I am wondering what famous, significant, or great songs use a Telecaster. If you can provide the song name, band name, Tele player, album name, and year, that would be great.
I am wondering what famous, significant, or great songs use a Telecaster. If you can provide the song name, band name, Tele player, album name, and year, that would be great.
"Two-Lane Highway" -- Pure Prairie League
"One Toke Over The Line" -- Brewer & Shipley
Howzat for starters, John?
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Hot Rod Lincoln - Bill Kirchen with Comannder Cody
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Tumbling Dice -- The Rolling Stones, 1972
Two from the same Hellecasters album. Maybe not famous but great. Advantage #1 = three "Teles" in one band. Advantage #2 = Easy to sing these two;
Back on Terra Firma and Passion, both from Return Of The Hellecasters, 1993
Gotta' love John Jorgenson's hair in that Youtube video! He's more clean-cut these days............Bill
Pretty much the first four Zeppelin albums.
Blue Jean Blues - ZZ Top
Really, the list of great Tele songs can get huge!
If you're into more modern harder stuff check out John 5 (former guitar player from Marilyn Manson and rumored replacement guitarist for Ozzy in place of Zakk Wylde). Or how about Rage Against The Machine? Tele's are EVERYWHERE and most people don't even realize it.
This came up in another thread:
Doctor My Eyes, Jackson Browne. Telecaster solos played by the late Jesse Ed Davis (my Kiowa bother).
A few others......
"Crocodile Rock" -- Elton John
"Funk 49" -- The James Gang
"Take It Easy" -- The Eagles
"Your Mama Don't Dance" -- Loggins & Messina
"Woodstock" -- CSN&Y
"Let Your Love Flow" -- the Bellamy Brothers
"Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" -- the Hollies
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
Muddy Waters. Google it.
most of the buck owens catalog.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
Phantomman... on "Croc ROck," I have never seen a photo of Davey Johnstone plying anything but a Gibson, usually a Les Paul or SG, so I'm not sure that's a Tele.... and the lead part on CSN&Y's "Woodstock" is fer sure Neil Young, and he's got to be playing that black Les Paul into his Deluxe.
Well I'm not that familiar with Davey but I recollect seeing Stephen Stills a few years back on some PBS special and he played "Woodstock" -- he was using a old black guard Esquire (which is almost a Tele) and nailing both the riff and the tone perfectly. Who knows, Jim? Mebbe some youtube footage will turn up someday. Great songs though (both of them).
"When injustice becomes law then rebellion becomes duty."
The driving riddum on Woodstock twas Stephen, on a 'Broadcaster' to be mo correct... ;-)
Solo yes, fills are Stills. Neil's probably playing his 6120 on that. Most of the CSNY stuff was that or a White Falcon.Originally Posted by silent j.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Loggins and Messina - Angry Eyes, Your Mama Don't Dance
Dwight Yoakam - Guitars Cadillacs (and every otehr song)
Buck Owens - All of 'em.
David Gilmour's electric guitar parts on "Dogs" by Pink Floyd was on a telecaster If I'm not mistaken.
Album: "Animals"
Year: 1977
Verdict:
RIP Lacey Cat 1992-2009
Ah... gotcha. It' been so long since I heard that recording, I couldn't hear the difference in those two guitars in my head anymore.
Ah... gotcha. It's been so long since I heard that recording, I can't hear the difference in the rhythm and solo guitars in my head... just sounds like one white hot blaze in my memory.
It still bugs me that they left that one off of Live At Newport 1960.
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
Amos Garrett did the solo on Maria Muldaur's "Midnight At The Oasis" with a Tele. A gorgeous piece of guitar playing.
From Maria's eponymous debut album in 1973.
The song reached #6 on the Billboard charts in '74.
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
Albums: GP and Grievous Angel
Artist: Gram Parsons
Tele Player: James Burton
"Pick it for me James"
Pete Anderson's work which is a huge tele catalogue.
Danny Gatton's work as well as The Hellecasters and of course Roy Buchanan's work.
so much Gatton, Hellecasters, buchanan, is way too much about the guitars and has very little "music" to be appreciated on any other level than technical skill. That leaves me cold.
I think they all did Sweet Dreams, the Patsy Cline song, that song is very melodic and has a general appeal.
Most Springsteen stuff is Tele, highly modded Esquire, whatever you want to call it.
Darkness On the Edge Of Town is the album most full of blatant Tele.
Then there's other stuff ranging from "Blinded By the Light," "10th Avenue Freeze Out" to "Ram Rod."
"Well, I used to be disgusted, now I try to be amused..."
Elvis Costello
Pretenders -- Middle of the Road
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoHK6658kn8
Great tele showcase song, IMO.
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness".
-Dave Barry
I suppose you could argue that about some of their music but I wouldn't say that about the entire catalog. But this comes from someone that hates to hear a band with not quite enough chops for the job. Much better to over do it a bit with the technique than to run short and not do the song justice.
The Hellecasters cover of Passion is really good stuff IMHO. Terra Firma has a nice energy that goes beyond John Jorgenson's technical skill. While Passion might be a tough fit for a set list, Terra Firma could work well or it could be the set-close "teaser"........Bill
Edit: spelling
Last edited by cwilliamrose; 09-28-2009 at 02:26 PM.
I agree with that, and that Sweet Dreams is nice. I said "so much" meaning "a lot" and I stand by that. I'll go further and say "most" of their work is in praise of the guitars and their sound, and not the music. That's just the plain fact.
Of course this is a thread about telecaster songs, so have at it. Those guys are telecaster icons--that's for sure.
Amos Moses - Jerry Reed.
"If you're cool, you don't know nothin' about it. It just is...or you ain't." - Keith Richards
Albert Collins, His whole career..
Collins, oh yeah. The original "ice man"
Jimi Hendrix - Fire.
"No harmonic knowledge, no sense of time, a ghastly tone, unskilled vibrato, and so on. Chuck is one of the worst guitar players I know" -Gravity Jim
The whole New Riders of the Purple Sage catalog.
Several guitars in different colors
Things to make them fuzzy
Things to make them louder
orange picks
Dave Hunter, on the Gibson website, says, "the archetypal early “classic Hendrix tones” that sent many a kid out in search of a late-’60s Strat, namely the solos on “Hey Joe” and “Purple Haze” from the first album, "Are You Experienced", weren’t played on a Stratocaster at all: They were played on a Fender Telecaster borrowed from bandmate Noel Redding."
I'm also thinking of Andy Summers in The Police. Didn't he use a Tele for everything?
I've seen Mark Knopfler use a Tele a few times. Don't know what songs it's on though.
I'm loving this list.
Prince.. technically not a Tele but still a bad ass guitar..
Dazed and Confused, Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page, 1969
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-svS...eature=related
I had no idea it was a Tele.
Bob Margolin With Muddy and on his solo disks..
Mike Campbell...
Tab Benoit
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