Vince Gill Recalls How He Got His Iconic White Fender Telecaster

Fans know Vince Gill as one of the best guitar players walking the earth today. It doesn’t matter if he’s adding a solo to another artist’s song, playing rhythm for the Eagles, picking a bluegrass tune, or playing some of his original music, he’s a top-tier player. Most of the time, fans will see him with a white 1953 Fender Telecaster in his hands.

Earlier this year, Gill mentioned the iconic guitar when laying out his post-Eagles plans. “When the Eagles finally shut it down, I’ll go back to singing my hillbilly songs and playing my white Tele. There’s some kind of magic to that. I can attest to that,” he said.

[RELATED: Vince Gill Recalls the Inspiring Story Behind Being Gifted His First Guitar Ever]

In a more recent interview, Gill revealed how he got his white Telecaster.

Vince Gill on Getting His White Telecaster

Earlier this month, Vince Gill sat down with Robert Baker for an interview on his YouTube channel. During the discussion, he went in-depth on the history of his white 1953 Fender Telecaster.

Gill recalled that he got his staple guitar in 1978. So, he’s had it for 46 years. “They say it’s really rare for it to be a while one. There weren’t but a handful of those,” he said. “I didn’t have a Telecaster before I got this one. So, I didn’t know it was any different from a butterscotch one or whatever,” he admitted. Then, he told the story of how he came to own the rare instrument.

“There was a fella from Tulsa, Oklahoma named Larry Briggs, a great vintage dealer for the last 50 years. We’re great friends, still are to this day. He had this guitar in his possession and he went to a music store in Del City, Oklahoma,” he recalled. Bob Woods owned the store in Del City. Gill referred to him as “A real character. Old-school music store guy.” Who always had interesting stuff and would cut people fair deals.

Gill Jumps on the White Tele

Briggs met Woods at his Del City store and the two traded twenty guitars. “I just happened to be in the shop that day with my friend Benny. And I watched this white Telecaster go from Larry Briggs’ possession and Bob traded for it,” Gill recalled. “As soon as Bob traded for it—he had 10 or 15 guitars he’d just traded—I picked it up and I felt this neck. I go, ‘Oh, there’s something magic about this.’ Before he had time to kind of figure out what he had, I said, ‘Hey Bob, will you sell that old Tele?’”

Woods agreed and sold it to Gill for $450 on the spot. “It might have been worth another two or three hundred bucks in 1978. This guitar kind of helped make my career. Funny thing was, every time I’d go see Bob, he’d look at me and go, ‘You got to me on that Telecaster, damn you. You got to me good.’”

Gill added that all he’s had to do to the guitar in the nearly 50 years he’s had it is replace the neck pickup and do “a few fret jobs” over the years.

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