Finding fretless
Brett, Paul 1964-2021
Books, Manuscripts
Find it!
Finding Fretless tells the remarkable tale of the discovery and rich history of an invaluable late-1960s fretless electric guitar, one fondly remembered by George Harrison as the 'Mad' guitar. The prototype fretless model was gifted to the Beatles legend by Hollywood session player and music shop owner Al Casey, whose wife Maxine took it to Blue Jay Way in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles while Harrison was staying there in 1967. Returning to the UK with his new acquisition, it was used by Harrison and John Lennon on sessions for ‘Happiness is a Warm Gun’ and ‘Helter Skelter’ as the legendary Liverpool outfit recorded classic 1968 double-album The Beatles, aka The White Album. Guitar experts and aficionados were previously unaware of the prototype’s important part in Beatles mythology, its history a mystery until 2019, after UK session guitarist Ray Russell asked, ‘Who knows anything about this guitar George Harrison gave me in 1985?’. Finding Fretless sees author Paul Brett amend the history books, piecing together the jigsaw to tell the full story of the prototype Bartell alongside that of one of the forgotten founding fathers of the electric guitar, master luthier Paul Barth.
Main title:
Finding fretless / Paul Brett.
Author:
Imprint:
Prestatyn : This Day In Music Books, 2021.
Collation:
195 p. : col. ill. ; 26 cm
ISBN:
9781838379889 (pbk)
Dewey class:
787.87
Language:
English
BRN:
2587074