Description
Description & Specifications
1957 Fender Stratocaster – Seminole Red – Roy Lanham’s Stratocaster
One of the best Fender Stratocaster finds of the last 20 years—an important piece of Fender history discovered in 2024.
The grandnephew of Luther “Red” Rountree walked into a local music store in New Mexico with a 1957 Stratocaster in red, seeking an appraisal for insurance purposes. After a long conversation, the store contacted John Shults from True Vintage Guitars, knowing he had a keen interest in rare Fender custom colors.
On February 24th, 2024, John traveled to New Mexico to inspect the guitar and was, of course, blown away by how special this Fender Stratocaster was. After a lengthy process of negotiating with the owner, the journey to identify the guitar’s exact origins began. This isn’t just a custom color Stratocaster—it’s a very special and unique guitar with exceptional features. John ultimately purchased it from the family of Luther Rountree—nicknamed “Red” (August 4, 1905 – April 30, 1990), who also played with the Sons of the Pioneers.
Luther “Red” Rountree was a professional musician based in Los Angeles, California, who performed with many notable artists, including Spade Cooley, Spike Jones, and even Elvis Presley (on the Love Me Tender soundtrack). Although he was primarily hired as a banjo player, his nephew claimed the guitar was his true passion. Rountree passed away in 1990, and the guitar remained with the family ever since.
When John returned to his office with the guitar, he began investigating why a banjo player owned such a rare custom red Stratocaster. His detective work would go on to rewrite the history of this Fender guitar. It turned out that Rountree was not the original owner—he was the second. John discovered a photograph in Tom Wheeler’s The Fender Archives (page 36) from 1957, showing a unique Stratocaster in a custom color, featuring a gold anodized pickguard and a prominent mineral streak in the fretboard. These details matched the guitar he had just acquired—being played by none other than Roy Lanham.
In 1963, Roy Lanham released a record titled The Fabulous, which shows him holding a red Jazzmaster on the front cover. However, the back cover features a later photo of him playing the same 1957 Stratocaster. That image also shows a large scratch on the bass horn of the guitar—another identifying mark matching the newly discovered Strat. These unique, identical features confirm that the guitar was indeed built for Roy Howard Lanham in 1957. The circle was now complete: Rountree was a footnote in the remarkable story of this instrument.
While we don’t know exactly how Rountree acquired the guitar, we do know that both he and Lanham played with the Sons of the Pioneers. It is therefore believed that at some point during their time in the band, Lanham—or another member—passed the guitar on to Rountree, making him its second owner.
Roy Howard Lanham (January 16, 1923 – February 14, 1992) was an American guitarist best known for his work in Western-style music and with the Sons of the Pioneers. His career spanned from the pre-war era into the early 1990s. Although his main styles were early country and Western swing, he also played jazz with impressive skill.
Lanham had a close relationship with Leo Fender in the 1950s, which explains how he received this custom Stratocaster directly from the factory. This relationship is confirmed by Terry Foster, co-author of Fender – The Golden Age, and is also mentioned in Fender: The Sound Heard ’Round The World by Richard R. Smith. After 1958, Lanham became a prominent promoter of the newly released Fender Jazzmaster and was no longer seen playing his 1957 Stratocaster. His relationship with Leo Fender remained strong into the 1970s.
On Early Custom Colors and 1950s Red Finishes
In the 1950s, car manufacturers often used similar color formulas but marketed them under different names. Automotive paints were provided by a few companies, including DuPont and Ditzler. Red finishes on Fender guitars from that era are notoriously difficult to identify. The most famous red Fender custom color is Fiesta Red, first introduced by Ford in 1956. Fender began using Fiesta Red by late 1959, as was the case with Dakota Red.
Roman Red appeared on Chevrolet’s color charts around late 1958 or early 1959, and Fender used this color between 1958 and 1959 (possibly up to 1962, according to some sources). However, none of these shades match the finish of this guitar. Initially, John suspected it might be Matador Red—a very close match—but testing with a color chart ruled it out.
We at Guitar Hunter continued investigating other available automotive colors from the period and eventually identified Seminole Red—a DuPont color used by Buick in 1956—as the likely match. When compared with a 1957 Buick color chart, the finish on the Roy Lanham Stratocaster matched perfectly.
Fender’s first official custom color chart wasn’t introduced until 1961. Roman Red and Seminole Red guitars, while never part of the standard chart, do occasionally appear on rare examples up to around 1962.
Before 1961, a “custom color” simply meant that a customer could request any color finish beyond the standard Sunburst, usually for an extra fee—even common alternatives like “Blond.” These colors were selected by the customer, not from a predefined list.
According to Fender’s 1956–57 catalog, a Stratocaster could be ordered in a custom color for an additional 5% fee. Fender had no standard chart at the time, so any color available through the paint suppliers could be requested. In this case, the 1956 Buick color chart included Seminole Red.
George Fullerton stated in interviews that the idea of a standardized custom color chart wasn’t even considered until 1958 and wasn’t implemented until the 1961 model year.
It’s also important to note that solid-color finishes weren’t popular at the time and were produced in very limited numbers—sometimes even as one-offs. While rare in the ’50s, solid-color Stratocasters became more common after the official 1961 chart was introduced, particularly by 1965.
Specs and Condition of Roy Lanham’s 1957 Fender Stratocaster
This is an original 1957 Stratocaster in its original Seminole Red finish, made in Fullerton, California. It was custom-built for Roy Lanham at the Fender factory in 1957.
This extraordinary guitar is all original except for two small holes in the headstock—similar to string tree holes—added by Rountree to mount a banjo-style string mute. No other modifications, breaks, or repairs. It still includes its original tremolo arm, bridge cover, and strap. The banjo-style string mute is also included.
It features original one-line Kluson tuners, all in perfect working condition. The neck is a unique, custom-ordered wide “C” neck (44.45mm / 1.75″), although its profile is more of a large “V.” The standard neck at the time was the “.B” size, with “A” being the narrowest. Wide “C” necks are exceptionally rare on Stratocasters—this is the only example we’ve seen.
It also has an original gold anodized aluminum pickguard and matching gold anodized backplate—another extremely rare feature. Only one other known Stratocaster exists with this backplate.
Another unique detail is a ground wire that runs from the tremolo claw to the back of the body, grounding the backplate. According to Terry Foster (Fender – The Golden Age), only one other original Stratocaster features this same grounding setup—also with a gold anodized backplate.
The custom maple neck has a beautiful and distinct mineral streak. While it lacks a pencil date, it’s marked “Wide Neck” in pencil. The neck is perfectly straight and the truss rod works flawlessly.
The volume knob and pickup covers are ABS, while the tone knobs are polystyrene—common for 1957, which was a transitional year for plastic materials. We’ve seen this mix before on early ’57 hardtail Stratocasters.
A slightly raised circle is visible under the finish on the front—likely a factory plug or knot that expanded over time. The red finish remains rich and vibrant, with typical signs of aging like nicks, dings, finish checking, and light wear. In some areas, the desert sand undercoat is visible—another expected detail for that era.
The pickups, electronics, and wiring are entirely original and untouched, with no broken solder joints or rewound pickups—everything remains factory correct.
The guitar comes with its original Fender hardshell tweed case. All latches and the handle are in perfect working order.
