The Grail Guitar: The Search for Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze Telecaster

by Chris Adams

In The Grail Guitar: The Search for Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze Telecaster, Chris Adams takes readers on a fascinating mystery tour to determine whether a Fender Telecaster bought secondhand in a London music store in 1973 was the one used by Jimi Hendrix to record "Purple Haze" in January 1967. The only clues are its left-handed tuners and the salesman's chance remark that the guitar was brought into the shop by a Hendrix roadie. But these are enough to set the author off on this intriguing journey into Hendrix history.

With firsthand details from model Linda Keith, who discovered Hendrix in New York, Adams recounts how the rising star left for London with a white Stratocaster belonging to Keith Richards. The man who made Hendrix's pedals explains how this Strat failed to make the "Purple Haze" recording session and how it was replaced by a borrowed Telecaster. As Adams tracks down the surviving musicians, they shed light on the fate of that Telecaster and gradually the two guitars begin to merge into one. Throughout, Adams weaves his own story as a rock musician and tells how, against the odds, he managed to hold on to this remarkable instrument.

Here is a riveting story of one man seeking the truth about a cultural artifact that changed rock history, a story for rock fans and guitar aficionados, treasure hunters and antique dealers, as well as anyone who likes a detective story.

--Arnie Toshner, sound engineer for String Driven Thing "Publishers Weekly"

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

240 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 18, 2016

Reviews

[Steven Walle]

This was a great read. It is the story of the guitar owned by Jimi Hendryx which was mysterously lost for forty years. A rock and roll musician owned it for all that time and discovered its' oragine through massive research.
Enjoy and Be Blessed
Diamond

[Ben]

The growth and the development of the internet is responsible for many things, and one of the benefits of the possibilities of the world wide web is the existence of books like this, where something said over a 3rd hand telecaster can lead to the amount of detective work that would put a Raymond Chandler private eye to shame.

If you add one of the most revered and iconic figures in rock history, to the mix, then there will be a lot of interest, from fans of the guitar, rock music, and the sixties and the seventies. In 1973, the author of this book bought a white telecaster from a music shop, with the seller telling the budding musician about the storied history of his newest acquisition.

Now seen as being a country guitar, the telecaster has also featured on many more mainstream songs, from the rock and roll of the Rolling Stones, to Bruce Springsteen, to James Burton with Elvis, from Gram Parsons to Status Quo, even featuring as the main guitar on Mike Oldfield’s epoch changing Tubular Bells, but Hendrix is most closely associated with another one of Leo Fender’s inventions, the Stratocaster, so to find that one of the most iconic guitar riffs of all time was originally recorded on a different instrument is a surprise.

Jimi Hendrix arrived in England in 1967, with a Fender Stratocaster that was ‘borrowed’ from Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, and little else, but he soon, with the help of The Animal’s bassist Chas Chandler made something of a name for himself amongst the movers and shakers of London, even stealing the limelight from Eric Clapton at one a Cream Concert, and went onto set up his own band, with the drummer Mitch Mitchell, and bassist Noel Redding. After a gig, where Hendrix’s main guitar was damaged, due to his showmanship, a new instrument was needed for the recording session of Purple Haze, so the Telecaster in question was borrowed from a friend, and with the help of an octave pedal, and some amplifiers, Purple Haze was recorded, over-night, whilst the trio had some time in the studio.

The telecaster passed through the ranks of various bands, but due to the lack of record keeping by Hendrix’s management company, any number of guitars went missing, or where sold and never used, so there is no real way of knowing for sure, whether or not Chris Adams’s prized telecaster was the same instrument that played such an important part in rock music history, but the evidence points to a very strong case that it is.

There is a lot to be said for this book, both as an historical record of the bands and musicians who worked with Hendrix, and the times in the 1960’s and 1970’s, and shedding light on some of the musicians and players that plied their trade in the shadows of one of the giants of rock music.

[Deb]

If you were told your second-hand Telecaster once belonged to Jimi Hendrix, how far would you go to find out the truth? Chris Adams takes us through his years-long search to discover whether his Telly once belonged to one of the world's most acclaimed guitarists. Hendrix was known to favor Stratocasters, but there was evidence that he used a Telly on at least one of his recordings.

Adams leaves no stone unturned trying to answer the question of whether Hendrix did indeed once play the Telly he bought so many years again, and takes us on the journey with him. Great detective work by Adams, and lots of interesting details about Hendrix and his musical companions made this quite enjoyable

But I won't tell you what Adams found. You'll just have to read the book yourself.

[Sara Jane]

3.5 stars.
The author is a musician, not an accomplished writer. The style of this book is a bit clunky. But you get used to the writing tone and the flow, then Adams’ love of music comes through. He does not romanticize Hendrix by any means; he’s actually quite hard on him. But I kept turning the pages. My husband saw me reading this and joked, “are the last four words going to be, ‘This is not the guitar.’” No, not the case. In the end, though, I was fairly convinced of the battered guitar’s authenticity, but it also didn’t seem to matter so much anymore. It was about the journey to get there, and I really loved hearing about Adams’ life and contacts and work in music.
An odd little enjoyable book.

[Gerry Dupuis]

I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style and the investigative techniques seemed flawed, but I really loved the stories and background that evolve throughout the book. It was a pleasant read and I really enjoyed how it all came together. I am not a person prone to reading about celebrities, even if I am a fan, but this book took the tale from a different angle and I am glad I read it.

[Les]

Enjoyable reading. Fascinated by the research and his approach. I found myself more caught up in the mystery and Chris's musical history than the idea that this was ever Hendrix's tele. Well told.

Bonus: Introduced to Chris's prog-esque band called String Driven Thing. Impressed. RIP, Mr. Adams.

[Steve Majerus-Collins]

Frankly, I'm flabbergasted that I enjoyed this book so much. I have close to zero use for Jimi Hendrix and his wailing guitars. It's just not my thing. But Chris Adams turns a stray remark about how an old guitar he bought once belonged to Jimi Hendrix into a long, twisting, not-afraid-to-go-to-strange-tangents volume that is partly an ode to persistence, sometimes a pat on the back to the internet's depths and, mostly, a deep look into the music culture of an era that seems strangely distant now. I won't give away what he finds in his quest, but I will say that I appreciated the journey he took me on. Heck, I may yet give Hendrix another try, just because. Not everyone will like this personal odyssey, I'm sure, but there's nothing in this world we can all agree on so I'll leave it at this: if you think you might find this intriguing, you probably will.

[Paul Bourke]

A Glimpse into Purple Haze Times ...

Interesting stories about rock music, the times and attitudes in the late sixties and seventies. The theme of the purple haze tele is woven into the various stories as the author and his friend investigate the heritage of his old tele. If you love the times and the music, this may be for you. If, not I'd give it a miss. I enjoyed the read and loved hearing that the good 'ol telecaster was more than likely used on Purple Haze.

[Bob]

A fun quick read. Lots of fun stories.