The Strat in the Attic: Thrilling Stories of Guitar Archaeology

by Deke Dickerson, Jonathan Kellerman

Overview

Guitar sleuth and music-history detective Deke Dickerson tells the true tales of 50 thrilling rare guitar finds that will make guitarists green with envy. A golden Fender Stratocaster hidden away in an attic for 30 years. A sunburst Gibson Les Paul worth $100,000. Jimi Hendrix’s Strat burned by the guitarist during a concert—and then mysteriously lost for decades. The mint Fender Broadcaster forgotten under a bed in a neighbor’s house. The 1960s Rickenbacker bought for $50 at a garage sale!  These days, classic vintage guitars can bring Ferrari and Porsche prices. Baby boomers who wish they’d been rock ’n’ roll stars have shot the market into the stratosphere for classic models. As with automobiles, finding that classic guitar stashed away beneath a bed, in a closet, hidden away in an attic, or in the dusty corner of a guitar shop is the Holy Grail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610588041
Publisher:	Voyageur Press
Publication date:	06/01/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	51 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Deke Dickerson (Los Angeles, CA)  is a music historian who writes for Vintage Guitar, Guitar Player, and The Fretboard Journal. He is the leader of the renowned rockabilly and country band The Ecco-Fonics.

/www.dekedickerson.com

 

Table of Contents

Foreword Jonathan Kellerman 6

Introduction: Guitarchaeology 8

Hubert and the Tele Under the Bed 14

It Had an Aura Around It! 18

Don't Do This to Your Guitar 20

Guitarchaeology at Work: The Chicago Store, Tucson, Arizona 24

The Gibson-Made Grinnell Acoustic 29

Bob Dylan's Newport Stratocaster 33

"I Smell a Tweed Deluxe!" 39

Tough Old Men and Bird's-Eye Maple 41

The 12-string Gibson SG and the Mythical 12-String 'Burst 62

Boyd Heath and the Hillbilly D'Angelico 63

The 1864 Antonio de Torres Guitar 67

A Gypsy Guitar (and a Tele) in Wisconsin 71

Unwanted in Wichita 74

Duane Eddy's Howard Doubleneck: The Luckiest Guitar Alive 76

A Tweed Bassman Story 81

Terry McArthur and the TNM Custom Doubleneck 83

Gretsch White Falcon 89

586 Guitars and a Trailer Full of Parts 91

Broadcaster #0213 93

Rick Vito and the Del Vecchio 95

Finding Gold 100

Knowledge Is Power 102

Finding Charlie Christian's Guitar 105

The First Cherry ES-335 Dot-Neck 109

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure 111

Billy F Gibbons' Mistress, Pearly Gates 114

Silvertone in a Gretsch Case 116

Johnny Paycheck's Bunker Guitar and the Near-Death Experience 118

Right Place at the Right Time 126

Gage Brewer's Estate Sale 130

The 1956 Gold Stratocaster Known as Louise 136

Pirates of the Weissenborn 137

The Joe Maphis Model Mosrite 139

Jimi Hendrix and the Left-Handed Coral Sitar 141

Espionage and Intrigue and a Blonde J-200 144

Scotty Moore's EchoSonic Amp 145

The Amazing Discovery of the Vibro Brand 151

Gino King 160

You Got Anything Else? 164

Curly Boyd and the Author's Tale of Madness 165

Hallmark Swept-Wing on a Bicycle 173

The Weird World of Joe Barrick 176

Les Paul and the Les Paul 184

Letritia Kandle and the Grand Letar 187

Where Do You Find These Guitars? 196

Link Wray's Danelectro 198

On the Trail of the Moderne 217

Bigsby Hunting 228

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This marvelous book [is] a perfect amalgam of precisely the kind of juicy details and vivid descriptions of rare and idiosyncratic instruments that guitar freaks crave and the compelling stories of the people whose lives have become enmeshed with these six- (and four- and eight- and twelve-) string masterpieces. On top of that, it’s a great read. Deke Dickerson’s love for guitars and his genius for finding some of the rarest birds in the musical aviary is matched by his not inconsiderable writing chops. The man knows how to tell a great story." — from the foreword by Jonathan Kellerman

Editorial Reviews

"Deke Dickerson... This guy is of an altogether 'nother breed. He coined the term for his particular case of severe OCD "Guitarchaeology." This man will track a guitar for literal years. He will fly to small towns on the basis of a rumor. He will pore over sales records from guitar manufacturers and retailers from decades ago, looking for a scrap of a clue, he will wait years for an owner to finally give in and sell. Okay, here's who Deke Dickerson is, encapsulated in just one of his dozens of amazing and thoroughly entertaining stories..." - HuffingtonPost.com

'A real treasure trove'"

This marvelous book [is] a perfect amalgam of precisely the kind of juicy details and vivid descriptions of rare and idiosyncratic instruments that guitar freaks crave and the compelling stories of the people whose lives have become enmeshed with these six- (and four- and eight- and twelve-) string masterpieces. On top of that, it's a great read. Deke Dickerson's love for guitars and his genius for finding some of the rarest birds in the musical aviary is matched by his not inconsiderable writing chops. The man knows how to tell a great story." ?" from the foreword by Jonathan Kellerman"(Deke Dickerson is) a gifted musician, writer, archivist and sleuth – clearly a hillbilly renaissance man – and knows how to spin an engaging yarn. The Strat in the Attic is a well written, high quality, full color book that will engage any active or armchair fan of electric guitars." - All Music Books.com

From the Publisher