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This Day in Music: Leo Fender is Born, 1909
Who would have known that the young Clarence Leonidas Fender, raised on a successful orange grove in the heart of California, would discover his talents so young? At 13, Fender was lucky enough to recognize his unquestionable abilities to build electronics from mere pieces of scrap.
An inventor extraordinaire in the making, Fender realized upon a visit to his uncles radio shop, that the sound of amplifiers filled him with intrigue, and the path on which he would live his life was set.
The founder of Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing opened his own store in 1938, naming it “Fender Radio Services,” where he would build, repair and sell amplifiers. Within a short space of time, notable band members would come to him, knowing his equipment was well built and trustworthy.
During the time of World War II, Fender persuaded Clayton Orr Kauffman, a lap steel playing inventor, to team up with him and build not only amps, but also amplified Hawaiian guitars, a popular musical instrument for multiple genres of music at this time. The pair started “K & F Manufacturing Corporation,” and by 1944 had already patented their first product. In the following year they became known for selling electric guitars and amps as kits.
Towards the end of the war, the need for cheaper yet durable instruments grew wildly, inspiring Fender to build a thin, solid-bodied electric guitar that would still produce minimal feedback, necessary when being played in smaller dancing halls. Shortly after the challenge was set firm in his mind, the Fender Esquire (later renamed Broadcaster then Telecaster), was released for sale and, to this day, still remains one of the most popular guitars ever sold.
Fender Timeline:
1909: The prodigy is born
1938: Leo opens “Fender Radio Service”
1944: Leo works with Kauffman and patents their technology
1950: Fender Telecaster is made
1951: Fender Precision Bass is made
1954: Fender Stratocaster is made
1965: Leo sells Fender Company
1979: Leo teams with George Fullerton & Dale Hyatt to begin G&L Musical Products
1991: RIP Leo Fender