Muddy Waters Tribute Telecaster from Fender

February 3, 2000 -- To kick off a year long celebration in honor of one of the greatest blues musicians and innovators that ever lived, Fender® will introduce its Muddy Waters Tribute Telecaster at this winter's NAMM convention in Los Angeles. This reproduction of Muddy's famous distressed '60s Telecaster will be limited to a run of only 100 pieces, and will be hand crafted by the artisans at Fender's renowned Custom Shop in Corona, California.

"The impact that Muddy has had on rock 'n' roll tends to get overlooked," explains Ritchie Fliegler, Vice President of Marketing for Fender. "Really, he was more than just one of the great all-time bluesmen, Muddy Waters invented the electric rock band as we know it today. Maybe others would have eventually come along with a line-up of one or two electric guitars, an electric bass and drums. The fact is though, Muddy challenged the notion that you had to have a big band, and he was the first."

The introduction of the guitar will be the first in a series of year long tributes to the blues legend, which will initially include an entire issue of Frontline magazine dedicated to Muddy that will also be released at NAMM. In May of 2000, Fender will center its 4th Annual Catalina Island Blues Festival around the music of Muddy Waters, inviting an all-star line up of some of the world's most well known blues and rock artists to join in the three-day celebration.

The guitar itself will be a reproduction of the main guitar that Muddy used for over 30 years, and which now hangs in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio: a 1960s Fender Telecaster in Candy Apple Red. In the style of the Custom Shop's Relic guitars, the Muddy Waters Tribute Telecaster will be severely distressed to resemble the wear and tear that Muddy imposed on his guitar over the years.

"Muddy played that guitar constantly," says Vice President of Fender Electric Guitars, Mike Lewis. "Part of the mystique, part of the 'Mojo' of that guitar was that it was well worn from all that playing. All those great blues songs were created on that guitar."

According to interviews, Muddy had a custom neck fitted to his Tele by Fender. With the obvious exception of the Fender amplifier knobs used in place of the standard Tele controls, the guitar's other features are mostly stock, or were stock 40 years ago.

To recreate this classic artist's axe, Custom Shop R&D man George Blanda flew out to Cleveland and, with the permission of the Hall of Fame, took rulers, calipers and gauges to Muddy's Tele. In addition to all the specifications and vital statistics, Blanda took rolls of film to capture the features on every square inch of the guitar.

Blanda's research went back with him to the Custom Shop in Corona, California, where every ding, scratch and distinctive eccentricity - even the amp knobs - has been recreated for this limited run.

Along with the Telecaster, this special run of guitars will also include a Fender tweed case, a limited edition Muddy Waters poster, a CD of Muddy's music and other signature accessories. Introduction of the set will be at NAMM in February, and production is scheduled to begin in April of 2000.

For more information contact Fender at www.fender.com.