Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock

Leo Fender, inventor of the Stratocaster, born Aug. 10, 1909

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 10, 2009 11:41 AM CDT

(Newser) – Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of a man who forever changed rock and roll—even though he couldn’t play the instrument inextricably associated with his name. Leo Fender designed guitars and amplifiers that have endured for decades, including the legendary Fender Stratocaster, played by Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Bonnie Raitt, and countless others. “More than just a guitar,” the Strat “is one of the great hallmarks of modern art,” writes Michael Calore for Wired.

Gorgeously designed and boasting a “clean, bright sound,” the Stratocaster is also built tough enough to take a beating. When it comes to Fenders, “the visual boldness draws you in, but it’s the playability, the way the guitar feels balanced on your shoulders, the curvature of the neck and the way its carved body hugs your own that hooks you,” Calore writes.

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John Mayer performs at the memorial service for the late pop star Michael Jackson in Los Angeles on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Mario Anzuoni, Pool)

Rock legend Eric Clapton performs his sixties classic "Crossroads" as part of ABC's "Good Morning America" summer concert series in Bryant Park, Friday, July 20, 2007, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

American musician Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) performs onstage in the late 1960s. (Getty Images)

The partly burnt 1965 Fender Stratocaster guitar which the late Jimi Hendrix set alight during a concert at the London Astoria in 1967 is displayed in London Thursday, July 24, 2008. (AP Photo / Max Nash)

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Most of the guitars on the market in the late 1950s had their share of feminine curves, but the Strat was the wood and metal equivalent of a pin-up model. - Michael Calore

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Happy 100th to the Man Who Changed Rock