“He picks it up, hits the corner of a stone table and puts a huge ding in it”: When Jeff Beck damaged an impossibly rare vintage Stratocaster – while he and Dweezil Zappa were at a party dressed as knights

The life of a rock star isn’t all rehearsals and touring, recording take after take in the studio, then doing the press tour, interviews, all work and hustle. Sometimes – very occasionally – these cats like to party. And few could put on a party like the late Jeff Beck.

Well, at least according to Dweezil Zappa’s telling. Speaking to GW columnist Jared James Nichols and Tyler Larson on the No Cover Charge Podcast, he recounted a remarkable evening in the company of Beck, when he was not only made a knight of the realm by the late guitar icon, but witnessed something terrible happening to – quite possibly – one of the oldest Fender Stratocasters in existence.

“I was at Jeff Beck’s house for a costume part of all things. I went there dressed as King Arthur, in real chainmail, so it weighed… It was heavy!” says Zappa. “I get to the door, he opens the door, and he’s also like King Arthur, but he has a sword, and he knights me at the door!”

So far so very normal. Just so long as no-one wants to use the pool. That chain mail would be a safety hazard for real. And pray tell, Dweezil, is it easy to adjust after attending the restroom? Anyways, back to the party.

“Later in the party, he’s like, ‘Oh, let me show you this guitar.’ And he had this Stratocaster. He’s like, ‘It’s a really early Stratocaster. I don’t remember exactly what number,’ picking it up to look at the backplate,” continues Zappa. Spoilers for what’s to come: it was a really early Stratocaster, like, made out of the oak from the roundtable old…

Vintage guitar enthusiasts look away now.

“As he picks it up, he hits the corner of a stone table and puts a huge ding in it. He looks at it, and then he just hands it to me, ‘cos he just didn’t care,” says Zappa. “And the serial number was #000001. He said, ‘I got this from Steve Marriott. ‘And it was like some crazy, early version. It had some Jeff Beck grease at that point.”

Was it the first serial-numbered Strat? Not according to Guitarist magazine’s consulting expert on all things vintage guitar, David Davidson of Well Strung Guitars, in Farmingdale, NY. Speaking to Guitar Player in 2021, he spoke of his FOMO at having missed on the first serial-numbered Strat (#0100, with body and neck both dated January, 1954) that was sold a few years previous by Gruhn.

“It was marked up at a price I thought was ambitious at the time, but would love to buy it now!” said Davidson. “Because it’s really the first serial numbered Strat. Is it the first Stratocaster? No, it’s not. Is it the first serial numbered Strat? Yes, it is.”

Could the bold Dweezil have been mistaken with the serial number, perhaps after a glass of mead or whatever they serve at these social engagements? We could not say. But what is interesting about these old first-years Strats is that they are all different.

“I’ve had 0102, 0103, 0112, 0117, 0108, 0158, 0168 and 0194, and I can tell you every one of those guitars is memorable,” said Davidson. “More memorable than the distinctions between one ’Burst and another. Each one is distinctly different.

“The neck shapes and edges are different. They’re all cut the same, but the hand-finishing process seems to vary. I think there were possibly way too many cooks in the kitchen at certain points. They had a lot of local musicians working there like Bill Carson and Freddie Tavares, and they all had input.

“Leo wasn’t a player and could only trust the advice of those around him. But, he was listening all the time. By September ’54, the Stratocaster had evolved substantially. In my opinion, they were constantly trying to make a more perfect wheel.”

Well, if a 1954 Strat turns up at your local vintage emporium with a big ol’ ding in the body, lots of zeroes and a 1 on the neck plate… At least you know its backstory.