A lifelong vintage-guitar nut who has had “one million guitars,” Jeremy Graf’s all-time favourite is that this 1961 Stratocaster.

A local of Knoxville, Tennessee, Graf was simply seven when, for causes he doesn’t bear in mind, he requested for an Elvis Presley document. His mom obliged and introduced residence Elvis’ Golden Data, a compilation of ’50s hits.

“That was my introduction to the world of rock, rhythm and blues, blues, and rockabilly,” he laughed. “From that time, I used to be a so into Elvis that my grandmother steered to my dad and mom that I ought to see a physician.” (laughs)

Reverse of almost each different Babyboomer, when the Beatles landed in ’64, younger Jeremy was disinterested, nonetheless wrapped in his Elvis fixation. He requested for a guitar and was given a newbie Silvertone acoustic that was, “…unimaginable to play, not helped by the truth that I couldn’t play anyway.”

Two years later, issues modified when Rick Heinrichs and his household moved to city.

“Rick and his brother, Mark, had great-playing Guild acoustics and a Beatles songbook with photos of the chords,” Graf recalled. “Rapidly, I might make music, and I used to be hooked. For my subsequent birthday, I requested for brand spanking new Epiphone On line casino.”

He signed up for classes with (by probability) the brother of musical comic and mandolin legend Jethro Burns.

“All he wished to do was inform tales about Chet Atkins, and all I cared about was the Beatles, so I lasted three classes,” he stated with a chuckle.

At 13, Graf satisfied his dad and mom to let him take a bus, alone, to see the Miami Pop Pageant in December of ’68, the place he noticed Marvin Gaye, Peter Inexperienced’s Fleetwood Mac, Terry Reid, and the Grateful Lifeless. The next 12 months, he attended the Atlantic Metropolis Pop Pageant and the West Palm Seaside Pop Pageant, which featured the Rolling Stones. The immersion fed his guitar jones, big-time.

“I’ve liked so many gamers via the years – Jeff Beck, Leslie West, Mick Ronson, Brian Could, Jim McCarty, Robin Trower, and at all times, B.B. King,” he stated.

By 16, he was enjoying in a rock trio doing tunes by Cactus, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck Group, and others. In 1971, he purchased a ’64 SG Normal from a classmate.

“I used to be hooked!” he stated. “I liked all the things about that guitar, together with its stunning form-fitted case with that marigold lining.

“Impressed by that guitar, I quickly realized that I might make good cash shopping for and promoting cool previous guitars, and I’d get to expertise them. So if I wasn’t enjoying, I used to be out trying. I’ve a listing of my first 50.”

After graduating from highschool within the spring of ’73, he traveled to London, trying to soak up its musical tradition for a number of months whereas swinging a deal or two; he took a Les Paul Customized to promote and purchased two 100-watt heads – a Marshall and a Hiwatt – which he shipped residence. Whereas there, he noticed the well-known Crystal Palace efficiency by Beck Bogert & Appice, caught The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and David Bowie with Mick Ronson filming a bit for “The Midnight Particular” on the Marquee Membership.

Again in Knoxville by early ’74, he reconnected with the bass participant and vocalist from his earlier band, who had fashioned a band with a high-school child named Jerry Riggs. They invited Graf aboard and began enjoying college dances and golf equipment. By 12 months’s finish, that they had turn out to be Lynx and so they signed with an agent who booked them in golf equipment all through the south.

“It was a improbable time to be in a band,” he remembered. “We labored steadily for the following few years, enjoying heavy two-guitar songs that we liked and went over properly – Nazareth, Candy, Skinny Lizzy, Queen, ZZ Prime. In Florida, it appeared like each metropolis had at the very least two rock golf equipment.”

When the band returned to play an evening in Knoxville in early ’78, a pal informed Graf about an previous Strat at a pawn store an hour away in Athens, Tennessee.

“The following morning, I raced there to test it out,” he stated. “It was a ’61, hanging within the entrance of the shop, and I used to be instantly taken by its cool vibe. It wasn’t nice, playing-wise, however I figured I used to be simply spoiled by all the nice previous Gibsons I’d been enjoying. It was solely $175, so I purchased it.

“The very first thing I did was take it to my favourite luthier, Peter Jones, in Atlanta, and had him stage the fretboard and set up new frets. When he was finished, it performed completely.”

However on the subsequent band rehearsal…

“I plugged it into my previous small-box Marshall 50-watt and was appalled by its sound,” he laughed. “It was scratchy, noisy, and simply… skinny! I’d been enjoying an ideal, fat-sounding Les Paul Customized, so it didn’t examine. However when Jerry plugged it into his 100-watt Marshall operating via an early Boss CE-1, the Strat sounded unbelievable. It he clear he that had discovered his sound.”

In mid ’78, Graf and Riggs moved to Atlanta to hitch associates in a band referred to as Raggedy Anne, which opened for AC/DC fronted by Bon Scott, UFO with Michael Schenker, Judas Priest, Rush, The Infants, and plenty of others.

“We have been managed by Nazareth’s administration and did a demo with their guitarist, Manny Charlton,” Graf recalled. “When it didn’t safe a document deal, our entrance man, Don Prepare, left, and we fashioned Riggs. By the tip of 1980, we had a take care of Irving Azoff’s Full Moon label, which was aligned with Warner Brothers.”

The label linked Riggs to producer Roy Thomas Baker, who helped them document two songs – “Heartbeat” and “Radar Rider” – that have been used on the soundtrack to the 1981 animated function movie Heavy Metallic (the latter accompanied the movie’s opening sequence). The next 12 months, Riggs recorded an album with Andy Johns.

Riggs performed Graf’s Strat on all the things the band recorded, and when their deal resulted in ’83, Riggs accepted a gig with The Pat Travers Band. Realizing the Strat was mainly a part of him, Graf let him take it alongside.

In early ’85, Graf moved to Los Angeles, the place he labored for a courier service earlier than being employed to help with random duties within the studio at Virgin Data, the place Warren Zevon was recording Sentimental Hygiene. When that was completed, Graf was employed to run the transport division for the brand new label.

In ’86, the Pat Travers Band performed the Roxy in Hollywood, and Graf was there, excited to see his previous pal – and the guitar.

“I used to be shocked to see Jerry utilizing his pink early-’60s Strat, and mine was the backup,” he stated. “He had put EMGs in his and it sounded nice, so I figured it was time to reclaim the ’61.”

Shortly after, his previous Atlanta associates The Georgia Satellites have been in Los Angeles to do “American Bandstand.” Being a fan of “Jerry’s” Strat, Richards requested to borrow the ’61 for the present. Graf was pleased to oblige.

In 1994, Graf and his girlfriend, Karrie, moved again to Atlanta, the place they received married and he grew to become a member of the Satellites. For 2 years, he toured the U.S. and performed festivals in Denmark, Belgium, Sweden, and Switzerland, the ’61 Strat being his fundamental axe, offering a counterpoint to Richards’ Les Paul Junior. They recorded an album in Denmark and performed “Hippy Hippy Shake” and “Slaughterhouse” on the Danish TV.

After his stint within the Satellites, the Grafs moved to Chicago, the place Jeremy stayed busy enjoying weekends within the lounge on the Home of Blues Resort. He then labored in music shops till their son, Tyler, was born, after which he grew to become a stay-at-home dad for Tyler and their daughter, Madeline. The following decade noticed him centered on household life.

In 2014, he assembled a band referred to as The Instrumentalists, which labored up instrumental variations of songs with well-known melodies. He adopted that with one other band, The Fundamentals, additionally doing strictly instrumentals.

“I nonetheless use the Strat at any time when the chance arises,” he stated. “Tyler, who’s now 21 and fairly the jazz drummer, will jam with me when he’s residence from the Jazz Conservatory at Oberlin Faculty, which extraordinarily rewarding.” – Ward Meeker

The ’61 Strat may be seen being performed by Jeremy Graf on Youtube; seek for “Georgia Satellites Denmark.” Jerry Riggs makes use of his pink Strat in his present gig with 38 Particular.

This text initially appeared in VG’s Could 2025 challenge. All copyrights are by the writer and Classic Guitar journal. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.