How Phoebe Bridgers’ guitar of choice continues a long rock lineage
Anyone who has seen Phoebe Bridgers live knows that there’s a certain aesthetic that the singer prefers. Skeleton costumes, gothic imagery, and a strict black-and-white colour palate are all standard parts of Bridgers’ arsenal, all the way down to her guitars. There are plenty of white and/or black guitars in the world, but Bridgers has a specific love for one guitar that mixes both together: the Danelectro Baritone U2.
The U2 predates the band of the same name by roughly 20 years. First manufactured in 1956, the U2 was a replacement for Danelectro’s first attempt at an electro guitar, the Danelectro C. A couple of different variations of the U model have been created over the years, with the number in the name corresponding to the number of pickups the guitar has, but Bridgers has almost always preferred the Baritone U2 model in her studio and live performances.
Of course, Bridgers isn’t the first famous musician to pick up a Danelectro. Known for their solid build and unique lipstick pickups, Danelectro guitars were never as popular as their Fender or Gibson counterparts. They had a unique use in Nashville studios, often when guitar and bass lines were overdubbed together to create the unique “tic-tac” bass sound of late 1950s country music. But Danelectros weren’t hot commodities until one of rock’s most famous guitarists picked one up.
By his own account, Jimmy Page first picked up his early 1960s Danelectro Shorthorn guitar for his time as a studio musician. As he continued on his path toward Led Zeppelin, the Danelectro DC2 was largely dropped in favour of the “Dragon” Fender Telecaster that he acquired from Jeff Beck and later his “Number One” Gibson Les Paul that was a gift from Joe Walsh. But Page’s Danelectro turned out to be handy in another regard – the guitar’s solid build made it ideal for alternate tunings.
Page would usually use the guitar onstage for his solo feature ‘White Summer / Black Country Side’. But in 1975, the guitar became a true icon when it was Page’s axe of choice when he cranked out one of Led Zeppelin’s signature songs, ‘Kashmir’. Even after Zeppelin’s demise, Page often kept his Danelectro close, almost exclusively for ‘Kashmir’ but occasionally for other strangely-tuned tracks.
Page wasn’t technically the first rock star to rock a Danelectro. Before he himself switched over to a mirror-touting Fender Esquire, Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett was known to have used a DC2. He even favoured the guitar during the sessions for The Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Eric Clapton was also known to have had a model, using it mainly during his brief sting with Blind Faith in 1969.
But Page was perhaps the most famous and visible Danelectro user in rock music. After his work with the instrument, everyone from Dire Straits leader Mark Knopfler to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell flocked to the six-string for its unique tones. Beck has often rocked a vintage Silvertone Danelectro as his go-to stage guitar, while indie rock troubadour Mac DeMarco frequently keeps one on hand during his studio and live sessions.
Which brings us back to Phoebe Bridgers. As Bridgers was preparing for her appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2021, she formed a plan to smash her beloved Danelectro at the conclusion of ‘I Know The End’. After acquiring a fake stage monitor to help her with the task, all the parts were in play. But whether it was to give them a fair warning or to prompt them for a replacement, Bridgers gave the Danelectro company a call to let them know what she would be doing beforehand. “I told Danelectro I was going to do it,” Bridgers told Jason Isbell after the airing, “And they wished me luck and told me they’re hard to break.” Indeed, Bridgers’ guitar didn’t smash all the way, but the point was certainly made.
Check out Bridgers smashing her Danelectro on Saturday Night Live down below.
