In about May or June 1954 Fender launched the Stratocaster, distributing samples followed by the first production run in October, priced at $249.50 with vibrato.
The 3-pickup configuration was apparently the 'brainchild' of Leo Fender, who is reported to have said, "Let's put in three pickups. Two is good, but three will kill them!"
Steel guitarist Freddie Tavares reported the quote in a 1979 Guitar Player Magazine interview. No other details about the quote are available in the source book. Tavares worked with Leo Fender in design production.
Source: 'The Fender Book', by Tony Bacon and Paul Day
As we know, the Fender Strat went on to become perhaps the most popular solid-body guitar ever produced, and found applications in all types of music. I seem to remember the original three-pickup design having a three-position switch, maybe one position for each pickup. Guitarists soon found that the switch could be 'tricked' into two additional in-between positions, which later led to development of the five-position switch in use today. What might have been a 'lark' on the part of Leo Fender certainly resulted in a design that, 50 years ago, was most advanced for its' time.
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