R.I.P.: Jim Sundquist

As lead guitarist of the Fendermen, rockabilly hero Jim Sundquist inspired a generation of garage rockers to pick up a Fender of their own when he scored Minnesota's first big national hit, "Mule Skinner Blues" (above), in 1960. Sundquist, 75, died Tuesday June 4, 2013.

Although he wound up settling in Minnesota, his career was launched in Wisconsin, where he was born in the town of Niagara, north of Green Bay. He picked up the guitar in his teens and, with rhythm guitarist and singer Phil Humphrey, formed the Fendermen -- named, of course, after the instruments they played -- in 1958 in the Madison area.

The two-guitar duo (no drums, no bass) originally focused on country standards. One night at a sawdust saloon called the Oats Bin, they started mixing in rock 'n' roll and created a stir with their hopped-up version of a tune by Jimmie Rodgers. A music-store owner heard "Mule Skinner Blues" and helped them cut a single, which sold 8,000 copies in two days after a LaCrosse D.J. started spinning it.

Released on Soma Records in May 1960, "Mule Skinner Blues" was an instant smash in the Twin Cities that quickly spread nationally, peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard chart and scoring the duo an appearance on Dick Clark's TV show "American Bandstand." The label couldn't press enough copies to keep up with the demand. MORE HERE & HERE