This year marks the 70th anniversary of one the most crucial and iconic musical instruments in modern history: the Fender Stratocaster.
Famously wielded by the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jeff Beck to name a few, the Strat is the most popular electric guitar of all time and its unique palette of sounds continues to convert new generations of players.
To mark the anniversary of the Stratocaster's introduction, Fender recruited some of the world's top players to pay homage to one of the most legendary Stratocaster riffs.
Watch "Voodoo Child: Forever Ahead of Its Time" via the player above, featuring Nile Rodgers, Ari O'Neal, Tom Morello, Mateus Asato, Tyler Bryant, Rebecca Lovell, Simon Neil, REI, Sultana and Jimmie Vaughan jamming along to "Voodoo Child."
"I got my Stratocaster in 1973 when I realized that it was what my sound was missing, and once I did...it changed my life 1000%,” Rodgers said. “I have been able to write the jazz influenced dance-disco funk pop songs that people have loved for decades, as well as rock, country, folk and EDM collaborations thanks to my Strat."
Morello agreed, adding: "Jimi Hendrix, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Andy Gill of Gang of Four and Brother Wayne Kramer of the mighty MC5 have all wielded the Strat in inspirational ways and my 'SOUL POWER' Strat allowed me to unlock a new era of sound and fury in Audioslave."
Go here for more on the Fender Stratocaster and everything it represents.