| Fender Stratocaster "Blackie" | |
|---|---|
 Clapton with "Blackie" performing in 1978 | |
| Manufacturer | Fender |
| Period | Pre-CBS |
| Construction | |
| Body type | Stratocaster |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Woods | |
| Body | Alder |
| Neck | Maple |
| Fretboard | Maple |
| Hardware | |
| Bridge | Standard Fender Synchronized |
| Pickup(s) | S-S-S |
Blackie is the nickname given by Eric Clapton to his favorite Fender Stratocaster.
In 1970, Clapton switched from Gibson electric guitars to Fender Stratocasters, largely due to the influences of Jimi Hendrix and Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood. His first Stratocaster, nicknamed "Brownie" because of its sunburst brown finish, was used on his albums Eric Clapton and Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs .
The same year, Clapton found the Sho-Bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee. He bought six 1950s Fender Stratocasters for two or three hundred US dollars each (roughly US$1,500-2,300 each in 2023 dollars). After giving one each to George Harrison, Pete Townshend, and Steve Winwood, he took the best parts of the remaining three (built c. 1956 and 1957) and Nashville luthier Ted Newman Jones assembled "Blackie", so named for its black finish. [1]
Clapton first played Blackie live 13 January 1973 at the Rainbow Concert. Clapton would play Blackie for many years on and off stage (such as in his guest appearance in The Last Waltz ); finally, after the Behind The Sun tour in 1985, it was retired due to issues with the neck. In 1988, the Eric Clapton Stratocaster was released, according to Clapton's specifications; he began playing his new signature model shortly after.
Blackie was seen again by the public for a 1990 television commercial for the Japanese automobile firm Honda when, at the specific request of the company, Clapton used Blackie to record a new guitar solo on "Bad Love" in New York and was filmed for the commercial doing so. Blackie was also brought out on stage for one number during the Royal Albert Hall shows in 1991. In 2019, the guitar was on display at the "Play it Loud!" exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, also featuring other instruments from iconic musicians. [2]
Clapton played "Blackie" almost exclusively on stage and in the studio from 1974 to 1985 recording hits such as "Cocaine", "I Shot The Sheriff", "Wonderful Tonight", "Farther Up the Road", "Lay Down Sally" and various live versions of "Layla" featured on several album covers and videos.
In 2004, Blackie was sold for US$959,500 at a Christie's auction to support the Crossroads Centre, a drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centre founded by Clapton. The auction's winner was the music equipment chain Guitar Center, and the bid set the record for the world's most expensive guitar. In 2006, another Stratocaster—signed by a large group of celebrities, including Clapton—was auctioned to benefit the victims of the 2004 Asian tsunami, selling for US$2.8 million and surpassing Blackie's record.
In November 2006, Fender announced a limited run of 275 Blackie reissues by the Fender Custom Shop, identical to the original. [3] They were released on 24 November 2006 and sold out within hours. The original Blackie was exhaustively examined and measured for the reproduction. The reproduction Blackies were constructed by a team of master builders, with each of the various 275 produced being assigned to one master builder.
Eric Patrick Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He ranked second in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009. In 2023, Rolling Stone named Clapton the 35th best guitarist of all time.
The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed between 1952 and 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously manufactured the Stratocaster since 1954. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top "horn" shape for balance. "Stratocaster" and "Strat" are trademark terms belonging to Fender. Guitars that duplicate the Stratocaster by other manufacturers are sometimes called S-Type or ST-type guitars. Many prominent rock musicians have been associated with the Stratocaster for use in studio recording and live performances, most notably Eric Clapton, Buddy Holly, David Gilmour, Mark Knopfler, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Frusciante, Jeff Beck, George Harrison, and Tom Petty.
Guitar Center, Inc. is an American musical instrument retailer chain headquartered in Westlake Village, California. It operates 304 locations and is the largest company of its kind in the United States.
Robert William Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. He has led his own band and won five Grammy Awards.
The Fender Eric Clapton Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of English guitarist Eric Clapton. It was the first signature model guitar released by Fender.
Charvel is a brand of electric guitars founded in the 1970s by Wayne Charvel in Azusa, California and originally headquartered in Glendora, California. Since 2002, Charvel has been under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.
Keith Douglas Scott is a Canadian guitarist. He is best known for his collaboration with Bryan Adams, for whom he has played lead guitar, since 1976. He has also worked with notable singers including Cher, Tina Turner, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Tom Cochrane, Craig Northey, João Pedro Pais, Jann Arden.
Brownie is the nickname for a Fender Stratocaster that was used extensively by Eric Clapton during the early 1970s, most notably with Derek and the Dominos on their 1970 album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
Crash is a graffiti artist.
The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, housed within its headquarters complex in Corona, Riverside County, California. The Fender Custom Shop produces special-order guitars for customers through a Custom Shop dealer network, creates limited edition high end quality guitars, builds limited edition amplifiers, and does some research & design for the parent company.
The ARMS Charity Concerts were a series of charitable rock concerts in support of Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis in 1983. The first event took place at the Royal Albert Hall on September 20, 1983, with subsequent dates occurring in the United States, with slightly different lineups of musicians.
Pensa Custom Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses in handmade fashion. The company is based in New York City. Pensa Custom Guitars was founded by Argentine businessman Rudy Pensa.
Blackie may refer to:
This is a list and description of the guitars and other equipment played by musician Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan played a number of Fender Stratocasters throughout his career, one of which, a 1963 body and a 1962 neck, became "the most famous battered Strat in rock history." He was notoriously hard on his guitars, and many of them required extensive periodic maintenance, as well as other equipment. He used a limited number of effect pedals, and favored Fender and Marshall amplification.
The Fender Elite Stratocaster is an electric solid body guitar that was manufactured by Fender in 1983 and 1984. The name was revived from 2016 to 2019 with the Fender American Elite Stratocaster Series.
The Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster is the signature model electric guitar of American guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, based on his favorite guitar, Number One. The guitar debuted at the NAMM Show in January 1992 and began selling at various music stores.
The Black Strat is the nickname for a black Fender Stratocaster guitar played by David Gilmour of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared for the first time with Gilmour at the 1970 Bath Festival. Gilmour stated in an interview prior to the auction of his guitar collection that 'The Black Strat' featured in many of Pink Floyd's and his individual albums and was used in “Money”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”, among many others.
The Fool is a 1964 Gibson SG guitar, painted for Eric Clapton by the Dutch design collective The Fool, from which the guitar takes its name. One of the world's best-known guitars, it epitomizes the psychedelic era. Clapton used the guitar extensively while playing with Cream and it was an essential element of his famed "woman tone". From the 1970s to early 1980s, the guitar was owned by Todd Rundgren, who was often seen playing the instrument in his live performances. He nicknamed the guitar "Sunny", after the Cream song "Sunshine of Your Love".
| Submodels | |
|---|---|
| Signature models | |
| Famous examples |
|
| See also | |
