Grail Guitar

In The Grail Guitar: The Search for Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze Telecaster, Chris Adams takes readers on a fascinating mystery tour to determine whether a Fender Telecaster bought secondhand in a London music store in 1973 was the one used by Jimi Hendrix to record "Purple Haze" in January 1967. The only clues are its left-handed tuners and the salesman's chance remark that the guitar was brought into the shop by a Hendrix roadie. But these are enough to set the author off on this intriguing journey into Hendrix history.
With firsthand details from model Linda Keith, who discovered Hendrix in New York, Adams recounts how the rising star left for London with a white Stratocaster belonging to Keith Richards. The man who made Hendrix's pedals explains how this Strat failed to make the "Purple Haze" recording session and how it was replaced by a borrowed Telecaster. As Adams tracks down the surviving musicians, they shed light on the fate of that Telecaster and gradually the two guitars begin to merge into one. Throughout, Adams weaves his own story as a rock musician and tells how, against the odds, he managed to hold on to this remarkable instrument.
Here is a riveting story of one man seeking the truth about a cultural artifact that changed rock history, a story for rock fans and guitar aficionados, treasure hunters and antique dealers, as well as anyone who likes a detective story.

Chris Adams is a retired U.S. Air Force Major General and Chief of Staff, Strategic Air Command; former Associate Director, Los Alamos National Laboratory and industry executive. He has traveled the world extensively an in particular, Russia and the former Soviet States, where he directed joint ventures for five years in support of resurrecting the Cold War deteriorated public communications systems. His military service included logging over 8000 flying hours in strategic nuclear bombers, including the B-36 and B-52, as well as, the C-141 transport. He also served two Vietnam tours.Accordingly, his honors include The Distinguished Service Medal, The Department of Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Two Legions of Merit, Two Air Medals for service in combat and numerous others. He was also awarded the Daughters of the American Revolution National Medal of Honor for 2011.He has also been honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Tarleton State University and Texas A&M University - Commerce, and has been listed in Who's Who In America since 1982. In 2019, he was additionally presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who as a leader in the military industry. In developing his books, Adams draws on his extraordinary knowledge and experience in strategic air operations, intelligence activities and the culture of Russia and the former Soviet Union. Each work is historically based and alludes to actual events that occurred in the former Soviet Union and the United States.

Part 1: Sifting Fact from Fiction Chapter 1: The Backup Guitar Chapter 2: Purple Haze Rumors Chapter 3: Ruby Tuesday Chapter 4: Enter Svengali Chapter 5: Jamming Chapter 6: Experience Counts Chapter 7: A Kentish Lad Chapter 8: The Purple Haze Session Part 2: Following The Tele Trail Chapter 9: Psychedelic Makeover Chapter 10: Travels with the Grail Guitar Chapter 11: Dreams Realized Chapter 12: Sam Chapter 13: Isle of Wight Connexions Chapter 14: The Hendrix Expert Chapter 15: Last Rays Part 3: Outcomes Chapter 16: A Shot of Rye Chapter 17: The Crew Chapter 18: Holy Relics Chapter 19: Tele-photo! Chapter 20: The Examination Part 4: Conclusions Chapter 21: Exit Lines Chapter 22: Return of the Grail Guitar Chapter 23: Lonely Intersections Chapter 24: Closing Arguments Postscript: The Man Who Said 'No' to Jimi Notes on Key Players