Tag Archives: New Yorker

Meet Telecaster Master Jim Campilongo, And hear Him Play

Jim Campilongo photograpahed by JR Delia.

Great story by Paul Elie in the December 22, 2014 New Yorker on guitarist Jim Campilongo, who is known for playing a 1959 Telecaster.

Over the years some of Campilongo’s fans includes Lou Reed, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt.

The story begins:

A 1959 Fender Telecaster, blond finish, white pickguard, maple fretboard, will set you back about thirty thousand dollars.

Jim Campilongo is known for playing a 1959 Telecaster, blond, white guard, maple board, and a few years ago Fender’s custom shop produced a Jim Campilongo Signature Model, based on the one he plays. It was priced at $4,499—not thirty thousand dollars, but four times the price of a regular Telecaster. The Custom Shop has fashioned signature models based on guitars made iconic by Jeff Beck; David Gilmour, of Pink Floyd; and Andy Summers, of the Police. The Campilongo signature model put him up there with them—anointed him a sultan of twang.

At the Living Room, in Williamsburg, the other Tuesday, Campilongo played the ’59 Tele, not the signature model. I could see the guitar clearly—the body nicked and cut like a hockey rink, the fretboard worn to the color of chewed gum—because I was in the front of the audience.

In a sense, I was the audience…

Read the rest of this story here.

“The Prettiest Girl In New York”:

Fantastic hour-plus set. Jim Campilongo & Honeyfingers at 55 Bar, NYC – September 8 2013:

Jim playing with Norah Jones in the Little Willies:

[This year I published my rock ‘n’ roll novel, True Love Scars.” Rolling Stone has a great review of my book in a recent issue. Read it here. There’s info about True Love Scars here.]