Keith Richards talking about Leo Fender shortly after Fender had passed away in 1992:
“He gave us the weapons,” Mr. Richards said to the crowd of 950 about the man who invented the Fender electric guitar. Mr. Richards’s parting shot to the crowd was what he called the “guitar players’ prayer”: “Caress it. Don’t squeeze it.”
Leo Fender was born on August 10, 1909. He would have turned 102 yesterday. His inventions have had a profound effect on my life, and I am deeply grateful that he chose electric instrument making as his vocation.
Wired ran a nice article on Fender to commemorate his 100th birthday in 2009. I’m still amazed by the fact that he never learned to play the instruments that he created.