The Freddie Green Website

Stromberg guitars are legendary among both players and collectors. The instruments, made in the Boston, Massachusetts area from approximately 1927 through 1955, were produced in very small quantities, almost entirely on a custom order basis. Reaching an apogee just before the United States entered the Second World War, the prime examples featured superior tone, timbre, and projection when compared to even the best of their competitors' efforts. As the Swing Era peaked in popularity, Strombergs were used by rhythm guitarists in some of music's top big bands including those led by Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Andy Kirk, and Count Basie.

Freddie Green's 1939 sunburst Stromberg Master 300 is one of the instruments with which he is most closely associated due to numerous photos of Green playing the guitar in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. Based on photographic evidence, he appears to have started using the instrument in early 1939 and continued using it as his primary guitar through 1955. Company founder/owner Charles Stromberg died on September 29, 1955, and his son, who was responsible for building the guitars, passed away less than six weeks later. Green retired his instrument around this time, only occasionally returning it to service for special occasions close to home such as local gigs or important recording sessions.

According to speculation among contemporary collectors of Strombergs, Green may very well have been introduced to the instruments by Duke Ellington's longtime rhythm man, Fred Guy. Guy joined Ellington on tenor banjo in early 1924, started doubling on standard guitar in 1932, and within two years switched exclusively to the latter with the maestro's orchestra until his departure in early 1949. He is believed to have started playing Strombergs by early 1934 and did so primarily for over 15 years.¹

The actual circumstances surrounding Green's acquisition of his first Stromberg remain elusive, but it is known that Freddie was using a 1935 Epiphone Triumph when he first joined Count Basie in 1937. Not too long after he was put on the Basie payroll, Freddie supplanted this 16" model with Epiphone's top-of-the-line Emperor, a large-bodied 18" guitar.² The Emperor was his workhorse over the next couple of years but was replaced by the similarly sized and comparably priced Master 300.

Much as he had been a holdout to completely make the move from banjo to guitar, Fred Guy was one of the last top name band guitarists to switch to a big 18-19" instrument. In early 1940, Guy finally took delivery of a large 19" blonde Stromberg Master 400, an instrument that he used as his main guitar throughout the 1940s and one which was still in his possession when "Down Beat" magazine profile published in April 1969 based on a May 1968 interview.

Several months after Fred Guy acquired his Master 400, Freddie Green was photographed playing a very similar instrument. On October 28, 1940, while Guy was in Chicago recording and performing with Ellington, Green participated in a now famous recorded rehearsal session in New York led by Benny Goodman featuring Basie alongside his All-American Rhythm Section, Lester Young, Buck Clayton, and Charlie Christian. Freddie can clearly be seen playing a 19" blonde Stromberg Master 400 on this date. For years, it was believed that this instrument remained in the care of Green: it certainly was similar in all its appointments to one such instrument that was part of his estate after his 1987 death.

However, the Master 400 which Green had in his legacy collection posed some questions. Most significant were the initials "F. L. G." inscribed at the 15th fret. As Green's middle name was William, speculation long suggested this was a mistake on the Strombergs part. Fortunately, the serial number of the instrument, 499, remains intact and is fully legible. This vital piece of information proved to be very useful when a Duke Ellington orchestra tour equipment manifest from 1947 made its way into the hands of collectors and researchers. On this manifest, Fred Guy's Stromberg serial number matches the instrument in the care of the Green estate. Through additional research it has been confirmed that Guy's full name was Frederick Lee Guy, the initials of which match those on the 15th fret. Visual comparisons between the guitar in vintage 1940s photos, the 1968 "Down Beat" photos, and recent detail shots of the instrument leave no doubt: sometime after May 1968, Freddie Green acquired Fred Guy's 1940 Stromberg Master 400!

Despite this major revelation, two unanswered questions remain. First, how did the guitar end up with Green? Unfortunately, an ailing Guy took his own life on November 22,1971 and his next of kin have since deceased. The Green family have been unable to determine when exactly the instrument came into Freddie's hands, but the consensus is that he had it for a significant length of time. The second question is what ever happened to that similar blonde Stromberg Master 400 seen in photos of Green taken during that October 1940 session? Both questions require some educated guesswork.

We may allow ourselves some amount of speculation here. Visually the October 1940 Stromberg does not share any distinctive characteristics with the Fred Guy Stromberg beyond standard appointments. Furthermore, with the Ellington band being in Chicago at the time, we can assume Guy did not loan his instrument to Green. Most likely, this was either a trial or loaner from the Strombergs. Perhaps Freddie was having his Master 300 repaired or maybe he was considering upgrading to a more premium instrument. Either scenario is quite likely considering Green's stature as a professional musician at the time and the nature of the Strombergs relationship with their relatively small number of customers. Some evidence for this may be found in a September 1974 interview "Guitar Player" magazine conducted with another guitarist from the era: Irving Ashby. Ashby, originally from the Boston area, often spent time at the Strombergs' shop near the end of the 1930s and later recalled readying three instruments for Green. This assertion adds some depth to the relationship Freddie had with the Strombergs and backs up some of this conjecture.

Unfortunately, we many never know how Green acquired Guy's guitar. The two rhythm masters certainly knew each other, although busy performance schedules likely left them precious little time to socialize. But their friendship is thought to have spanned decades and it is fitting that the beloved instrument of one master wound up in the hands of another.

¹ Guy did acquire a circa 1938 Levin De Luxe archtop guitar from a music store in Göteborg, Sweden while on tour in April 1939; however, this instrument, based on photographic evidence, appears to have been regulated to a backup role once he took delivery of his Stromberg Master 400 in 1940

² A photo of Green was recently discovered from March 1937 in which Freddie is holding a circa 1936-1936 D’Angelico Excel, but nothing more is currently known about that instrument

A Tale of Two Masters: Freddie Green and Fred Guy