Bruce Springsteen has shared the story of his legendary Born to Run Tele as part of a new free-to-watch documentary celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Fender Telecaster.
To mark the guitar’s milestone, Fender assembled some of the biggest names in Tele history for a near-80-minute film that’s been published on YouTube.
The One That Started It All features interviews with Keith Richards, Sheryl Crow, Andy Summer, Jack White, Joe Bonamassa and many more.
Springsteen, whose own 1950s Telecaster is the stuff of rock ’n’ roll legend, also offers viewers an up-close look at the mods and mysteries of his most prized six-string.
“When I signed my first record contract I was going to get to buy a new guitar. I knew I wanted a Telecaster,” he recalls. “This is a guitar I found in Phil Petillo’s shop in 1972. It was hanging on the wall, it cost $185. It’s a mutt.
“It’s a Telecaster body from the early ‘50s and an Esquire neck. This is on the cover of Born to Run.”
It’s one of Springsteen’s most iconic instruments. It’s been by his side for more than 50 years, serving as both his main stage instrument and a de facto extension of his body.
As Springsteen notes in the Telecaster documentary, it’s filled with surprises. Chief among them is the various modifications that have been made over the years.
“This is your working man’s axe,” Springsteen says of the Tele. “It’s just a hunk of wood with strings and a neck. It’s your fundamental tool for rock ’n’ roll or soul music or whatever you want to use it for.
“This guitar was modified,” he explains. “There’s a little hole in the pickguard, and there was an extra jack [socket]. So, somebody at some point may have tried to make it stereo.”
Springsteen continues, “There is a preamp inside that was put in because I wanted to get all over the stage. I had a really long jack and the problem with it was it cut the highs off the guitar.
“I also had to insulate the entire inside of the guitar with rubber because I was sweating so much that halfway through the show the guitar would short out. I would lose all my highs and it would sound like crap.
“It was in the days when I was only using one guitar for the entire show. This guitar has had quite a few different manifestations.
“Jeff Beck played one. Pete Townsend played one. Steve Cropper played one. James Burton played one,” the Boss says of why he decided to pick up a Tele all those years ago.
“That covered everything from rock music to soul music to rockabilly. And it was just the guitar for me.”
It’s not the first time Springsteen has shared the story of his Born to Run Tele. Back in 2021, he took the guitar on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The Fender Telecaster: The One That Started It All is available to watch now on YouTube.
