Fender, one of the first producers of the electric guitar, started his music career as an accounting major at Fullerton Junior College, in Fullerton, California.  His first business endeavor was only slightly more involved with music, as Fender started a radio repair business.  Soon, the business expanded to the production of electric steel or “Hawaiian” guitars and amplifiers.  Fender’s success in this area prompted a shift to the “Spanish-style” solid-body electric guitar.  Fender wasn’t the first to build a solid-body model, but his bolt on connection of the body and neck proved much cheaper to produce than alternatives.  The first two models, the esquire and broadcaster, sold moderately well, but with the addition of the stratocaster and Fender’s resulting popularity, he earned the label the “Henry Ford of the music industry.”  Ironically, Fender never learned how to play the guitar.

*posted Aug 8 - Aug 12, 2005