The Stratosphere Guitar Manufacturing Company was founded by Russell Deaver and his brother Claude, in Springfield, Missouri, They manufactured nearly 200 instruments — marketed primarily to country musicians — during the short-lived venture in the 1950s. The Deaver brothers opened a guitar-making factory in the 300 block of Boonville Avenue, in a spot that is now vacant. They offered single-neck six-string and 12-string models as well as the double-neck "Twin" electric guitar. Their most popular guitar was the Stratosphere Twin double-neck, which sold for about $300, and was made famous by Jimmy Bryant. Bryant and Speedy West even recorded a song “Stratosphere Boogie.” The guitars emerged on the local scene during the heyday of “The Ozark Jubilee,” a groundbreaking weekly live television show filmed in Springfield that featured top country performers such as Chet Atkins, Eddy Arnold, Merle Travis, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. It was hosted by Red Foley. As a result the biggest country music stars of the era came through Springfield, and Russell Deaver was constantly rubbing elbows with the men and women, trying to get his instruments in their hands.

Source: Springfield’s Stratospheres were played by “Ozark Jubilee” performers. Claudette Riley. Springfield News Leader, 17 January 2014.