Knopfler, Vintage Guitars, and Old Cars
Urban’s musical career began not on a well-loved
guitar but on a simple instrument
more aligned with soothing island rhythms
than with searing solos.
“My dad bought me this ukulele when
I was four,” he says. “I don’t know why he
bought it for me. He comes from a musical
family, so maybe he just thought it would
be a cool thing. I used to strum that in time
with the radio, so he thought, ‘When the kid
gets older, maybe we’ll get him a real guitar
to learn some chords—because he seems to
have rhythm.’ It was just a progression from
that little ukulele I used to hack at.”
As his musical endeavors grew, Urban
initially focused more on songs, chords,
and rhythms than on obsessively scrutinizing
guitar heroes. “I just wanted to learn
songs,” he recalls. “I learned a lot of songs
that I heard on the radio, and I would not
have a clue who was playing guitar. I was
not really thinking about the lead guitar—I
was just playing chords and singing.”
But that all changed when Urban discovered
Mark Knopfler while playing in a band
as a teen. An older bandmate suggested he
check out the Dire Straits axe slinger. “I just
fell in love with his playing,” Urban says.
“Mark had a real clean, compressed, Strat
style that was right at home with the kind of
country music I was listening to. He had a
melodicism and a touch and feel that was like
nobody else. It was such a recognizable tone.”
Today, Urban’s love of vintage guitars,
amplifiers, and automobiles is well documented.
The fascination with cool rides comes
from his father, who owned a Pontiac, a
couple of Chevys, and some classic Lincolns.
“Old cars were part of my family,” he
recalls. “But I never thought much about
vintage guitars until I had some money.
Suddenly, I got to play somebody’s Les Paul
or old Strat, and it was just a whole different
thing—there’s nothing quite like it.”
One of Urban’s favorite acquisitions is
the iconic black-and-white, leather-wrapped
Fender that outlaw legend Waylon Jennings
made famous. Added to his arsenal in late
2009, the 1950 Broadcaster is particularly
special not simply because of its historical
significance. There’s a very personal tie-in to
Urban’s life and career.
Chris Rodriguez (left) backs Urban on 6-string banjo while the boss takes a solo on one of his Teles.
“I grew up listening to Waylon and,
ultimately, I probably have a career today
because he had the courage to come to
a town like Nashville and do it his way,”
Urban says. “He wanted to use his own
band, he wanted to choose the studio,
he wanted to choose the songs, choose
the producer—and that was not the way
things were done. So many of us have that
freedom today in Nashville, and we really
have Waylon to thank for that. So that
guitar represents so much to me about just
following your path. Even if you come up
against the system, you can stay true to
yourself. When I plugged it in and played
it, it was just amazing. It’s so full of mojo.”
While Jennings’ Broadcaster obviously
stays at home, Urban uses a number of
pricey vintage guitars on tour. And several
of those—including a 1952 Gibson Les Paul
Standard and a 1962 Gibson ES-335—were
damaged in the Nashville flood.
“The Les Paul was submerged for four
days. It has some flaking that happened after
it got out of the water and started drying
out,” Urban says. “From the goldtop around
the pickups, there are huge chips that have
come off since then, and it has bits flaked
off all around the neck. That is particularly
worn from all of the flood damage. The
ES-335 was also a flood victim that has been
salvaged. It does not look overly damaged,
but it has a muted look to the lacquer and
got more worn looking—much more so
than before it went into the river.”