Electric console steel guitar built by Felton W. Williams, Jr.
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1963
name: label: Created by
content: Felton W. Williams Jr., American, 1934 - 2012
notes: label: Caption
content: Felton W. Williams Jr. was born on January 3, 1934, in Tupelo, Mississippi. In 1943 his family moved to Detroit, where they attended the same House of God Church as fellow steel guitar pioneer Maurice “Ted” Beard. Williams began playing lap steel in 1947, and by 1952 had played for many large church assemblies in Detroit, Toledo, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri, and Nashville, Tennessee. In 1956 Williams began working as electrician for Ford Motor Company, a job he would have until retirement in 1994. He used his skills as an electrician to build amplifiers and steel guitars. Williams also taught steel guitar to youth from the church, and had a recording studio in his basement, where he recorded many gospel records for local singers. He was respected in the Sacred Steel community as an innovator, recording artist, studio owner, producer, instructor and inventor.
label: Caption
content: Williams built this steel guitar between 1961 and 1963. It is the first guitar he built, and was his main instrument until he could afford to buy a new guitar in 1970.
label: Description
content: A console steel guitar consisting of a wood base with two (2) seven-string assemblies attached, the rear mounted higher than the front. There are four (4) steel tube legs that attach to the bottom of the guitar, forming a console. Between the string assemblies are power and sound controls mounted to aluminum plates. The guitar is packed in a black, vinyl-covered case with steel corners.
place: label: Place made
content: Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Gospel (Music)
label: Topic
content: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
label: Topic
content: Musicians
label: Topic
content: Pentecostal
label: Topic
content: Technology
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Musical Instruments
label: Exhibition
content: Musical Crossroads
label: On View
content: NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Culture/Fourth Floor, 4 053
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; Gift of Felton W. Williams, Jr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.64.1a-f
objectType: label: Type
content: steel guitars
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: wood, alloy steel, metal, brass, aluminum alloy, and plastic
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (Guitar): 38 1/2 x 11 1/4 x 3 3/8 in. (97.8 x 28.6 x 8.6 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (Case): 42 1/2 x 17 x 4 3/4 in. (108 x 43.2 x 12.1 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: L x W (Legs retracted): 25 × 1 5/8 × 1 in. (63.5 × 4.1 × 2.5 cm)