POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Electric guitar used by Jim Skiathitis of The Atlantics

Object No. 2019/43/1

This electric guitar is a 1961 Stratocaster, from the 'golden era' of the Fender guitar company. The 'golden era' refers to Stratocasters made prior to Leo Fender selling the Fender company to CBS. These guitars are of a very high quality, as they pre-date mass-production. The guitar was bought new in 1961 by Jim Skiathitis who, with his friend and drummer Peter Hood, formed the band The Atlantics in Sydney, Australia. The Atlantics were one of the first purely instrumental music groups in Australian popular music and were the most well-known and successful band in Australia that played surf music, a genre that had become popular throughout the USA and England in the late 1950s and early 1960s with performers such as The Ventures, the Shadows and Dick Dale at the forefront of the style. Surfing and surf culture was, and is still, a major leisure activity and way of life for many Australians. The introduction of a specific musical style associated with surfing was warmly embraced by many youths of the period, who strongly identified with the music. This guitar was used in the writing, recording and performance of various instrumentals by The Atlantics including their iconic international hit 'Bombora' which reached No.1 on the Australian charts in 1963. The song is part of the National Film and Sound Archive's 'The Sounds of Australia' list which features a select group of 'sound recordings of cultural, historical and aesthetic significance and relevance, which inform or reflect life in Australia'. This instrument is not only significant in terms of its provenance, it is also a rare example of a finely made and iconic electric guitar. The very first Fender Stratocaster was produced in 1954, and since this time it has remained one of the most popular guitar models with guitar players of all types. No other electric guitar company cannot boast such a successful instrument. The popularity of the Fender Stratocaster is almost entirely due to the bright tone it produces, and its comfortable body shape and balance. Although the company has made modifications to the Stratocaster through the decades, the guitar is essentially the same design today as it was in 1954. Fender Stratocaster guitars of this period (1961) are often seen as the best quality instruments made by Fender. This guitar is in original condition yet still playable. It is an excellent example of a Fender Stratocaster guitar coming from such an early stage in Fender's history and extremely rare to find one with such a long, and strong, connection to Australia and in the possession of the one owner for all that time. Damian McDonald, Curator, May 2019

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Summary

Object Statement

Electric guitar with case and strap, Stratocaster, serial number 69250, wood / plastic / metal / electronic components, made by Fender, Fullerton, California, United States of America, 1961, used by Jim Skiathitis to write, record and perform the instrumental song 'Bombora' by The Atlantics, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1961

Physical Description

A slab-board electric guitar, with a bolt-on neck. The headstock and neck are maple, and the fret-board is rosewood. The Fender decal is original 'spaghetti' style. It is a 21-fret neck with original clay dot inlays. The tremolo is synchronised and the machine heads are nickel Kluson. There are three single-coil pickups with a three-way switch, two tone and one volume control. The pick-guard is triple layered mint. The colour of the body is Dakota Red. It has severe road-wear. The guitar is accompanied by a case, strap and a bag containing metal springs and components.

PRODUCTION

Notes

This guitar was designed by Leo Fender and manufactured at the Fullerton Plant in California, USA, in January 1961. It was sold in Australia in 1961 to Jim Skiathitis and Peter Hood by J Stanley Johnson's Music Store in Sydney, Australia.

HISTORY

Notes

This 1961 Fender Stratocaster was owned by Jim Skiathitis and Peter Hood from the year of its manufacture. Skiathitis was the guitarist and songwriter in the band The Atlantics. Jim said about purchasing this guitar: 'We had only just left school and obviously too young to take out loans ourselves so Peter's [drummer for The Atlantics] father Alex Hood, who was also a drummer, went guarantor on the hire purchase agreements. That was a really big help for us. In those days not many parents would have helped their young kids get into music. It just shows what faith he must have had in his son and his friends'. The Atlantics were the first Australian band to achieve true international success with their song 'Bombora'. Released in early 1963 the instrumental raced up the charts not only in Australia and New Zealand but also in Italy, Holland, Japan and South America. Reaching number one on the charts in Australia the instrumental also reached number two in Italy. The song was both written on and recorded with this instrument. All subsequent Atlantics material was also written, recorded and performed with this guitar. Although other groups in Australia were influenced by the surf music craze and were influenced by overseas groups such as The Shadows and The Ventures, The Atlantics were at the forefront of the instrumental surf music genre in this country. The Atlantics appeared at a crucial time in Australian popular music that saw the gradual transition from the 1950s rock n' roll era to the guitar-dominant rock music groups of the 1960s, where the guitar instrumental or solo became key. Jim says about his innovative use of this guitar: 'I believe we were the first to experiment with sounds and sound effects on guitar. I used to do sirens, machine guns, explosions, bird calls, space sounds and a lot more by using my pick, bits of metal or my teeth to hit, scrape or scratch the guitar with. In one song, 'Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White' from the 'Explosive Sounds of the Atlantics' album [CBS, 1964], there's an eerie sort of breathing church organ sound effect on the song. That's actually me blowing hard across the strings right above the pickups of the guitar to create that eerie breathing sound. It was all very innovative stuff at the time'.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Purchased with the assistance of the Australian Government through the National Cultural Heritage Account, 2019

Acquisition Date

25 July 2019

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