Dale Hyatt (December 10, 1925 – March 28, 2013) was an American salesman and marketing person who was a longtime associate of

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 ...

and George Fullerton. Hyatt joined the

Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

in 1944, and served as a

tail gunner A tail gunner or rear gunner is a crewman on a military aircraft who functions as a gunner defending against enemy fighter or interceptor attacks from the rear, or "tail", of the plane. The tail gunner operates a flexible machine gun or aut ...

on a

B-17 The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

bomber. He completed 25 missions, and was shot down once over

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

, but was able to make his way back to Allied lines and successfully returned to his bomber group. Hyatt began working for Leo Fender in January, 1946, upon returning from World War II. He left Fender Music when Leo Fender sold the business to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

in 1965, and rejoined Fender and George Fullerton when the three founded

G&L Musical Instruments G&L is an American guitar manufacturing company founded by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Dale Hyatt in the late 1970s. G&L produces electric guitars and basses with designs based on some classic Fender instruments. The company also produces ...

. Hyatt was the father of and marketing strategist behind G&L's highly collectible Broadcaster model; during its only production period from May 1985 through May, 1986, 869 guitars were made. Hyatt retired from G&L on November 4, 1991, about eight months following the death of his close friend Leo Fender. Hyatt resided in

Hawkins, Texas Hawkins is a city in Wood County, Texas, Wood County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,274 at the 2020 census. It is located twenty miles north of the larger city of Tyler, Texas, Tyler. Just east of the community is Jarvis Christia ...

, prior to his death and owned one of the few known guitars to be signed by

References

Guitar makers American luthiers 1925 births 2013 deaths Fender people 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces soldiers Shot-down aviators {{US-music-bio-stub