"The Hoss" Telecaster (serial no. 026176)
On loan to The Met
This work of art is currently on loan to the museum.In 1943, Muddy Waters moved from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, where he formed the first significant electric blues band. By 1951, his group included guitarist Jimmy Rogers, harmonica prodigy Little Walter Jacobs, and pianist Otis Spann. Waters’s blend of rural blues with modern amplification profoundly influenced a generation of British rock guitarists, including the Rolling Stones, named after Waters’s song “Rollin’ Stone.” This guitar was the primary instrument used by Waters from 1958 until his death in 1983.
Technical Description:
Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 25½ in. scale; red finish; bolt-on neck with clay dot inlays; gold “spaghetti” Fender logo decal on headstock; two single-coil pickups, three-way selector switch, volume and tone controls; brass bridge, nickel tuners, chrome control surface; original blond finish painted over, neck, knobs, and bridge replaced
Technical Description:
Ash body, maple neck, rosewood fingerboard; 25½ in. scale; red finish; bolt-on neck with clay dot inlays; gold “spaghetti” Fender logo decal on headstock; two single-coil pickups, three-way selector switch, volume and tone controls; brass bridge, nickel tuners, chrome control surface; original blond finish painted over, neck, knobs, and bridge replaced
Artwork Details
- Title: "The Hoss" Telecaster (serial no. 026176)
- Artist: Fender
- Artist: Muddy Waters
- Date: ca. 1958
- Medium: Ash, maple, walnut, rosewood, brass, nickel, chrome, plastic
- Dimensions: Length: 38 3/4 in. (98.4 cm.)
Width: 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.)
Depth: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.)
Weight: 7-8 lbs. - Classification: Chordophone-Lute-plucked-fretted
- Credit Line: Courtesy of the Estate of McKinley Morganfield pka Muddy Waters
- Curatorial Department: Musical Instruments