What happens to iconic guitars after a famous (or cult hero) guitarist dies? These days it’s common to see instruments sold at high-profile auctions and vanish into the clutches of anonymous collectors with deep pockets.
However, some guitars live on in museum collections, remain under close guard as family heirlooms, or pass along to famous player friends, where they continue to make history.
We decided to take a closer look at five of the most celebrated Telecasters, (actually, one is an Esquire) played by guitarists we’ve loved and lost, and figure out where those instruments are now. We start with George Harrison’s legendary 1968 Fender Rosewood Telecaster Prototype...
Sales of electric guitars skyrocketed in the mid-’60s, shortly after Beatlemania reached the U.S. However, American guitar companies were initially hesitant to capitalize on the phenomenon by striking deals with the Beatles, even though the Gibson, Gretsch, and Rickenbacker (and later Epiphone and Fender) guitars they played instantly became desirable icons.
Rickenbacker did make an early effort by giving George Harrison a prototype of its 360/12 electric 12-string, which made that model an instant success, but the relationship didn’t go much further than that.
The generation gap between the marketing/artist relations departments of American guitar companies and young rock ’n’ rollers was apparently still too wide, as manufacturers preferred to align with more “respectable” jazz, country, and pop performers at the time.
However, that attitude started to change during the late ’60s. In July 1968, Fender’s director of sales, Don Randall, met with Paul McCartney and John Lennon at Apple Corps, hoping to convince the Beatles to sign an endorsement deal with Fender.
As a symbolic gesture of trust, Randall gave the band Bassman and Twin Reverb amps, a Jazz Bass and Bass VI, a Rhodes electric piano, and a Fender PA system.
Lennon and McCartney greatly appreciated the gesture but remained reluctant, so Randall decided to sweeten the deal by giving lead guitarist George Harrison a very special instrument that was already in the works: a prototype of the Rosewood Telecaster model that Fender was planning to introduce.
Harrison’s Rosewood Telecaster tipped the scales at more than 10 lbs
Fender designers Philip Kubicki and Roger Rossmeisl built two prototypes each of the planned Rosewood Tele and Strat models, choosing the best example of each for Harrison and Jimi Hendrix, respectively (Hendrix died before Fender could give him the Rosewood Strat).
Coincidentally, Rossmeisl already had an indirect relationship with the Beatles as the designer of the body shapes for the Rickenbacker 325 and 360/12 guitars and 4001 bass played by Lennon, Harrison, and McCartney.
The Fender Rosewood Telecaster did not depart too radically from the standard Telecaster’s design other than its two-piece rosewood neck and body construction, which consisted of two slabs (top and back) of Indian rosewood with carved chambers and a very thin layer of maple in the center.
Beyond that, it retained the two single-coil pickups, a three-way blade selector switch, master volume and tone knobs, and other standard Tele features.
A clear satin finish preserved the rosewood’s natural root beer brown color and grain figuring, and a black pickguard was chosen over the usual white version because it complemented the rosewood’s deep, rich hues better.
Rossmeisl had already developed both the short-lived “smuggler’s” variant of the Telecaster body, where a huge hollow cavity was hidden underneath the pickguard to relieve excess weight, and the Telecaster Thinline model that made its debut in 1968.
Rosewood was even heavier than the dense variety of alder supplied to Fender during this time period, so the chambered designs that Rossmeisl devised became a necessity to produce a guitar that was even remotely comfortable. Regardless, Harrison’s Rosewood Telecaster still tipped the scales at more than 10 lbs.
The Rosewood Telecaster occupied a seat next to Randall when he flew to England in December 1968 to personally deliver the prototype to Harrison. Although he never felt fully comfortable with the guitar’s excess weight, Harrison loved the Tele’s looks and tone, and he immediately put it to use for the Get Back sessions in January 1969.
It remained his studio companion from February through August 1969 as the Beatles worked on Abbey Road. The Rosewood Tele can be heard on several classic Beatles songs, including Don’t Let Me Down, Get Back, I’ve Got a Feeling, the single version of Let It Be, and the solo-tradeoff section of The End.
Most importantly, it is the guitar that Harrison played during the Beatles’ final live performance on January 30, 1969, on the rooftop of the Apple Corps headquarters at 3 Savile Row in London, captured for the feature film Let It Be.
![The Beatles - The Beatles - Don't Let Me Down (Live Performance) [Mono / 2009 Remaster] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NCtzkaL2t_Y/maxresdefault.jpg)
Fender probably hoped to capitalize on the film to promote the Rosewood Telecaster, but they released the model prematurely in 1969, well before the film was released in May 1970. Public response to the model was passive, mainly due to its then-expensive $375 price tag.
By the time Let It Be reached theaters, dealers lost interest in stocking the model, even though a few eagle-eyed Beatles fans sought the distinctive Tele they saw Harrison playing. The Rosewood Telecaster appeared on and off in Fender catalog and dealer price lists until 1972, when they finally shipped all of the remaining stock.
Harrison also lost interest in the Rosewood Telecaster well before the film came out. In December 1969, he gave the Tele to Delaney Bramlett while he briefly toured as a member of Delaney & Bonnie. Bramlett played the guitar often on stage during the ’70s and beyond.
He even famously loaned it to Jerry Garcia in 1970 when the Grateful Dead guitarist joined Delaney & Bonnie on stage for a jam when their bands were on tour together. Bramlett made a few modifications to the guitar over time, including routing the body for a humbucking pickup in the neck position and sanding the finish off the back of the neck.
In 2003, Bramlett sold the Rosewood Telecaster through Odyssey Auctions in Hollywood on September 13. The winning bidder was actor Ed Begley Jr., who snagged the instrument for $434,750. Apparently, Begley was meant to act as a distraction from the real buyer, which was Harrison’s widow, Olivia.
The news of the guitar’s return to the Harrison family became public knowledge anyway, and it still remains in their possession, often seen in the hands of George and Olivia’s son Dhani.
- This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.
