and they aren't telling anybody. Wouldn't surprise me at all someday to learn Stevie took his "first wife" with him to his grave and it's the copy (no signature) we see around every now and then on display. Just my 2 cents worth... your mileage may vary. Cheers!
Loved the video. You're awesome and the level of detail you put into your work is amazing. Stevie had at least 3 more guitars that he used on tour. The Strat shaped Hamiltone as seen on the Couldn't stand the weather video, a yellowish-butterscotch colored Strat he called Scotch, and a white Strat with lipstick pickups he called Charley that he received as a gift from his friend Charley Wirz (sp?). I have read many times that the Hamiltone was a gift to Stevie from Billy Gibbons, although Billy or Jimmy would be the only two who would know for sure. Sounds legit so maybe it's true. Scotch was used in the band Vanilla Fudge, but I don't know who played it or how Stevie came to own it. The body was routed out by the previous owner to accommodate, as Stevie put it, "a shit load of humbuckers." He said the body rang like a bell, but I'm not sure if he was referring to the characteristics of the wood or the result of being heavily routed. Charley was a beautiful partscaster that was stolen and never recovered.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around why Ray thought this strat was junk. My first guitar was a 65 Fender Music Master II which I bought for $45 in 1976. This was only three years after Stevie got his strat. By 1976 what we called "Pre CBS" stratocasters were highly sought after, regardless of their condition. Compared to Gibsons, Fenders could take a savage beating anyway; e.g. in 1979 I had been jamming with a buddy of mine who had a Gibson SG. I left my amp and guitar over at his house. One day he got into a heated argument with his mom and he stormed out of the house. When he came back hrs later, she had tossed my Fender and his Gibson out the front door. He was HORRIFIED when he arrived home to find both guitars laying on the front lawn, baking in the hot afternoon sun LOL. His guitar was in the case and mine wasn't. The body at the neck joint of his SG had a hair line crack even though it was in the case. Other than a paint chip the size of a penny, my Fender was absolutely fine. There is of course a big difference in the durability of a bolt neck over a glued set neck, but even a beat up, deteriorated finish vintage early 60's Strat was highly prized back then. In the early 70's Rory Gallagher really put the cool into his Stratocaster which coincidentally was a 1961. By 1973, it had ten years of high hard mileage on it with most of the finish worn off from Rory's literal sweat. We all used to joke that it looked like it had moss growing on it LOL. It's in a museum in Dublin and you can still the denim from his jeans ground into the wood.
Great episode!! Love the detective work. 2 possible scenarios about the signature on #1...it eventually was worn off, or as mentioned in another comment, the guitar on display was a replica. Hard to tell precisely from the pics, but the wear pattern is altered which could point to either explanation..
Robert! I know you :) I thought about that. For scenario #1 where it was worn off: I truly don't believe Stevie would have let that happen. He cherished that autograph so much. I know the guitar went through extensive repairs, which included what someone described as almost an entire re-work of the body. I believe he had this autograph removed to preserve it. and for #2 regarding it being a replica - Jimmy did donate the guitar to the small museum in Austin, so that was his actual guitar on display for several years.
@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY He knew he still had Mantle's autograph on Lenny. I truly believe it just wore off over the next 5 years of hard gigging. Makes much more sense than cutting a large chunk out of the guitar to preserve it, at least in my mind. Great video by the way. New sub!!
Ray Hennig already knew Stevie and Jimmy from his store in Waco since 1968. When Ray moved the store in 1974 to Austin he already knew Stevie, so your idea of Ray being "new" to Austin and worrying about Stevie is just not true. Ray already knew Stevie very well. The pickups in Stevie's number one were not dated. There is no reason to assume they are 1959 pickups, and no info I have found indicates they are 1959 pickups. The pickups in his Number One are most likely 1962-63 stock fender pickups. When one went dead, Cesar Diaz said he put in a Fender Black bottom pickup to replace it.
Is there any information on No. 1's mounting of the 'left hand' vibrato bridge? Was it one of SRV's mods or was it on the guitar when it was hanging in Hennig's shop?
Hubert sumlin strap on guitar broke,the guitar neck broken at the body joint...at our gig in Canada.... Hubert was in tears..we tried super glue-j b l.glue,, nothing, worked.We get to chicago.and waiting for Hubert was a strange one of a kind Rickenbacker.. big body, strange double cut away,and little metal input guard... super big string,,and the best neck I ever played, super thin..and a tee shirt stuff the body,I think for feed-back.. Hubert call it his gift from heaven..It was Stevie Ray young giging guitars.
Didn't Stevie's #1 get crushed by a lighting scaffolding at some point and Fender put it back together for him ? Maybe that's when Mickey's signature was removed....still have a couple minutes to go on the video
I’m pretty sure he played the Lenny guitar throughout his career even after their divorce. There is a video of him in 1989 at Austin city limits playing the Lenny guitar.
Very informative and interesting video. I still remember seeing Stevie tear it up on his #1 first wife at the KLAQ Balloon Fest Memorial Day weekend 1989. I wish I was famous so you could profile some of my Strats.
Good evening, just wanted to tell you that at minute 31:38 you're wrong. He never carved the autograph out. You can clearly still see some of the left over Sunburst Lacquer on trhe area in question. Common sence would tell you that it was most likely rubbed off from contact with SRV's clothing over the years.
Let me add some clarity on some of these things that are misconceptions. You can clearly see that Number One at 31:24 that this is NOT scratched off nor is that part of the body removed as there is still paint in that spot. It is more than likely a Fender Custom Shop model that sold for $20,000.00 when they were first released to the general public. If it was there and IF this was the real Number ONE guitar it was more than likely RUBBED OFF over time. THINK about it - it was his NUMBER ONE GUITAR. He played it for hours every day which is why it's so badly abused. The back of the body wasn't all chewed up as the one in the video. And the inset picture at 32:10 the guitar on the RIGHT is NOT a Number One guitar - the paint is wrong and the signature is incorrect. This looks like a Temu, or aliexpress Chinese made copy that have flooded the market. The gold Fender tremolo was LEFT HANDED and the hole for the bar left in the body was filled with a piece of alder to hide this fact. the bar was right handed eventually being replaced with a left handed bar. The pickups in Number One are 1961 Stratocaster pickups - not 1959. These were never stamped or marked with any sort of date but Renee said that these were 1961 pickups in one of the last interviews he did for Guitar World magazine right before Stevie died. That article appeared in 1989 and had Jeff Beck on the front cover with Stevie holding "Scotch" - a 1961 Fender Stratocaster with a custom made "hawks beak" designed pickguard. Also the Lenny guitar had a different neck that Billy Gibbons gave Stevie as a present for his 30th birthday. That was in 1984. It was a neck from a 1958 Fender Stratocaster on a 1963 Fender Stratocaster body. The carving on the front and the finish was re-done before he got that guitar. Some of the parts were swapped as they wore out from Stevie playing so much. This happened a lot. So keeping track of guitars and their parts that Stevie owned is going to be very difficult in their proper order. But thank you for sharing this with us any way.
Great content and thanks for sharing! I'm just a beginner when it comes to guitar playing/sounds/audio engineering... and I hate to say this, but it sounds like there's some reverberation in your audio capture... Hope you see this as constructive criticism, even though I have no clue how you could "fix" this (and if it's even an issue).
Thank you!! I did get that feedback from a few folks! Can you listen to some of the more recent episodes and let me know how they sound to you? Much appreciated!
J’ville Guitar… Jacksonville Guitar… which ‘Jacksonville’ is this store in? I’m in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and it looks exactly like the shop here. I bought my first P-bass there in the mid nineties. Haven’t been in there in a year or so. I think they’ve changed names… but if this is somehow the same shop I’m gonna have to check this out.
Jimbo is not an Esquire. The Esquire model had ONLY a bridge pickup. They are easy to spot as the pick guard stands out like a sore thumb because the neck pickup is missing.
Hi! I lived in Austin from 1985 to 1988, and have a really fun story about the day we saw Steve Ray perform...for an audience of just two people! If it interests you, please reach out, I'll be happy to tell the tale!
Never heard Stevie play the national anthem either. I would love to hear his version. But like Heart of Texas the Astrodome is another place you can't go back to. Since I'm on a Blog I might as well add my favorite SRV recording is "Life Without You" when he went back and amazed everybody at Montreux. "All we have ever- Is the need to give each other our love. If we forget that we lose everything we've got. Let's remember that and get out of this place alive."
That autograph just wore away it's sharpie marker. Sweat and rubbing against clothes will rub em off fast! He didn't carve out the portion of the guitar to save it it would be really hard to do that and it shows no signs in the wood of carving a thin section out. It simply wore off just like autographs I've had on my guitars from people. Unless you clear coat them over and seal them up.. or hang them on a wall and never touch them, they will wear off fast! The autograph on the Lenny guitar only survived because Stevie didn't play that guitar as much or as aggressively as he did Number 1. He played it just for the Lenny song or Riviera Paradise. So it didn't wear away like it did on Number 1 which was his main go to. The reason they didn't put the sig on the replica for Number 1 is they were replicating the exact state the guitar was in after his passing. So the autograph was well gone from then. Loving all the videos you're doing on Stevie and others! So glad I found your channel it's cool seeing someone do this keeping the blues legends alive thank you!
The original was indeed in the Bob Bullock Museum for a short period of time. Newspapers reported the kickoff to the exhibit and advertised it as a "very rare chance" to view Stevie Ray's original guitar. That guitar does not have the autograph, but you can see prior to 1986 Stevie showing off Number One with the autograph, clear as day.
What about the one pickup yellow Strat. What about the Charlie guitar. What about the Hamilton guitar. What about the red Strat and what about the vintage white/ yellowing guitar with the red pick guard?
I really hate to say this because I LOVE fender guitars!!! I have 3 straps 2 American and one Really cool MIM and an American Tele, but 3 years ago I bought a SRV strat and two of the screws were stripped out on the backplate, this guitar had not been taken out of the fender box, I returned it to my local dealer who I bought it from and he promptly gave me the other one, brand new but had been set up. It played awesome but the TX specials sounded like junk!!! One of my MIA strats is an American Special from the first or second year they came out with the big headstock and TX. Specials in it are amazing!!! I believe SRV would be rolling in his grave if he knew there were guitars like that floating around with his name attached. And I'll say it again I LOVE FENDER GUITARS!!! The Fender Statocaster and Telecaster guitars are pure perfection. from a 30 year professional guitar player I swear they got those two right very early on!!!
Stevie designed a guitar as well and a prototype was built by, I believe, a Swedish man. It’s a bit odd looking. Seems to be a mash-up of a Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 330. I wanted to build one but could never get the original builder to answer me back. I think there’s a couple pictures of it in Craig Hopkins book. Another interesting guitar of his was the Hamiltone.
The side by side photo of the supposed No. 1s, is in fact 2 different guitars. There is no way Stevie carved out Mantle's signature. The hole would have been enormous. The pictures are of 2 different guitars. IMHO
I have a great story about S.R.V. and a guitar he payed once that also has some real mystery to it.
In the Summer of his tragic demise, 1990, I was about the same age and an aspiring rock & Roll guitar player.
I also began designing and building instruments including the world's first, and only it turns out, archtop and then solid body electric sitars. So I often visited to guitar shops around "The Twin Cities" looking for parts and new ideas. In a long gone shop in St. Paul, Minnesota, owned by a very nice guy named Pete I once saw a odd Fender Stratocaster hanging high on the wall in a back corner -
a left hand guitar strung right handed with a small pic of Jimi Hendrix on it. I was told this is not for sale because it is the prototype from Fender Custom Shop for a special edition like this. It was just supposed to be there for a few weeks, and it did sound a lot like the ones used by lefty Hendrix, but i was poor at the time (still am) not for sale anyway and so it went back on the wall.
Pete was known to keep the really special, costly, guitars in a private room and ALL the rock stars that came thru town knew this and went there. So a few days later i go to see SRV playing a huge outdoor show, Forth of July weekend, near the River in St. Paul. Being an outdoor festival field show I got to stand right at the fence in front of him a few feet away. SO I knew right away when he brought out this rare white lefty Strat it was the same one i had just played in that shop. NOT for sale but Mr. Vaughn can borrow it, sure no problem! In fact he loved this guitar so much that he played it for 46 minutes, nearly all of the second set, I timed him!
HOW he was able to spin around and have a guitar behind his back and keep playing, a real big mystery there, and even in slow motion it is hard to see how he does it, WITH the big white suitcoat and hat even.
The mystery here is no one seem to know what became of this Olympic White Custom Shop Hendrix Stratocaster prototype. Pete himself died in a tragic car crash (another story tooo long to digress into yet it was just after he came back from a visit with George harrison in London) Was the guitar returned to Pete's and then the custom shop in California to be used as a pattern for the special models to follow? {Controvertial since they were made in Japan, according to the book 'Electric Guitars')
Did Fender allow SRV to buy the guitar and it was lost in the circumstances of his sudden death at a show in Wisconsin?
It is possible he left it with a guitar tech to tune to his specs, when he spent 3 weeks at home between the Summer shows.
I do know he had found the guitar he loved to play and perform with the most, his guitar of a lifetime and SO easy to spot with the reversed headstock on it. He often changed guitars on each song, since they tend to go way out of tune the way he hit them hard -
"I use heavy strings, tune low and hit them hard." is a popular quote of his.
One book about him says he bought that guitar but it was sold soon after his death.
I emailed the Custom Shop but did not get much of an answer. Does someone have this in a collection or case and not know of the historical signifigance? Anyone?
I have looked thus many pictures of that show in St. Paul, or the Alpine Valley ones, but no pics of him playing a white guitar with a reverse headstock can be found - anyone seen such a picture?
Great story.
In terms of the "spin" to play behind his back. He undoes the strap with his right hand before he starts spinning. He then spins and reattaches the strap whiling spinning so when he comes around to the forward position with the guitar behind his back, the strap is reattached. Great move, and I'm sure it had to be practiced quite a bit to get it so smooth.
I love this so much I’m pinning this comment!!
I only know on this video during the interview about #1, it shows him with a white Strat, is this that guitar you are referring too?
Jimi's white strat is at EMP in Seattle, Paul Allen purchased it like 25 years ago or so
@@voyxu143He had to be incredibly coordinated to do that (well duh, right?)
Here's the REAL STORY OF Stevie's #1:
I grew up in Georgetown, Tx just north of Austin. The first 6 guitars I ever owned all came out of Heart of Texas Music down on South Lamar. I talked to Ray constantly when I was in there, he was a very rough ol' guy when you first met him but once he got to know you, he was a great guy, like an uncle or grandfather.
So Ray does this trade with Chris Cross and by that time, Ray already knew Stevie pretty good. He knew Stevie didn't have a lot of money, but he knew he had talent and was gonna be big soon. Ray had LOANED Stevie a late '60's Olympic White stratocaster and Stevie carried it in with him one day. Stevie saw this old, ragged strat hanging on the back wall. He played it for about 2 hours without plugging it in to an amp and finally asked Ray about it. He asked "does it work?" Ray said " it's a Fender, yeah it probably works go on over there and plug it in." He played it plugged in for about another 2 hours. Ray said while Stevie was playing it, he kept helping other customers and thinking to himself "well, Stevie would like that ragged ol' thing" because Stevie was pretty much just a little runt kid back then. Finally Stevie asked Ray if he could give back the Olympic White strat and borrow the beat up strat instead. Ray jumped all over the deal because he figured he could sell the white strat faster and for more money because it was in better shape. He said the grin on Stevie's face was all he needed to know, he knew Stevie would never bring that guitar back to the store to return it to him, and Ray said he was fine with it. Stevie never paid Ray a dime for that guitar, that's how good of a man Ray was to the musicians there in Austin.
I spoke with Ray Henning in 2009 during a visit to his store in Austin. I asked him, "So you are the one who sold Stevie his #1 huh?" Ray chuckled and replies, "Stevie didn't have two nickels to rub together back then. I gave him that guitar." He went on to tell me that guitar was the biggest p.o.s. in his shop at the time, but Stevie just fell in love with. He said he spent a few hours with Stevie after closing time setting up the guitar the way Stevie wanted it. He had many other Stevie stories he shared with me that afternoon. I think Ray was an angel on earth. May he rest in peace.
You can't carve a signature off a guitar the pictures of the 2 number ones at the end the wear is not the same ...
That is about right, but the entire story is that Stevie had a newer, nicer Stratocaster that Ray had loaned him. Stevie noticed the old beat up Strat that became #1, and asked Ray if he’d trade him the old one for the newer one, which Ray did. So, yes he basically gave the guitar to Stevie, since he actually owned the one Stevie traded in too. I lived about a mile from Ray’s Heart of Music store, and used to go there to buy strings occasionally, and enjoyed hearing the stories, back about 20+ years ago. Ray was a very nice man, and always willing to talk to everyone. Wish I had been around to see Stevie noodling around on the guitars there before he made it big, but that was about 20 years before I came to Austin.
Yeap ..
I spent a lot of hours in that store back in the 80’s. You never knew who would walk in. Saw Eric Johnson many times there. Ran into Stevie in Austin at a Health food store I was working in as a 16 year old. Very nice. Treated me great. I followed him out to his car to get his autograph. He was happy to give it and was the nicest guy.
That toy guitar is 4 string Wyatt Earp guitar by Jefferson Manufacturing. There's still an old reverb listing of one from 64 where you can see a lot of good photos
Every story is worth listenting to when you post! It keeps things colorful for us! And always remembering Stevie Ray Vaughn( Which of course , is the day we lost him becuse if that hellicopter crash)..
I'll chime in with a Stevie tale. Around '88 or '89, in the summer, he played at a fairgrounds in Gardner, MA. It was a humid and raining. The bandstand was under a tent. There was a keg of beer where the audience stood in the muddy grass. There may have been one food truck. I'll say that at most, fifty people were there, sipping beers and rocking out while SRV and band played an absolutely blistering few sets. During each song, you could see at least one, usually two strings break during the song. After each song, he'd hand his guitar off to the tech who was sitting next to him. They'd go into another song, the tech would re-string as fast as possible to have the axe ready, and Stevie would tear through another number and break more strings. They were just smoking that day. A year or two after that, he was gone for the ages. Dang.
I drove from SA to Austin just to have my Strat setup at Ray Hennig's shop. Absolutely, without a doubt, the finest bunch of employees I've ever met in a guitar shop.
As a retired professional guitar player, I can assure you that SRV did not own only 4 or 5 guitars. I would bet he had hundreds. There is your explanation as to what that "mystery" guitar is. He definitely had his favorites that he performed with but there should be many others that didn't make the cut for performances sitting around his home.
I am not rich but I have 10 in my stable. I doubt that SRV owned fewer than me.
It is worth noting that sharpie does NOT last on finish. I have had guitars signed in several places (including my white Strat I had signed by Jimmie years ago) and when you’re playing them regularly the sharpie just plain wears off. Stevie got so sweaty and played so much with that guitar that there’s no way that signature would have survived that much use.
Great video. ❤
sharpie can lift right off with alcohol . paint marker too
Right, right, the conjecturing about autograph go weird, went way off the rails, and got all tangled up in the weeds, there’s no way SRV “carved out” a sharpie autograph, on his #1, as to preserve it safely anywhere else!…🎸💥🪓
I'm good friends with Steve Wilson, who was Stevie's touring amp tech at the time of his death, so if you ever want to interview him, I can ask him for you. Good video, by the way!
I am interviewing folks this weekend on the timing of the “extensive body work” that I believe removed the signature - so absolutely! Have him reach out to me rootsmusichistory@gmail.com or my instagram!
That Lenny Guitar chapter revealed what I've noticed along my own journey, every guitar has a song or series of songs in it. Each one makes you play just slightly differently, even matching models.
Great in depth video. Never knew all this info about one of my guitar heroes who passed way too early. Sweet home Chicago live at alpine valley his final song haunts me to this day.
In 2017, I built an SRV #1 replica out of a 2010’s MIM Strat and despite the fact that it began as a $600 guitar, I was able to sell it for twice that. Which is just a testament to just how insanely popular the SRV brand is still to this very day.
Did he not play the song 'Lenny' on the guitar 'Lenny' on 'Live at the El Mocambo'?
The video is on RUclips. It was just after he played 'Third Stone From the Sun' using 'Number 1' and broke at least one string. The next song was 'Lenny' and he played it on what appears to me to be 'Lenny' while 'Number 1" was being serviced by his tech.
Your video is extremely comprehensive, and I think you made great effort to go through some of the details which can be confusing.
But I love the way you brought in the history of all the other people (who were never heard of) who really tried to help the new musicians.
They were so unselfish with trying to help others.
That's one of the most beautiful parts of your video.
Thank you for taking the time to do all your research and present a variety of different views to the whole history of Stevie Ray's guitars.
God love you and God bless. 🙏🕊️❤️
In the book soul to soul that I read about 25 years ago, seems I remember it being written Stevie had what was called a tomato nose. And that it was given to him by his brother Jimmy for playing the telecaster when he told him not to. And after that he give Stevie the guitar.
Around 25 years ago I read a book called soul to soul in that book it said that when Stevie died his number one guitar was given to his mother fort resided with her in the family home..
Referring to 24:35 Stevie stopped playing THE SONG Lenny in concert around the time of their actual divorce in '86. He was making a life with Janna at that point. Yes, he did play Lenny THE GUITAR on the album "In Step," however he did not stop playing Lenny THE GUITAR in concert & it did not sit at home much. An example is one of his finest performances in his entire career, Austin City Limits 1989. The entire show can also be found on RUclips. During this show he played Riviera Paradise on Lenny. Number One is currently on display at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin Texas until August 11, 2024 as part of a temporary exhibit called Music America. I am trying to find out where this exhibit will be after it leaves Austin. Would appreciate the info if any knows.
I was stationed at Ft hood tx in early 90s around 93 I went to heart of texas music. I met Ray and he personally sold me a strat ultra , with lace sensors ,roller nut, tremsetter tremolo, it was tiger stripe blue, locking tuners. I wish I kept it. At that point in my life I was so busy and didn't know what I had, its a big regret but I think that's one reason I tried to make it up to myself with other guitars ever since
I bought a 91 Strat Plus a few years ago. They are such great instruments. Needless to say I’m never getting rid of it. It is easily my favorite.
Had to pause this to buy the Texas Flood album. You made my evening - love the back story. I saw the Jimbo guitar at MOPOP in Seattle. Thank you SOOOO MUCH for this video! 💐❤
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad to have you here and part of the Roots Music History family!
I was front row center for Jimmie's show in Chattanooga last April and got to meet him afterwards. Super cool guy. It ended up costing me a lot of money because seeing him play drove me to buy another Stratocaster that I didn't at all need.
Great work and a fantastic video, thank you, I really enjoyed it. But I don't believe for a New York minute that Stevie carved out or paid to have Mickey Mantle's autograph carved out of the back of #1. I'm fairly convinced that it simply wore off via the many performances Stevie did afterwards. Note how Mantle's autograph is still present on "Lenny" while also noting that Stevie didn't play Lenny hardly at all after it was signed by Mantle. I honestly believe THAT is the reason he didn't play Lenny very much, and NOT due to the volatile breakup & ensuing divorce with his wife Lenora. This would certainly make more sense, in my humble opinion. I believe Stevie figured: "If I preserve Lenny by playing it very little, I can at least still have a single autograph from Mickey Mantle, even though it is addressed to Lenora." But hey, I could be wrong. I guess we'll never really know.
Great job on the G.O.A.T very accurate an S.R.V fan for 40 years now and remember crying my eyes out at hearing about his death i had tickets to see him when he died ! What a great soal of a man 🙏
R.I.P stevie 😢
Thanks you for doing such an informative & in-depth documentary on Stevie Ray and his guitars. I must apologize and confess I've not known of you prior to this; the link for this came up after another SRV video I'd watched. I look forward to viewing more from you now especially about SRV. Thanks and great job!
The guitar that Stevie played as a kid is a Wyatt Earp edition produced by
Jefferson Manufacturing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1964.
Yes, you're absolutely right behind every good man. There is a good woman, have you noticed? It's always behind him, not in front of him or alongside of, but behind him, where they belong
Hi everyone! I just want to say wow and thank you so much for all the positive comments and for supporting the Roots History Research! It means so much to me and I am having the time of my life going through and reading everything! I have a few more things I'd like to address about SRV before we continue into the Van Halen series (working on a follow up to some of the questions/points mentioned in this video now). I almost didn't post this because I just got a new microphone and I'm not satisfied with the settings yet. So glad you were still able to absorb the content and appreciate the work and channel! Hopefully the audio is even better in the next one. Thank you for being here and for being part of the Roots Music History Family!
Try to find out more about SRV RED Telecaster because there is pictures of him using a RED Telecaster playing on stage with other blues guitarist. I'm not sure what year this Red Telecaster is. I know Jimmie Vaughan use to play telecasters in the 70's with the Fabulous Thunderbirds, yes in the 70's ( not the 80s ) which this could have been one of Jimmie Vaughans Telecaster but I have also seen SRV use a Yellow Telecaster playing with Jimmie Vaughan at various live concerts. The Yellow Telecaster is Jimmie Vaughans because he use to play it in the 70's with the Fabulous Thunderbirds but not sure which year the guitar is. CLICK HERE to see SRV playing the Yellow Telecaster ruclips.net/video/T3ydLc4Zmzc/видео.html
The mystery of the Mickey Mantel autograph question is quite interesting. Given Fender’s extreme attention to detail in recreating both #1 and Lenny, I would argue that their copies would reflect exactly what they found on those two guitars while in their possession, as closely as humanly possible. And it’s also noteworthy to point out that the picture shown at 32:52 of #1 with the autograph in the left side frame, and the right side without the autograph appear to be two different guitars. The wear pattern is different on both, which could be explained by different times in which the photos were taken, but the tremolo block on the one without the autograph is a huge red flag to me. On the left side photo, with the autograph, the tremolo block is very thick, and something I would expect to see on all of Stevie’s guitars, while the tremolo block on the right photo is very thin, and looks more like a very cheap block you’d find on a $100 foreign made guitar. I have no direct proof of this, but I do not believe Rene Martinez (Stevie’s guitar tech) would EVER put such a thin cheap block like that on one of Stevie’s guitars. In fact, I would need Rene Martinez himself to confess to installing that thin block before I would believe that photo on the right side to be authentic. Every indication is that it’s not a photo of the authentic #1, nor even a Fender clone of #1.
As for the theory of having deliberately removed the autograph, I don’t think that is possible, without being extremely obvious, visually. You’d have to remove a good bit of wood material (along with the chipped away pattern in the finish, which would be as obvious as a pink elephant) and very easily noticeable. Adding to the mystery is the fact that #1 is the guitar used to play the Anthem in Houston, not Lenny, so it would have been the guitar most readily available if the story is accurate and the autograph was gotten then.
The only plausible theory I can come up with is that #1 was autographed first, and later, Stevie had Lenny autographed too. Then, as Stevie played #1 moving forward, the autograph was simply worn away naturally, while the autograph on Lenny was not, since it wasn’t played regularly.
But the issue is very intriguing, because based on my recollection, the autograph was always associated with Lenny
Your audio is fine, but you could reduce room echo by keeping the mic within a couple inches of your mouth. With a close mic, you do have to be careful about plosives. Either use a pop filter or speak past, not directly at, the mic. I do the latter.
SRV used Bass frets and gauge 13 strings on his Strats . The Fender Stratocaster is the greatest Electric guitar ever designed . My own US Standard is 25 this year and its hands down the best guitar ive ever owned . Stevie said when asked why a Stratocaster ? 'I find it does everything I need and is very versatile ' .
Great video! You must have spent a lot of time on it.
I was hoping to hear something about the guitar that SRV was using in 1979 or 1980 at the Rome Inn in Austin. This was previously Little Bit O Italy, a restaurant that had been converted for live music and dancing. SRV and Double Trouble were a new, obscure band then but those who were going to hear them, knew they were going to be big someday.
Stevie was playing a Jazzmaster, not a Strat. I remember well because I would stand right in front of the stage which was actually the entrance to the venue, as it had been when it was a restaurant and I wondered what all those switches did on his guitar. His #1 must have been in the shop at that time.
That was a very interesting history of SRV and his guitars. I wasn't a huge fan of his music, but his guitar playing. Thank you for posting this video. You did an excellent job of narration.
I really liked Heart of Texas on Lamar. Ray was very friendly but he was also a salesman. He would tell you what he knew about guitars. Multiple times I ended up walking out with what as Ray would say a "big ol guitar". Never met Stevie or heard him play live. If we ever figure out time travel I would definitely be going to hear him play live, or back to Heart of Texas to hang out and visit with the helpful and friendly folks there!
32:28 I think that's a different guitar on the right. The trem block is a cheap thin one, the body seam is offset, and it has MORE laquer in places previously worn off. Check the area near the strap lock, which you can locate in both pictures. In the left picture there is about an inch of bare wood all around the lower bout, but it isn't an inch in the right hand side one. Does anyone else see it? ❤
My theory on why he plays Lenny on those 2 specific tracks is that while No. 1 had a 12" radius, Lenny may have had a vintage 7.25" radius. The song "Lenny" has some chordal work that is difficult to play cleanly on the flatter 12" radius, but much easier to play on a more curved 9.5" or 7.25" radius. The one guitar of SRV's I wish you would have covered is the Rickenbacker he played in the 70s. A very atypical guitar for playing the blues on.
I love this!
Fantastic content my fair lady. Just subscribed and greetings from Memphis 😊
Just found this channel, what a treasure! Thanks for all the research obviously put into this, I didn't think at this point there could be any fresh SRV takes I hadn't seen, heard or read, but lots in here I didn't know. Great stuff! Can't wait to dive into the rest of the channel.
I really appreciate your diligence producing this video, I could talk to you for hours about guitars.... may you have success in all you pursue........
First off, you are absolutely radiant today 👀❤️😊 Ok now, You really did Your homework again. Outstanding job.
Thank you so much!!! #1 was traded into Ray Hennig’s the Heart of Texas music store by Christopher Cross, yes! Lenny was the Pooled together funds by Lenora Bailey :) Thank you for being here and I hope this clarified some things! (Or in my case raised a very important question for me, how could fender miss this Mickey Mantle autograph 😮)
I still wear a Soul patch in 2024 (flavor saver) in honor of Stevie. As I continued to watch I heard you nail even the neck years haha highly enjoying Your Channel 🎼🎸 Thank you so much for sharing. 🎼🙏 Early@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
Awesome history lesson on SRV. Loved your video!
Thanks so much for this video,love anything SRV.im still looking if there's any video of his concerts at pier 84 in NY mid 80's.keep up the good work.
Lotsa research and so much detail. Lookin forward to your next endeavor!!
I worked at a guitar store that had both of the reissues in the early 2000’s. amazing instruments . One thing people often miss is the electrical wire casing he would use to protect the strings at the bridge. I’m sure it made some tone difference. But if it keeps you from breaking strings it is probably worth it.
How about Charlie, with the Danelectro pickups? I believe that was one of his sweetest tones.
Aw Come on! How can this post have 12.2K subs, 5820 views & only 305 likes? Amazing content.
Thank you so so much! I almost didn't post this because I just got a new microphone and I'm not satisfied with the settings yet. So glad you were still able to absorb the content and appreciate the work and channel!
You packed a lot of information into such a short period of time and I absorbed most of it, I think? You did a wonderful job! And not only about Stevie's guitars; Ray Hennig is my new hero. I read what you posted about him a few days ago and it reminded me of the era and how kind and wonderful people used to be. Well, most people.. I also remember the legendary Astrodome and my Dodgers travelling to Houston every summer. Getting Mickey's autograph?? Priceless! I actually got Willie Mays' autograph when my buddy and I shagged golf balls at the local country club and sell them back to the golfers in the early 70s. Willie tore a scorecard in half and put his John Hancock (in pencil) on them for the both of us. That was an awesome day! I seriously doubt I'll ever make it to Nashville, but because of you, I feel like I've already been there. But never say "never." You'd be the first person I'd look for and truth be told, we'd likely chew each other's ears off. Thank you for hard work and diligence and I believe Stevie is thanking you as well!😎
Ray Hennig was my favorite part of this episode so I’m so glad you gave him another shout out here in the comments! I think I will do another video just solely as a tribute to him. I also love that you feel as though you’ve been here! I need to do more Roots Rockumentaries about the locals here. I did one on George Gruhn if you search roots music history George gruhn gruhn guitars. There’s so much history I’m so blessed to be here and to be able to share it with you!
I forgot to mention that little Spinal Tap clip you inserted. Very cute, funny, and timely! I've watched a few of your other podcasts on my flat-screen. The cable service I use includes RUclips, though it doesn't allow comments or the ability to like videos. I'll check out the George Gruhn segment, and I'll be waiting for Ray Hennig and I remember you saying something about a Van Halen podcast? Oh, and Janice as well.
If you can't tell by now already, I really like your podcasts! Intelligent conversations such as the ones we've had are a truly welcome bonus🤓@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
@@sillymanblues THANK YOU for laughing at the spinal tap insert with me!!!! lol! I try to include them here and there bahahaha. I will find myself laughing hysterically at them at the most awkward times. Like alone on a plane. lol.
@@sillymanblues And yes 100% I have Ray Hennig and Van Halen on cue! I have a whole list, honestly. It's hard sometimes to have a schedule or a definite date for a certain documentary. It depends on when I can schedule interviews or visit certain locations, etc. Sometimes I can post a new Roots every week - other times it's one or twice a month. But rest assured those are on the list!
I know it takes a while to get these things done ,and some days everything falls into place-------and other days? Not so much. After I watched your piece on George Gruhn yesterday, RUclips sent me a questionnaire asking me to rate the segment and why I liked it. So I guess they're paying attention, as they should be. Have a great weekend and I'll catch you on your next podcast. :))@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY
I remember hearing audio of an interview where he mentioned that guitar with cowboys many moons ago. Pretty sure it was a Gene Autry guitar.
Ahh!!! I’m going to look at the Gene Autry models and see if I find one with those red boots!
Thank you for this wonderful video and all the information about Stevie Ray Vaughan Guitars 🎸
Looking forward to many more like this one
Thank you so much!
Nice job. Really enjoyed that from NYC.
SRV was a world class guitarist but i never really dug his aesthetic including and especially his guitars.. gaudy and loud (just my personal preference here- don't get bent) Now are they ok for him, certainly; but someone else wondering into a guitrar center (aging myself) and picking up a guitar with a giant SRV across it?? i never got that
What Happen to srv Gibson Firebird
Really appreciate the information. I saw Stevie Ray live in Sydney Australia in 1986, memories for a lifetime.
I'm fortunate enough to have seen Stevie play a free concert at UCONN just a year or two before he died... about 10 rows away from the stage. It was magical. You had to experience it. He had just gotten sober/clean and was singing and playing better than ever. I still shed a tear when I think of the loss of his talent. Watching this video, I will say you did some awesome in-depth digging... but there is something I think you missed hidden in plain sight. In the photo of #1 with the Mickey signature - notice how much of the darker part of the burst is missing around and near the signature... and in the picture of #1 with your surmised scratched out/carved away missing Mickey signature, the darker burst finish magically reappears near the bare wood. It does not even look like the identical guitar... the wear marks do not match. When I saw that shot my gut tells me there was/is #1 and probably a clone or two. Only Jimmie Vaughn and Fender would know for sure... and they aren't telling anybody. Wouldn't surprise me at all someday to learn Stevie took his "first wife" with him to his grave and it's the copy (no signature) we see around every now and then on display. Just my 2 cents worth... your mileage may vary. Cheers!
Loved the video. You're awesome and the level of detail you put into your work is amazing.
Stevie had at least 3 more guitars that he used on tour. The Strat shaped Hamiltone as seen on the Couldn't stand the weather video, a yellowish-butterscotch colored Strat he called Scotch, and a white Strat with lipstick pickups he called Charley that he received as a gift from his friend Charley Wirz (sp?).
I have read many times that the Hamiltone was a gift to Stevie from Billy Gibbons, although Billy or Jimmy would be the only two who would know for sure. Sounds legit so maybe it's true.
Scotch was used in the band Vanilla Fudge, but I don't know who played it or how Stevie came to own it. The body was routed out by the previous owner to accommodate, as Stevie put it, "a shit load of humbuckers." He said the body rang like a bell, but I'm not sure if he was referring to the characteristics of the wood or the result of being heavily routed.
Charley was a beautiful partscaster that was stolen and never recovered.
This is the best Stevie Ray Vaughan history I've heard. Thank you for your research and getting the facts strait.
Thank you so much!! I’m so glad to have you part of the roots music history family!
Interesting history on these guitars, thanks for the video it's well done😊👍 Cheers
Wow fantastic in depth historical review! New fan and subscriber of your channel! Cheers from 🇨🇦
What a great job you did I was captivated from start to finish. Great work thanks so much for sharing this research. Respect from bush in Australia 🇦🇺
Great investigative work! I learned a lot during your video. Thanks for posting this content!!!
Never seen number one was signed by mantle this is new to me
Two of the times I saw SRV on a couple songs he played a white Strat
I'm still trying to wrap my head around why Ray thought this strat was junk. My first guitar was a 65 Fender Music Master II which I bought for $45 in 1976. This was only three years after Stevie got his strat. By 1976 what we called "Pre CBS" stratocasters were highly sought after, regardless of their condition. Compared to Gibsons, Fenders could take a savage beating anyway; e.g. in 1979 I had been jamming with a buddy of mine who had a Gibson SG. I left my amp and guitar over at his house. One day he got into a heated argument with his mom and he stormed out of the house. When he came back hrs later, she had tossed my Fender and his Gibson out the front door. He was HORRIFIED when he arrived home to find both guitars laying on the front lawn, baking in the hot afternoon sun LOL. His guitar was in the case and mine wasn't. The body at the neck joint of his SG had a hair line crack even though it was in the case. Other than a paint chip the size of a penny, my Fender was absolutely fine. There is of course a big difference in the durability of a bolt neck over a glued set neck, but even a beat up, deteriorated finish vintage early 60's Strat was highly prized back then. In the early 70's Rory Gallagher really put the cool into his Stratocaster which coincidentally was a 1961. By 1973, it had ten years of high hard mileage on it with most of the finish worn off from Rory's literal sweat. We all used to joke that it looked like it had moss growing on it LOL. It's in a museum in Dublin and you can still the denim from his jeans ground into the wood.
Great detective work! I was fortunate enough to see SRV perform live.
Great episode!! Love the detective work. 2 possible scenarios about the signature on #1...it eventually was worn off, or as mentioned in another comment, the guitar on display was a replica. Hard to tell precisely from the pics, but the wear pattern is altered which could point to either explanation..
Robert! I know you :) I thought about that. For scenario #1 where it was worn off: I truly don't believe Stevie would have let that happen. He cherished that autograph so much. I know the guitar went through extensive repairs, which included what someone described as almost an entire re-work of the body. I believe he had this autograph removed to preserve it. and for #2 regarding it being a replica - Jimmy did donate the guitar to the small museum in Austin, so that was his actual guitar on display for several years.
@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY He knew he still had Mantle's autograph on Lenny. I truly believe it just wore off over the next 5 years of hard gigging. Makes much more sense than cutting a large chunk out of the guitar to preserve it, at least in my mind. Great video by the way. New sub!!
I like your content and you seem to have passion for it , smart and beautiful. I like it
What a great video have a wonderful weekend also today is my friends birthday ❤😊
Ray Hennig already knew Stevie and Jimmy from his store in Waco since 1968. When Ray moved the store in 1974 to Austin he already knew Stevie, so your idea of Ray being "new" to Austin and worrying about Stevie is just not true. Ray already knew Stevie very well.
The pickups in Stevie's number one were not dated. There is no reason to assume they are 1959 pickups, and no info I have found indicates they are 1959 pickups. The pickups in his Number One are most likely 1962-63 stock fender pickups. When one went dead, Cesar Diaz said he put in a Fender Black bottom pickup to replace it.
Ray did know Stevie but he was new to Austin. He had only been there a month when Stevie walked in and picked up Number One. Pickups are 1959.
@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY Where is the proof the pickups are 1959. I would love to see it and be very appreciative of the information. Thanks.
Wow! You did your homework! Very informative, interesting and stuffed with info I've never known. Thank you!
Is there any information on No. 1's mounting of the 'left hand' vibrato bridge? Was it one of SRV's mods or was it on the guitar when it was hanging in Hennig's shop?
Good question. The assumption is that SRV did this to approximate Hendrix playing an upside down Stratocaster, i.e., whammy bar on top.
I wish Chris Cross would speak up more about the history of the guitar pre- Hennig!
Doyle, as in Bramhall? You betcha.
Appreciate the effort and time spent for this video
This is a great and informative video sweetie!!❤
Thank you so much!!! I'm trying to get the hang of this whole youtube/microphone/camera thing LOL!
@@ROOTSMUSICHISTORY I'd say you pretty much got it down.💕
Hubert sumlin strap on guitar broke,the guitar neck broken at the body joint...at our gig in Canada.... Hubert was in tears..we tried super glue-j b l.glue,, nothing, worked.We get to chicago.and waiting for Hubert was a strange one of a kind Rickenbacker.. big body, strange double cut away,and little metal input guard... super big string,,and the best neck I ever played, super thin..and a tee shirt stuff the body,I think for feed-back.. Hubert call it his gift from heaven..It was Stevie Ray young giging guitars.
Didn't Stevie's #1 get crushed by a lighting scaffolding at some point and Fender put it back together for him ? Maybe that's when Mickey's signature was removed....still have a couple minutes to go on the video
Wow. Always thought SRV played his Riviera on Riviera Paradise. You can see why. Thanks for the data.
Nobody knows Stevies guitars better than Rene Martinez.
You say 63 Esquire at the end, did they even make one then? I know he played a 53, but
I had this exact same discussion already! Many people believe they did not but they really did!
I’m pretty sure he played the Lenny guitar throughout his career even after their divorce. There is a video of him in 1989 at Austin city limits playing the Lenny guitar.
Yes he did! I was saying only times it was played in recordings*
What about the white Strat I saw with at times?
Very informative and interesting video. I still remember seeing Stevie tear it up on his #1 first wife at the KLAQ Balloon Fest Memorial Day weekend 1989. I wish I was famous so you could profile some of my Strats.
Good evening, just wanted to tell you that at minute 31:38 you're wrong. He never carved the autograph out. You can clearly still see some of the left over Sunburst Lacquer on trhe area in question. Common sence would tell you that it was most likely rubbed off from contact with SRV's clothing over the years.
Very nice and informative video of one of the greatest musicians and people who ever lived Stevie was the best bluesman of our time
Thank-ypu for this video.
You are very through.
I visited Ray Hennings music store when I was in Austin on my honeymoon in 2006.
Let me add some clarity on some of these things that are misconceptions. You can clearly see that Number One at 31:24 that this is NOT scratched off nor is that part of the body removed as there is still paint in that spot. It is more than likely a Fender Custom Shop model that sold for $20,000.00 when they were first released to the general public. If it was there and IF this was the real Number ONE guitar it was more than likely RUBBED OFF over time. THINK about it - it was his NUMBER ONE GUITAR. He played it for hours every day which is why it's so badly abused. The back of the body wasn't all chewed up as the one in the video.
And the inset picture at 32:10 the guitar on the RIGHT is NOT a Number One guitar - the paint is wrong and the signature is incorrect. This looks like a Temu, or aliexpress Chinese made copy that have flooded the market. The gold Fender tremolo was LEFT HANDED and the hole for the bar left in the body was filled with a piece of alder to hide this fact. the bar was right handed eventually being replaced with a left handed bar. The pickups in Number One are 1961 Stratocaster pickups - not 1959. These were never stamped or marked with any sort of date but Renee said that these were 1961 pickups in one of the last interviews he did for Guitar World magazine right before Stevie died. That article appeared in 1989 and had Jeff Beck on the front cover with Stevie holding "Scotch" - a 1961 Fender Stratocaster with a custom made "hawks beak" designed pickguard.
Also the Lenny guitar had a different neck that Billy Gibbons gave Stevie as a present for his 30th birthday. That was in 1984. It was a neck from a 1958 Fender Stratocaster on a 1963 Fender Stratocaster body. The carving on the front and the finish was re-done before he got that guitar. Some of the parts were swapped as they wore out from Stevie playing so much. This happened a lot. So keeping track of guitars and their parts that Stevie owned is going to be very difficult in their proper order. But thank you for sharing this with us any way.
Great content and thanks for sharing! I'm just a beginner when it comes to guitar playing/sounds/audio engineering... and I hate to say this, but it sounds like there's some reverberation in your audio capture... Hope you see this as constructive criticism, even though I have no clue how you could "fix" this (and if it's even an issue).
Thank you!! I did get that feedback from a few folks! Can you listen to some of the more recent episodes and let me know how they sound to you? Much appreciated!
J’ville Guitar… Jacksonville Guitar… which ‘Jacksonville’ is this store in? I’m in Jacksonville, Arkansas, and it looks exactly like the shop here. I bought my first P-bass there in the mid nineties. Haven’t been in there in a year or so. I think they’ve changed names… but if this is somehow the same shop I’m gonna have to check this out.
The toy guitar is probably a Wyatt Earp guitar.
agree
Jimbo is not an Esquire. The Esquire model had ONLY a bridge pickup. They are easy to spot as the pick guard stands out like a sore thumb because the neck pickup is missing.
Hi! I lived in Austin from 1985 to 1988, and have a really fun story about the day we saw Steve Ray perform...for an audience of just two people! If it interests you, please reach out, I'll be happy to tell the tale!
I must not be a major SRV fan, even though I've seen him live 3 times, including warm-up to a Clapton show. Gave me a headache listening to this.
Never heard Stevie play the national anthem either. I would love to hear his version. But like Heart of Texas the Astrodome is another place you can't go back to. Since I'm on a Blog I might as well add my favorite SRV recording is "Life Without You" when he went back and amazed everybody at Montreux.
"All we have ever- Is the need to give each other our love. If we forget that we lose everything we've got. Let's remember that and get out of this place alive."
There is a video on RUclips of the video of Stevie playing the national anthem at the astrodome
Wow. You really did amazing homework. Thank you.
SRV's "Star Spangled Banner" performance at the Astrodome in 1985 was not one of his finest moments, at least he got Mantle's autograph out of it.
Agreed 😅
That autograph just wore away it's sharpie marker. Sweat and rubbing against clothes will rub em off fast! He didn't carve out the portion of the guitar to save it it would be really hard to do that and it shows no signs in the wood of carving a thin section out. It simply wore off just like autographs I've had on my guitars from people. Unless you clear coat them over and seal them up.. or hang them on a wall and never touch them, they will wear off fast! The autograph on the Lenny guitar only survived because Stevie didn't play that guitar as much or as aggressively as he did Number 1. He played it just for the Lenny song or Riviera Paradise. So it didn't wear away like it did on Number 1 which was his main go to. The reason they didn't put the sig on the replica for Number 1 is they were replicating the exact state the guitar was in after his passing. So the autograph was well gone from then. Loving all the videos you're doing on Stevie and others! So glad I found your channel it's cool seeing someone do this keeping the blues legends alive thank you!
Thank you! For sharing, heart felt 😢
I don't believe the #1 and the other #1 are the same guitars. Jimmy most likely had a replica made. No way he is loaning out the REAL #1
The original was indeed in the Bob Bullock Museum for a short period of time. Newspapers reported the kickoff to the exhibit and advertised it as a "very rare chance" to view Stevie Ray's original guitar. That guitar does not have the autograph, but you can see prior to 1986 Stevie showing off Number One with the autograph, clear as day.
What about the one pickup yellow Strat. What about the Charlie guitar. What about the Hamilton guitar. What about the red Strat and what about the vintage white/ yellowing guitar with the red pick guard?
I really hate to say this because I LOVE fender guitars!!! I have 3 straps 2 American and one Really cool MIM and an American Tele, but 3 years ago I bought a SRV strat and two of the screws were stripped out on the backplate, this guitar had not been taken out of the fender box, I returned it to my local dealer who I bought it from and he promptly gave me the other one, brand new but had been set up. It played awesome but the TX specials sounded like junk!!! One of my MIA strats is an American Special from the first or second year they came out with the big headstock and TX. Specials in it are amazing!!! I believe SRV would be rolling in his grave if he knew there were guitars like that floating around with his name attached. And I'll say it again I LOVE FENDER GUITARS!!! The Fender Statocaster and Telecaster guitars are pure perfection. from a 30 year professional guitar player I swear they got those two right very early on!!!
Stevie designed a guitar as well and a prototype was built by, I believe, a Swedish man. It’s a bit odd looking. Seems to be a mash-up of a Telecaster and a Rickenbacker 330. I wanted to build one but could never get the original builder to answer me back. I think there’s a couple pictures of it in Craig Hopkins book. Another interesting guitar of his was the Hamiltone.
whats with all the weird video pausing and audio juddering? its freaking out my brain. is it some kind of editing or is this some AI kind of thing?😝🤢🤔
The side by side photo of the supposed No. 1s, is in fact 2 different guitars. There is no way Stevie carved out Mantle's signature. The hole would have been enormous. The pictures are of 2 different guitars. IMHO
I saw Stevie twice: once in Toledo, other in Cleveland, Ohio. Still have the tshirt to prove it!