NPR . . .
The Telecaster: Still Wailing At 60
It's a sound that changed guitar-making, guitar-playing and, ultimately, popular music.
There had been efforts to design a solid-body electric guitar since the 1930s, but it wasn't until Leo Fender introduced the perfect blend of musical form and function that fundamental problems were resolved: A Telecaster could be mass-produced, was easy to repair and, unlike a traditional hollow-body electrified guitar, could be played loud without feedback.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-7QSMyz5rg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuee6blvj8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOptDDU3rOo
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/02/28/134134763/the-telecaster-still-wailin-at-60