Rex Robert Gallion (October 2, 1915 – February 8, 1975) was a

country-western Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...

guitarist who, along with Bill Carson and

Freddie Tavares Frederick Theodore Tavares (1913 – 1990) was an American designer, engineer, and musician who played with Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Henry Mancini and many others, and was also a key figure at Fender Musical Instruments Corporation for many decad ...

, collaborated with

Leo Fender Clarence Leonidas Fender (August 10, 1909 – March 21, 1991) was an American inventor known for designing the Fender Stratocaster. He also founded the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. In January 1965, he sold Fender to CBS, and later foun ...

in the early 1950s on the design of the

Stratocaster The Fender Stratocaster, colloquially known as the Strat, is a model of electric guitar designed from 1952 into 1954 by Leo Fender, Bill Carson, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares. The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation has continuously ...

electric guitar. Gallion was a studio musician, specialising in

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, who became best known to the public as a guitarist for the popular 1940's radio music program, "Dude Martin and His Roundup Gang". Gallion was also a retained musician for the

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC, or simply Fender) is an American manufacturer of instruments and amplifiers. Fender produces acoustic guitars, bass amplifiers and public address equipment, however it is best known for its ...

, playing the

Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is an electric guitar produced by Fender. Together with its sister model the Esquire, it is the world's first mass-produced, commercially successful Les Paul had built a prototype solid bod ...

. Approached by Leo Fender to assess his early design of the Stratocaster, Gallion asked Fender, "Why not get away from a body that is always digging into your ribs?" As a result, the team developed the evolution of the "Custom Contour" body. In 1954/5 Fender developed a series of pre-production prototype Startocaster guitars which were designed specifically for special customers. Fender gifted Gallion an all-white Stratocaster with gold metal work, serial number 0001. After passing through various owners, it ended up with Phil Taylor, the chief backline technician for British rock group

Pink Floyd Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...

and the personal guitar technician for

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

. Gilmour bought the guitar from Taylor, later using it to record the band's hit single ''

Another Brick in the Wall "Another Brick in the Wall" is a three-part composition on Pink Floyd's 1979 rock opera ''The Wall,'' written by bassist Roger Waters. "Part 2", a protest song against corporal punishment, and rigid and abusive schooling, features a childre ...

.'' Gilmour sold the guitar in 2019 via an auction at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

to raise money for his charitable foundation, where its hammer price was $1,815,000 plus commission and taxes.

References

External links

Forty Years of the Fender Stratocaster
* American country singer-songwriters American country guitarists American male guitarists 1915 births 1975 deaths 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American singer-songwriters 20th-century American male musicians American male singer-songwriters {{US-country-musician-stub