Stratocaster Guru Dies

A savvy marketeer, Randall helped make the Strat a ubiquitous presence in studios and on stages and Fender a household name, at least among musicians and fans.  Stratocasters in the hands of guitar gods like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and, in the early days, Ritchie Valens, helped create a hugely successful franchise. 

“It was really in the sales and marketing – how they were presented to the public – where he really made his mark on the entire industry, because he changed the way the general public viewed guitars and playing music,” former Guitar Player editor Tom Wheeler said.

Randall’s promotional successes included an ad campaign featuring photos of young people playing guitars in all sorts of fun settings, including on the beach and at backyard barbecues.

Randall named Fender’s first commercially available guitar the Broadcaster in 1950. He renamed it the Telecaster following a trademark dispute. In 1954, he tapped into his background as an aviation enthusiast and pilot to dub Leo Fender’s newest guitar the Stratocaster.

“The Stratocaster, made famous by everybody from Buddy Holly to Jimi Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughan, helped revolutionize the way players approached the instrument,” Wheeler said, adding, “It’s highly unlikely that Fender could have achieved anywhere near as worldwide success without Don Randall.”