The Most Famous Guitar Turns 70

Jimmy Hendrix burned it on stage, David Gilmour made it the voice of psychedelia with Pink Floyd, and Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) and Pete Townshend (The Who) smashed it on stage. The Stratocaster turns 70 years old, without changing its iconic shape or solid body with a fretboard designed for finger speed. It has also been the best-selling guitar of all time from the American manufacturer Fender.

Now its anniversary is commemorated with slight variations in its model, both for collectors and amateurs. The brand launches the Player, black with 'pure vintage 59' pickups, which recaptures that primitive sound of the first guitars; the American Professional II, with Fender's typical flamed finish; the Vintera with a hand-painted pickguard; or the Ultra with frets that guarantee "effortless execution," assures the manufacturer.

The celebration includes a documentary, 'Voodoo Child: Forever Ahead of Its Time,' which brings together artists like Nile Rodgers (Chic) and Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine).

Also known as Strat, it went on sale in 1954. Designed by Leo Fender, who didn't know how to play, the Stratocaster emerged as the evolved model of the Telecaster (used by Bruce Springsteen, for example), with an additional pickup and a more curvaceous figure. It was the era when acoustics began to be plugged into large amplifiers and rustic electrics were emerging. Not knowing how to tune it and finding it complicated to change strings on floating bridges, Fender designed his products to facilitate their use and move away from handmade manufacturing.

Although it is also an instrument chosen by figures from new bands like Cory Wong and Albert Hammond, the Stratocaster evokes nostalgia. Its particular and much-imitated sound gives personality to the chords of songs by U2, Red Hot Chili Peppers, or Dire Straits. Versatile, Steve Ray Vaughan put it on par with Gibsons in blues, and Yngwie Malmsteen brought it to heavy metal.

Now buyers are men and women in equal proportion, spread across the globe. To continue celebrating anniversaries in an era where real instruments are losing steam in mainstream music and the figure of the 'guitar hero' is dead, according to Andy Mooney, CEO of Fender, the brand works on promoting its star instrument through about 4,000 "contemporary artists," who are streaming kings, to position the Strat among new generations.