In 1976, the Music Man instrument company, under command by Leo Fender, introduced its first series of guitars; the Stingray I and Stingray Bass.
At the time, my father was one of seven salesmen for Music Man, and traveled eight states. One day the salesmen were called into a meeting room and on a table were seven cases. Each guy was instructed to pick a case at random, and inside was their own demo Stingray I. Leo Fender got serial #1 - my dad got #3.
It was at a sales suite in Georgia that my dad was tending the open bar, and in walks Eric Clapton and Albert Lee. Albert asked to play a guitar and the only one available was my dad's Stingray I. That was the only time it was ever played.
The guitar ended up in my possession in the 80s and has been traveling around with me since. Sadly, it's been in various basements most of those years. Recently I took a few pictures of it.
We're looking for someone who might appreciate the unique history of this guitar. Anyone interested in purchasing it should contact me.
My dad was pretty good at his job. He was instrumental (no pun intended) in getting both Aerosmith and Alabama set up with their first gear. He actually had Jeff Cook's double-neck guitar custom made. The wikipedia entry on the history of his double-neck guitar is wrong.
