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Willie G. Moseley
In Memoriam: Bruce Hastell
Bruce Hastell, guitarist and vintage-instrument dealer, passed away October 24, after a 10-year battle with polycystic kidney disease that led to kidney failure. He was 68. Hastell performed and recorded with members of the Beatles, Wings, Badfinger, Heart, Allman Brothers, Molly Hatchet, Commodores, and others. In 1970, he toured with the Raspberry Blues Band, and…
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Willie G. Moseley
In Memoriam: Jeff Cook
Jeff Cook, co-founder, lead guitarist, and fiddler in the ’80s-country megahit band Alabama, died November 7 at his home in Destin, Florida. He was 73 and had long battled Parkinson’s Disease. Cook and his cousins, Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry, were natives of Fort Payne, Alabama, and began their collaboration in 1969 with a band…
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Willie G. Moseley
In Memoriam: Kal David
Blues/rock guitarist Kal David died August 16, 2022, in Palm Springs, California. He was 79 and struggled with pneumonia just before his passing. Born David Raskin, in 1961 the Chicago native took a stage name to front Kal David and the Exceptions, which included Peter Cetera on bass. The band signed to VeeJay Records and…
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Willie G. Moseley
Standel 400S
In the early days of the American electric guitar/amplifier industry, Standel was known for building high-quality amplifiers used by the likes of Merle Travis and Joe Maphis. In fact, a true classic now prized among amp aficionados was Standel’s 25L15, which had a J.B. Lansing D-130 speaker. But one of the more curious/convoluted tales of…
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Willie G. Moseley
George Fullerton
Guitar Icon
George Fullerton, whose decades-long association with Leo Fender earned the two early electric-guitar innovators a place in history, He died July 4, 2009 at the age of 86. He succumbed to heart failure at St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, California, the Orange County town where he and Fender had began building stringed instruments in…
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Willie G. Moseley
Carson Creation
One Very Personal Stratocaster
An itinerant Western-music guitarist who befriended Leo Fender and other employees at his up-and-coming company in the early ’50s, Bill Carson was the “test pilot” for the Fender Stratocaster prototype, and his input regarding body contours, pickups, and control placement differentiated it from the slab-bodied Telecaster. Prior to the company being bought by CBS in…
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Willie G. Moseley
Epiphone 1968 Les Paul Prototype
Fraternal Twin
Ted McCarty’s leadership at Gibson was highlighted by the introduction of top-shelf instruments created by knowledgable, intuitive designers and builders. Another brilliant move was his guiding the purchase of foundering Epiphone, which expanded Gibson’s retail reach. In 1969, Mike Ladd, who had just purchased a music store in Memphis, traveled to Kalamazoo for a tour…
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Willie G. Moseley
Matching Mojo
During the “guitar boom” of the 1960s, one method of getting a band noticed was to equip it with matching instruments and maybe matching amplifiers. Better still, add matching stage clothes! Many instrumental surf bands followed such a notion. The Astronauts, for example, were notable for their use of white Fender instruments and matching suits.…
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Willie G. Moseley
In Memoriam: Dave Wintz
Texas luthier and entrepreneur Dave Wintz died June 25 after battling an extended illness. He was 69. Born and raised in Houston, Wintz was co-founder of the retail store Rockin’ Robin Guitars, where he designed and built Robin guitars and Rio Grande Pickups. Wintz started playing guitar at age 13, inspired by the British Invasion.…
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Willie G. Moseley
Pop ’N Hiss: Lynyrd Skynyrd’s (Pronounced ‘Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd’)
Down-South Guitar Assault
By early 1973, “Southern Rock” had come into its own, spearheaded by Capricorn Records and its keystone act, the Allman Brothers Band, whose music was melodic, popular, and brought plenty of memorable guitar riffs. Though they could boast a rapidly expanding fan base, the members of a Florida group known as Lynyrd Skynyrd hit a…
