“I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to Telecaster”: Stevie Van Zandt on why the Strat became his go-to guitar for decades – after passing the Tele baton to Bruce Springsteen

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Van Zandt recalls how, back in the day, most guitarists only had one guitar, which contributed heavily to the player's core identity

American singer and guitarist Bruce Springsteen performs live during a concert at the Rock festival in Rome, at the Capannelle Hippodrome. At his side, the historic American guitarist Steven Van Zandt, also known as Little Steven. Rome (Italy), July 11th, 2013
(Image credit: Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)

Stevie Van Zandt knows a thing or two about the music industry – from being the guitar slinger in the E Street Band, side by side with Bruce Springsteen, to his Grammy-nominated HBO film, Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple, which came out last year. And while he's now the owner of many a formidable guitar, Van Zandt’s penchant for Strats – most famously, the well-worn 1957 Stratocaster featured in the 1980 No Nukes concert film – harks back to a time when players typically owned just one guitar.

Yet his relationship with Fenders started with the Telecaster. “I started to notice that the guitar superstars at the time were playing Telecasters. Mike Bloomfield. Jeff Beck. Even Eric Clapton played one for a while,” he tells Premier Guitar.

“I went down to Jack’s Music Shop in Red Bank, New Jersey, because he had the first Telecaster in our area and couldn’t sell it; it was just sitting there. I bought it for 90 bucks.”

Bruce Springsteen - Badlands (The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts) - YouTube Bruce Springsteen - Badlands (The Legendary 1979 No Nukes Concerts) - YouTube
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As Van Zandt explains, at that time, the guitar you chose also acted as a strong identifier and a key part of your persona. “Everybody had a different guitar; your guitar was your identity,” he describes. “At some point, a couple of years later, I remember Bruce calling me and asking me for my permission to switch to Telecaster.

“At that point, I was ready to switch to Stratocaster, because Jimi Hendrix had come in and Jeff Beck had switched to a Strat. They all kind of went from Telecaster to Les Pauls. And then some of them went on to the Stratocaster.”

For Van Zandt, the Les Paul was “too out of reach” due to its price point and weight, leading to his decision to switch to a Strat due to the model’s versatility versatility.

As for the Boss, he became synonymous with the Telecaster, as epitomized in the iconic Telecaster/Esquire mutt featured on the cover of his 1975 masterpiece, Born to Run, which Springsteen has to this day.

Bought for $185, the guitar is now reportedly worth anywhere between $1,000,000 to $5,000,000.

Janelle Borg
Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.