The “hippie” youth movement of the 1960s
began influencing mainstream society after
the “Summer of Love” in 1967. By 1968,
many major companies had realized there
was big money to be made by appealing to
this large group, and Fender—at the time
owned by CBS—was no exception.
Fender’s original solidbody, the Telecaster, was
picked to receive the “Flower Power” treatment with two new finishes: Paisley Red and
Blue Flower. These finishes were accomplished
by sticking patterned wallpaper to the bodies
and spraying clear polyester over the top. The
original Fender ad copy for these models was
also given a hippie-esque tone: “Paisley Red
Pulsates with every beat and swirls in a blinding carousel of color forms and tones.”
As groovy as these guitars were, they never
caught on with the psychedelic rockers they
were intended for. Ironically, the most visible
guitarist to use a Paisley Tele was rockabilly/
country session great James Burton. The ’ 69
Paisley Tele remained his main stage guitar
until his signature model debuted in 1990.
Those wanting to hear Burton’s Paisley Tele
in action can check out Elvis as Recorded at
Madison Square Garden and Gram Parson’s
GP and Grievous Angel albums.
Pictured on these pages are a Paisley Red
Tele with Bigsby from 1969, and a Paisley
Red Tele and Blue Flower Tele from 1968.
All three guitars are pictured leaning against
original Fender Bassman and Band Master
heads, two Fender cabinets and a Fender
reverb tank, all from the same era.
More detailed information on Fender
Telecasters can be found in The Fender
Telecaster, by A.R. Duchossoir, and Six Decades
of the Fender Telecaster, by Tony Bacon.
www.premierguitar.com
PREMIER GUITAR DECEMBER 2009 65
Dave's Guitar Shop
Daves Rogers’ Collection is tended to by
Laun Braithwaite & Tim Mullally
Photos and words by Tim Mullally
Dave’s Collection is on display at:
Dave's Guitar Shop
1227 Third Street South
La Crosse, WI 54601
608-785-7704
davesguitar.com
