Wes with a Fender
Photos of Wes holding a Fender guitar, the “Colorado II,” have been seen for some time, but a related booklet has now been discovered. Volume 3 of the 1967 issue was produced by Fender as a free catalog, possibly distributed to music stores or sold for 40 cents. The title, “FRETTS,” refers to the frets unique to string instruments and contained articles about electric guitars, classical guitars, banjos, and more, spanning less than 20 pages.
This Volume 3 featured an article titled “WES MONTGOMERY – THE GOLDEN BUT PARADOXICAL THUMB,” which spotlighted Wes. It described Wes’s visit to Fender or a shop, during which he was interviewed, and the piece was written by Rollin Stephens. The content mainly covered Wes’s success from his time with Verve to A&M, without any particularly new information.
The photos included were taken during this visit and don’t seem to have been taken specifically for promotional purposes focused on the instrument. Considering Wes’s background of doing part-time gigs with a rock band in the 1950s, it’s quite intriguing to see him with this “Colorado II” solid guitar, possibly reminiscing about his younger days.
