In a newly released video interview, Robbie Robertson of The Band talks about the history of a storied guitar: the Fender Telecaster he lent to Bob Dylan for his monumental “going electric” tour in 1966. The iconic Telecaster is set to go up for auction on Saturday, May 19th via Julien’s Auctions and is expected to fetch a price as high as $400,000 – 600,000, with a portion of the proceeds going towards the American Indian College Fund.
Dylan switching from an acoustic to an electric sound famously upset the sensibilities of the folk fans comprised much of his following. His first tour featuring his new sound–and Robertson’s Telecaster–was famously divisive for folk fans, and was often less-than-happily received. However, Dylan “going electric” is still pointed to as a pivotal occurrence on the timeline of rock and roll, paving the way for much of that era’s greatest music.
As Robertson explains of Dylan’s 1966 tour in the clip, “When something like that is going on, you don’t really understand what it is. You’re just kind of putting your head down and charging forward. … You don’t find out until later on that you’re really part of a musical revolution, and what you were doing is going to change music forever.” He goes on to explain how the guitar remained mainly in his possession until The Band’s tour with Dylan in 1974. “We played that whole tour, and nobody booed,” explains Robertson with a smile. “It was like, ‘what’s wrong?'” Watch the clip below:
Robbie Robertson On Bob Dylan’s Historic Fender Telecaster
[Video: Darren Julien]
As a press release about the auction indicates, in addition to Robertson and Dylan, the guitar was used by such legendary players as Eric Clapton and George Harrison. Explains Robertson in the release, “This guitar has been on the front lines of so many phenomenal events, I gaze at it with amazement. When I think about all the creativity this guitar has been a part of, I’m still blown away.”
For more information about the upcoming auction, head here.
[H/T Rolling Stone]