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Bonnie Raitt Adds to 2024 ‘Just Like That’ Tour

Just Like That… was recorded in the summer of 2021 in Sausalito, Calif. The players include two longtime members of Raitt’s band, bassist James “Hutch” Hutchinson and drummer Ricky Fataar, as well as two new musicians, Canadian Glenn Patscha on keyboards and backing vocals and Nashville guitarist Kenny Greenberg. Her longtime guitarist/songwriting partner George Marinelli also joined in, playing and singing on “Livin’ for the Ones,” the song they co-wrote for the album.

Raitt took the producer reins once again, reuniting with her favorite recording and mixing engineer, Ryan Freeland, for their third collaboration. (They each earned Grammy Awards for Raitt’s 2012 release, Slipstream ). Raitt turned 74 on Nov 8, 2023.

Watch Raitt and her topnotch band perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2022

Bonnie Raitt 2024 Tour (Tickets are available here  and here ) Apr 26 – Lancaster, PA – American Music Theatre Apr 27 – Wilkes Barre, PA – F.M. Kirby Center For Perf. Arts Apr 29 – Pittsburgh, PA – Heinz Hall May 01 – Knoxville, TN – Tennessee Theatre May 02 – Montgomery, AL – Montgomery PAC May 07 – Macon, GA – Macon City Auditorium May 09 – North Charleston, SC – North Charleston PAC May 11 – Athens, GA – Classic Center (rescheduled from May 17, 2023) May 29 – Baltimore, MD – The Lyric May 31 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre Jun 01 – Washington, DC – Warner Theatre Jun 04 – Albany, NY – Palace Theatre Jun 05 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Hall at NJPAC Jun 07 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met Jun 08 – Westbury, NY – NYCB Theatre at Westbury Jun 11 – Hyannis, MA – Cape Cod Melody Tent Jun 12 – Portland, ME – Merrill Auditorium Jun 14 – Bridgeport, CT – Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater Jun 15 – Boston, MA – MGM Music Hall at Fenway Jun 18 – Hampton, NY – Casino Ballroom Jun 19 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center Jun 21 – Lewiston, NY – Artpark Mainstage Theater Jun 22 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre Jun 25 – Toledo, OH – Stranahan Theater Jun 28 – Peoria, IL – Peoria Civic Center Theater Jun 29 – St. Louis, MO – Stifel Theatre

Sep 06 – Prescott Valley, AZ – Findlay Toyota Center Sep 07 – Tucson, AZ – Linda Ronstadt Music Hall Sep 10 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the bay Sep 11 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts by the bay Sep 13 – Indio, CA – Fantasy Springs Resort Casino Sep 14 – Costa Mesa, CA – Pacific Amphitheatre (on sale 2/10) Sep 17 – Thousand Oaks, CA – Bank of America PAC Sep 18 – Paso Robles, CA – Vina Robles Amphitheatre Sep 20 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery (on sale TBA) Sep 21 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery (on sale TBA) Sep 26 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater Sep 27 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater Sep 29 – Redding, CA – Redding Civic Auditorium Oct 01 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Oct 02 – Portland, OR – Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Oct 04 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre Oct 05 – Seattle, WA – Paramount Theatre Oct 08 – Eugene, OR – Hult Center Nov 06 – Houston, TX – Hobby Center for the Perf. Arts Nov 09 – Huntsville, AL – Von Braun Center Nov 11 – Nashville, TN – Opry House Nov 13 – Charleston, WV – The Clay Center Nov 15 – Roanoke, VA – Berglund Perf. Arts Theatre Nov 16 – Norfolk, VA – Chrysler Hall Nov 19 – Durham, NC – DPAC Nov 20 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium Nov 22 – Jacksonville, FL – Moran Theatre at Jacksonville PAC Nov 23 – Clearwater, FL – Ruth Eckerd Hall Nov 25 – West Palm Beach, FL – Kravis Center for the Perf. Arts

Watch Raitt perform a favorite at Farm Aid 2019

Related: Listings for 100s of classic rock tours

After a 20-year career, Raitt broke through to the top in the early 90s with her Grammy Award-winning albums, Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw , which featured the hits, “Something To Talk About” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” among others. The 13-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. She is also the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy. Her recordings are available to order here .

Related: Our Album Rewind of Nick of Time

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4 Comments so far

Saw Bonnie Raitt at Merriweather Post Pavilion, on her “Silver Lining” Tour, with Lyle Lovett and His Large Band as the opener, during the Summer of 2002, but haven’t seen her since.

She was in great instrumental form and voice then, so hoping she still has her edge for this tour.

I plan to see her at the Wolf Trap in June, so if anyone sees Ms. Raitt at an earlier show, hope you check back, and let us know your thoughts.

I’ve seen her twice and she’s one of a kind. 5 Stars on all counts! I’ll see her in North Charleston SC! Can’t wait!

Why won’t she come out West? Idaho Utah Wyoming. Granted it’s a ways between gigs but the reception for her and her band would be Phenomenal ! We like quality music out here too!

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The shows will take place in the first half of June next year and include a date at the London Palladium.

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Bonnie Raitt will continue her extensive touring behind her 18th studio album Just Like That… with a run of newly-announced shows in the UK and Ireland in summer 2023.

The dates will take place in the first half of June next year and include concerts in Dublin, London (at the celebrated Palladium), Bournemouth, Oxford, Gateshead, Glasgow, Manchester, and Birmingham, before a headline appearance at the 2023 Black Deer Festival. Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday (18), with full information here .

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This week, the ten-time Grammy winner comes to the end of the first leg of the world tour, which began in April and has included dates with her friend and sometime recording partner Mavis Staples. Read our summary of their show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Currently featuring special guest and fellow singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, Bonnie and her band play tonight (15) in Melbourne, Florida, to be followed with dates across that state in Ft. Lauderdale (16), Sarasota (18), and Clearwater (19).

She returns to the road next March, with another run of US dates, some of them with guest Roy Rogers, others with John Cruz, and some as yet without an opening act. Then come shows in Melbourne and Sydney next April 5 and 7 respectively, where she will be reunited with Staples. In between, Raitt and the band play Byron Bay Bluesfest on April 6. Next come four more US shows in May, the first with Maia Sharp and the others featuring NRBQ, before the beginning of the transatlantic itinerary.

Bonnie Raitt’s UK and Irish dates in 2023 are:

Thu June 01 2023 – Dublin Vicar Street Sat June 03 2023 – London Palladium Tue June 06 2023 – Bournemouth Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre Wed June 07 2023 – Oxford New Theatre Oxford Fri June 09 2023 – Gateshead Sage Gateshead Sun June 11 2023 – Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Wed June 14 2023 – Manchester Bridgewater Hall Thu June 15 2023 – Birmingham Symphony Hall Sat June 17 2023 – Eridge Park, Kent, Black Deer Festival 2023

Watch Bonnie Raitt’s remastered Capitol Records video catalog on her  official YouTube channel .

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Bonnie Raitt The blues rock legend

2024 Honoree

The 47th Kennedy Center Honors

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early 90s with her Grammy Award®–winning albums, Nick of Time and Luck of the Draw , which featured hits, “Something To Talk About” and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” among others. The 13-time Grammy® winner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone named the slide guitar ace one of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and one of the “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

2023 kicked off with Raitt earning three Grammy Awards® at the 65th Annual ceremony; Song Of The Year and Best American Roots Song for the title track of her most recent album Just Like That …, and Best Americana Performance for “Made Up Mind.” Raitt was also honored with the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in the year prior. Raitt has been on tour for most of 2023 and 2024 with stops in the U.S., Australia, the UK, Ireland, and Canada.

2022 was an incredible year for Raitt with a 75-date headlining U.S. tour; releasing her critically acclaimed 21st album Just Like That …, on her independent label, Redwing Records; receiving the Icon Award at the 2022’s Billboard Women In Music Awards, and seeing her breakthrough album, Nick of Time , added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry. Just Like That … was #1 on six Billboard charts the week of release and was perched at #1 on the Americana Radio Album Chart for 10 consecutive weeks. The album’s first single, “Made Up Mind,” remained in the top three spots on the Americana Radio Singles Chart for 17 weeks.

As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement, performing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water, and forest protection since the mid-‘70s. She was a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy), which produced the historic concerts, album and film NO NUKES (1979,) as well as a founding member of The Rhythm and Blues Foundation, which works for royalty reform and recognition of generations of pioneer R&B artists. She continues to work on safe energy issues in addition to environmental protection, social justice, Native American and human rights, as well as artist's rights and music education.

Recent Kennedy Center history:

Bonnie Raitt made cast appearances for Kennedy Center Honors tributes for Mavis Staples (2016) and Buddy Guy (2012).

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Bonnie Raitt tour dates 2024

Bonnie Raitt is currently touring across 1 country and has 29 upcoming concerts.

Their next tour date is at Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, after that they'll be at Tucson Music Hall in Tucson.

Currently touring across

Upcoming concerts (29) See nearest concert

Findlay Toyota Center

Tucson Music Hall

Humphreys Concerts by the Bay

Special Events Center, Fantasy Springs Resort & Casino

The Pacific Amphitheatre

Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts

Vina Robles Amphitheatre

Mountain Winery

Fox Theater

Redding Civic Auditorium

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

Paramount Theatre Seattle

Hult Center for the Performing Arts

Sarofim Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts

Saenger Theatre-New Orleans

Mark C. Smith Concert Hall at Von Braun

Grand Ole Opry House

Berglund Center

Chrysler Hall

DPAC - Durham Performing Arts Center

Harrah's Cherokee Center

Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts-moran

Ruth Eckerd Hall

Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts

Past concerts

Stifel Theatre

Peoria Civic Center

Frederik Meijer Gardens

View all past concerts

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Recent tour reviews

Simply Amazing, The combination of Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor was so enjoyable! I smiled through out the entire concert. The music was incredible! The amphitheater was packed with folks from all ages as the talent from these artist reaches everyone's heart and soul. This was my first time seeing both artists and I was not disappointed in any way. I count myself as very fortunate to have been able to enjoy concerts from the greats like Paul McCartney, Elton John, Roger Hodgson, in the last few years. I now count Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor as one of these very special performers whose concerts are filled with something more than "just a song", these songs and performances were stories that reached into your heart as only a true artist can do. Thank you to Bonnie Raitt & James Taylor for such a great concert experience! I absolutely loved it!

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No question one of the best concerts I've seen. We were at the June 19 show in Vancouver and sitting a mere three rows in front of the stage. Loved how Ms Raitt introduced The show with "Need you Tonight" showcasing her amazing talent and stellar backup musicians. She also managed to treat us to some of our favourites "Angel from Montgomery", "I can't make you love me" and " Something to Talk About" penned by our own fabulous Shirley Eikhard!

She just keeps getting better - her voice has that fine range with a tinge of gravel. Her slide guitar style is perfection. No slowing down for her! Loved, loved the BB King tribute by keyboardist Mike Finnegan.

The thing about Bonnie is she is fully engaged with her audience with no pretensions or unnecessary flash. I believe she truly loves to perform and the emotion she portrays on stage is very real.

Royal Wood for a warmup act was the perfect choice. He and his group performed a fantastic array of his tunes showcasing his song writing ability and smooth vocals. I am a newly minted fan!

Omigod, what a concert!! Right from the beginning, it was fantastic. The feeling in the room was electric - I am a musician in Vancouver and lots of my peers were there so it was a crowd that was ready and super appreciative before it even got going. Royal Wood came on right at 8 on the dot - punctuality is a lovely thing. He and his trio were stellar. I had heard of him but wasn't familiar with his music or live show. Well, he is a class act. Great songwriting, great storyteller, funny, respectful of Bonnie and his audience - he and his bassist and guitarist were great. He was very sad that it was the last show of the tour which added a bittersweet tone to his already kinda sad songs.

Then it was the queen herself. This is my fourth time seeing Bonnie Raitt and she never disappoints. As always, her band was in fine form - a nice addition this time was Mike Finnigan on keys (wow!) - and they played songs from the new album and lots of the old stuff. She has so much material but managed to choose exactly what everyone wanted to hear and then played it with aplomb. Her banter was quite sad this time because of her comments about the political situation in the US right now. We all felt VERY lucky to be Canadian and she complimented us many times on our hospitality and ability to coexist across cultures with maturity and peace. She played my two favourite songs: Angel From Montgomery and I Can't Make You Love Me (which brought me to tears AGAIN!) as well as David Byrne's Burnin' Down The House, many of her own songs, the blistering INXS tune off her new album and lots more going from heartbreakingly sad to foot-stompin' barn burner. She was incredible. And this is the first time I've seen her play so many instruments! A VERY good show all around. We have a treasure in Bonnie Raitt and I hope she continues to thrill us with her music for many years to come.

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BONNIE RAITT: JUST LIKE THAT... TOUR

FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2024 | 7:30PM

Presented by Artpark

Artpark Mainstage Theater

Special guest: James Hunter 

Gates open at 6:00PM

All times, dates and performers subject to change

Bonnie Raitt  is a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early ’90s with her GRAMMY-award winning albums, 'Nick of Time' and 'Luck of the Draw,' which featured hits "Something To Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" among others. The thirteen-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone named the slide guitar ace #54 on their recently updated list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” 

Raitt’s widely-acclaimed 2012 independent release 'Slipstream' sold over a quarter-million copies, making it one of the top selling independent albums, and earned Raitt her 10th Grammy Award (Best Americana Album). In 2016, Raitt released her highly-anticipated 20th album, 'Dig In Deep' (Redwing Records.) On tour for much of 2017-2019, Raitt and her band performed overseas in Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada before spending the summers touring as support for James Taylor in stadiums and arenas across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe.

As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement, performing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid ’70's.  She was a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) which produced the historic concerts, album and movie NO NUKES and continues to work on safe energy issues in addition to environmental protection, social justice and human rights, as well as creator’s rights and music education.

We're excited to offer Bonnie Raitt fans a chance to win a personalized autographed Fender guitar (drawn June 21st at 8 PM). All proceeds directly support the non-profit work of Artpark & Company.

Raffle tickets are $25 and can be purchased here:  https://cbo.io/i/2011525   

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bonnie raitt just like that... tour 2024

CELEBRATING A HEARTY RESPONSE TO HER AWARD-WINNING ALBUM AND SOLD OUT CONCERTS, BONNIE RAITT’S ‘JUST LIKE THAT…’ TOUR RETURNS FOR MORE U.S. DATES IN SPRING 2024

Support Act: James Hunter

Bonnie Raitt is heading out on the road again with members of her longtime touring band in 2024, with 24 new concerts in the U.S. Many would think Raitt might be eager to rest and take some downtime after headlining 75 concerts in 2022 and another 50 in 2023 spanning the U.S., Australia, the UK, Scotland, Ireland and Canada, and winning three GRAMMY™ Awards at the 65th Annual ceremony in February and an Americana Music Award in September (making “Just Like That” the first composition to win Song of the Year at both ceremonies).

The fact is, though there are always healthy breaks built into each tour, after a few weeks, Bonnie is itching to get back to what she loves most— traveling and playing live. Luckily her band, crew and the fans feel the same way! To that end, we’ve just put the finishing touches on another U.S. tour scheduled to start in Spring 2024.

Raitt’s fourth headlining appearance on the award-winning and longest-running music program in television history, Austin City Limits, will be broadcast on PBS during ACL’s 49th season in the first quarter of 2024, shortly before her tour kicks off.

SEATS FOR CHANGE  compete with scalpers selling top tier tickets at above market prices by offering great seats through the venue’s official ticketing website with a donation going to charity! SEATS FOR CHANGE is raising funds to support local and national organizations working on a variety of causes including sustainable energy, environmental protection, social justice, food & shelter insecurity, youth arts & music education and more. For information, please visit  www.seatsforchangefund.org .

ADULT price is available for this event. Ticket prices include a per ticket service fee, varying from $8 – $16 depending on ticket price.

Ticket prices will increase on the day of the show. “Seats for Change” pricing in Orchestra rows D-F may vary depending on demand. Please Note:  Tickets may not be resold for higher than face value.  See here for policies.

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Chet doxas with scott kiefner & john mettam, an acoustic evening with rick springfield & richard marx, norah jones, the matt pavolka band, the piano guys, ryan blotnick quartet, accessibility information.

Accessible seating for patrons with disabilities may be purchased in person at the PortTIX box office, by calling PortTIX at (207) 842-0800, or on our website. In person and telephone sales are available during normal business hours (Mon-Fri, 11am–3pm). Please inform your ticket agent of your needs at the time of purchase. All of our ticket agents are very familiar with the hall and can assist in finding the best seating.

To purchase wheelchair accessible tickets  online , look for the wheelchair symbol when selecting seats. You can buy that location and the one next to it with a star symbol for a companion (please note there will be no chair in the “Wheelchair Seat” location).  Typically, these will be available in the Grand Tier sections 2 and 4 and Orchestra section 1 .  If you wish to inquire about other possible options, please call our box office for assistance.

Wheelchair Accessible Seating:  There are several wheelchair accessible seating areas within Merrill Auditorium. They are located in the front and sides of the Orchestra Section, as well as the rear of the Grand Tier. Ushers are available if you need any assistance in locating your seat.

Lift Arm Aisle Seats:  Aisle seats with a movable arm to facilitate entry and exit are located throughout the auditorium. Please check with the box office for specific locations. These can be used to transfer from wheelchairs into a regular auditorium seat if desired.

Over-Sized Seats:  Not all the seats in Merrill Auditorium are the same size. We can provide two sets of over-sized seats (two seats with a removable center arm and broader backrests). Please contact PortTIX and inform your ticket agent if you would like one of these seats. They are available on a first come, first serve basis.

We recommend that patrons purchase their tickets well in advance. For certain shows, production requirements reduce the number of both accessible and non-accessible seats in the Orchestra. Please inform the ticket agent of any accessibility requirements at the time of purchase.

Assisted Listening Devices  via an infrared listening assistance system are available to patrons for all performances at Merrill Auditorium. Simply ask one of the Merrill Event Staff (those wearing red vests) when you enter the auditorium to obtain a headset. A valid driver’s license or credit card is required as a deposit.

Sign Language Interpreters can be provided upon request with at least two weeks’ notice based on the availability of a qualified Interpreter. Please call (207) 842-0800 to request this service.

The bathrooms in the main floor lobby of Merrill Auditorium are accessible by elevator from all levels and are wheelchair-accessible.

There is an elevator at Merrill Auditorium that can reach any floor of the building. However, the only areas that are accessible without any stairs are the Orchestra and Row G of the Grand Tier. All other sections do require stairs to reach the seats.

Accessible parking for patrons with disability permits is available on both sides of Myrtle Street and on Congress Street in front of City Hall. Parking spaces are in high demand in Portland. To avoid disappointment, please allow sufficient time before the start of a show to find a parking space.

Service animals are always welcome. They are required to remain on a leash or harness at all times. We recommend speaking with a ticket agent about the best seating options for you and your service animal.

Ask a Merrill Staff member wearing a red vest. They are in charge of the ushers and are a very useful resource.

Have a question about accessibility not listed here or need more information? Drop us an email or call us at (207) 842-0800 and we’ll be happy to help.

Bonnie Raitt: Just Like That... Tour 2024

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Just Like That…

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Bonnie Raitt: Just Like That…Tour 2024

Bonnie Raitt is extending the ‘Just Like That…’ tour adding another 30+ dates in the U.S. to the already-robust schedule planned for the first half of 2024. Raitt and her longtime touring band will headline concerts starting in Arizona and Southern California, traveling up the West Coast and finishing up in the Pacific Northwest throughout September and October before heading to the Southeast and Florida in November to wind up the year. These dates will be supported by Special Guest James Hunter.

Many would think Raitt might be eager to rest and take some downtime after headlining 75 concerts in 2022 and another 50 in 2023 spanning the U.S., Australia, the UK, Scotland, Ireland and Canada, in addition to winning three GRAMMY™ Awards at the 65th Annual ceremony last February and an Americana Music Award this past September (making “Just Like That” the first composition to win Song of the Year at both ceremonies).

The fact is, though there are always healthy breaks built into each tour, after a few weeks, Bonnie is itching to get back to what she loves most—traveling and playing live. Luckily her band, crew and the fans feel the same way! To that end, we’ve just put the finishing touches on another leg of the U.S. tour with exciting stops including playing multiple nights at Humphreys in San Diego, The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA, Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, OR and the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA as well as Bonnie’s first appearance since 2006 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville!

Raitt’s fourth headlining appearance on the award-winning and longest-running music program in television history, Austin City Limits , will debut on PBS and PBS.com on February 24th during ACL ’s 49th season. Special guest Sunny War joins Raitt for a unique performance in the episode.

Performing with his band, Special Guest James Hunter known for delivering electrifying live performances with his authentic brand of rhythms and blues, will be supporting Raitt on the entire Fall tour and will also join her earlier in the year starting in Baltimore May 29th and going through June 29th in St Louis. About opening for Bonnie Raitt, Hunter says, "We're very much looking forward to kicking off the night for the great Bonnie Raitt, so bring your dancing shoes and we'll get you warmed up for a memorable evening of live music."

ABOUT BONNIE RAITT

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early 90s with her GRAMMY-award winning albums, 'Nick of Time' and 'Luck of the Draw,' which featured hits, "Something To Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" among others. The thirteen-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone named the slide guitar ace #54 on their recently updated list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

Raitt’s widely-acclaimed 2012 independent release 'Slipstream' sold over a quarter-million copies, making it one of the top selling independent albums, and earned Raitt her 10th Grammy Award (Best Americana Album). In February 2016, Raitt released her highly-anticipated 20th album, 'Dig In Deep' (Redwing Records.) On tour for much of 2017-2019, Raitt and her band performed overseas in Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada before spending the summers touring as support for James Taylor in stadiums and arenas across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe.

As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement, performing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid 70's.  She was a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) which produced the historic concerts, album and movie NO NUKES and continues to work on safe energy issues in addition to environmental protection, social justice and human rights, as well as creator’s rights and music education.

BONNIE RAITT ON THE WEB:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

ABOUT JAMES HUNTER

James Hunter, crowned "The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer" by MOJO Magazine, delivers electrifying live performances with his authentic brand of rhythms and blues. He's been recognized with a nomination for a Grammy® Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and an Americana Music Award for Best New/Emerging Artist.  Hunter and his six-piece band (with a stand-up horn section), have released six studio albums, with a seventh that's been recorded and is on its way. The band has toured the world for decades from tiny clubs to large festivals, with Hunter also sharing the stage to support legends including Aretha Franklin, BB King, Etta James and Van Morrison.  Whether belting out up-tempo R&B or crafting candle-lit ballads, James Hunter is a must-see artist who effortlessly draws from the depths of his musical well, leaving audiences captivated and craving more.  About opening for Bonnie Raitt, Hunter says, "We're very much looking forward to kicking off the night for the great Bonnie Raitt, so bring your dancing shoes and we'll get you warmed up for a memorable evening of live music."

JAMES HUNTER ON THE WEB:

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM

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Bonnie Raitt: Just Like That ... 2024 Tour

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September 18, 2024

Just Like That Tour 2024

Bonnie Raitt

Special guest James Hunter

8:00 PM / Doors Open @ 6:30 PM

Paso Robles, Calif. – February 6, 2024 – Bonnie Raitt is extending the ‘Just Like That…’ tour adding another 30+ dates in the U.S. to the already-robust schedule planned for the first half of 2024. Raitt and her longtime touring band will headline concerts starting in Arizona and Southern Coast and finishing up in the Pacific Northwest throughout September California, traveling up the West and October before heading to the Southeast and Florida in November to wind up the year. These dates, which include a stop at Vina Robles Amphitheatre, Wednesday, September 18 , will be supported by Special Guest James Hunter .

Tickets for the Vina Robles Amphitheatre date are available via Ticketmaster , Friday, February 9, at 10AM .

Many would think Raitt might be eager to rest and take some downtime after headlining 75 concerts in 2022 and another 50 in 2023 spanning the U.S., Australia, the UK, Scotland, Ireland and Canada, in addition to winning three GRAMMY™ Awards at the 65 th Annual ceremony last February and an Americana Music Award this past September (making “Just Like That” the first composition to win Song of the Year at both ceremonies).

The fact is, though there are always healthy breaks built into each tour, after a few weeks, Bonnie is itching to get back to what she loves most— traveling and playing live. Luckily her band, crew and the fans feel the same way! To that end, we’ve just put the finishing touches on another leg of the U.S. tour with exciting stops including playing multiple nights at Humphreys in San Diego, The Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA, Fox Theater in Oakland, CA, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland, OR and the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, WA as well as Bonnie’s first appearance since 2006 at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville!

Raitt’s fourth headlining appearance on the award-winning and longest-running music program in television history, Austin City Limits, will debut on PBS and PBS.com on February 24th during ACL’s 49th season. Special guest Sunny War joins Raitt for a unique performance in the episode.

Performing with his band, Special Guest James Hunter known for delivering electrifying live performances with his authentic brand of rhythms and blues, will be supporting Raitt on the entire Fall tour and will also join her earlier in the year starting in Baltimore May 29th and going through June 29th in St Louis. About opening for Bonnie Raitt, Hunter says, "We're very much looking forward to kicking off the night for the great Bonnie Raitt, so bring your dancing shoes and we'll get you warmed up for a memorable evening of live music."

Raitt will begin her tour in late April with singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maia Sharp returning as her Special Guest for the first 8 headlining concerts. Sharp’s latest album, Reckless Thoughts was released in August 2023 and features singles “Kind,” “Old Dreams” and “She’ll Let Herself Out.”

Tickets for the following shows will go on Fan Presale tomorrow, Wednesday February 7th at 10am local time and will go on sale to the general public this Friday, February 9th at 10am local time via www.bonnieraitt.com .

ABOUT BONNIE RAITT

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early 90s with her GRAMMY-award winning albums, 'Nick of Time' and 'Luck of the Draw,' which featured hits, "Something To Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" among others. The thirteen-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone named the slide guitar ace #54 on their recently updated list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

Raitt’s widely acclaimed 2012 independent release 'Slipstream' sold over a quarter-million copies, making it one of the top selling independent albums, and earned Raitt her 10th Grammy Award (Best Americana Album). In February 2016, Raitt released her highly-anticipated 20th album, 'Dig In Deep' (Redwing Records.) On tour for much of 2017-2019, Raitt and her band performed overseas in Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada before spending the summers touring as support for James Taylor in stadiums and arenas across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe.

As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement, performing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid 70's. She was a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) which produced the historic concerts, album and movie NO NUKES and continues to work on safe energy issues in addition to environmental protection, social justice and human rights, as well as creator’s rights and music education.

ABOUT JAMES HUNTER

James Hunter, crowned "The United Kingdom’s Greatest Soul Singer" by MOJO Magazine, delivers electrifying live performances with his authentic brand of rhythms and blues. He's been recognized with a nomination for a Grammy® Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and an Americana Music Award for Best New/Emerging Artist. Hunter and his six-piece band (with a stand-up horn section), have released six studio albums, with a seventh that's been recorded and is on its way. The band has toured the world for decades from tiny clubs to large festivals, with Hunter also sharing the stage to support legends including Aretha Franklin, BB King, Etta James and Van Morrison. Whether belting out up-tempo R&B or crafting candle-lit ballads, James Hunter is a must-see artist who effortlessly draws from the depths of his musical well, leaving audiences captivated and craving more. About opening for Bonnie Raitt, Hunter says, "We're very much looking forward to kicking off the night for the great Bonnie Raitt, so bring your dancing shoes and we'll get you warmed up for a memorable evening of live music."

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Bonnie Raitt

• Date & Time Monday, November 11 7:30 PM
• Time 7:30 PM
• Venue Opry House
• Ticket Prices $49.50 - $149.50

Performances By:

James Hunter

ABOUT BONNIE RAITT

Bonnie Raitt is a singer, songwriter and guitarist whose unique style blends blues, R&B, rock, and pop. After 20 years as a cult favorite, she broke through to the top in the early 90s with her GRAMMY-award winning albums, 'Nick of Time' and 'Luck of the Draw,' which featured hits, "Something To Talk About" and "I Can't Make You Love Me" among others. The thirteen-time Grammy winner was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone named the slide guitar ace #54 on their recently updated list of the “250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and one of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time.”

Raitt’s widely-acclaimed 2012 independent release 'Slipstream' sold over a quarter-million copies, making it one of the top selling independent albums, and earned Raitt her 10th Grammy Award (Best Americana Album). In February 2016, Raitt released her highly-anticipated 20th album, 'Dig In Deep' (Redwing Records.) On tour for much of 2017-2019, Raitt and her band performed overseas in Australia, New Zealand as well as Canada before spending the summers touring as support for James Taylor in stadiums and arenas across the U.S., United Kingdom and Europe.

As known for her lifelong commitment to social activism as she is for her music, Raitt has long been involved with the environmental movement, performing concerts around oil, nuclear power, mining, water and forest protection since the mid 70's. She was a founding member of MUSE (Musicians United for Safe Energy) which produced the historic concerts, album and movie NO NUKES and continues to work on safe energy issues in addition to environmental protection, social justice and human rights, as well as creator’s rights and music education.

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News Archives: 2024

13 August 2024

So great to get to hang with Nancy Wilson at her lovely home, where we were interviewed for a film about Steve Cropper, one of the greatest guitarists, songwriters and producers of all time. I feel so lucky to call him a friend. Can’t wait to see the film when it’s finished! — Bonnie

Announcing Bonnie’s first performance of 2025 at TTB Sun, Sand & Soul Weekend!

30 July 2024

Bonnie and her band will headline Friday, May 2, 2025 at Tedeschi Trucks Band Sun, Sand and Soul Beach Weekend! Join us in Miramar Beach, FL from May 1-3, 2025 for TWO performances from Tedeschi Trucks Band plus sets from Bonnie, Cory Wong, Los Lobos, The Wood Brothers, and more!

Sign up for the presale NOW at the link below to be among the first to secure priority access to your dedicated cove and take advantage of early bird pricing! https://sunsandsoul.topeka.live/

PRESALE SIGN UP WINDOW: Tuesday, July 30 at 2 pm ET to Sunday, August 4 at 11:59 pm ET

GUEST PRESALE BOOKINGS: Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8

GENERAL ON SALE: Friday, August 9 at 12 pm ET

Reverb at 20!

25 July 2024

Last month, Reverb’s Co-Executive Directors and Founders Lauren Sullivan and Adam Gardner of Guster, reconnected with Bonnie at her concert in Portland, ME. In 2004, Adam and Lauren — concerned about the environmental impact of music tours — decided to make a change for the better. Having heard about Bonnie’s Green Highway campaign, they called Bonnie’s manager to find out more. Bonnie and her manager took Adam and Lauren on as a project of their ARIA Foundation mentoring their start-up until REVERB was able to launch as their own 501c3 organization. We are so proud of the incredible impact REVERB has made on the touring industry over the past 20 years, working with a range of musicians, festivals and venues to engage fans to take environmental and social action. To learn more about their work, visit https://reverb.org

Announcing your 47th Kennedy Center Honorees! 

18 July 2024

The Kennedy Center has just announced their 47th class of honorees, and we are thrilled to share that Bonnie will be recognized alongside Francis Ford Coppola, Grateful Dead, Arturo Sandoval and Apollo Theater. Visit https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/honors to learn more and tune in for the broadcast this December on CBS.

Happy Birthday, Mavis Staples!

10 July 2024

Happy 85th Birthday to my dear ‘big sis,’ Mavis Staples. I cherish every moment we’re together, including your incredible early birthday celebration in LA a couple of months ago. What a blast we had and what a lineup gathered in celebration to honor and adore YOU! Your irrepressible vitality and spirit shine through every song you sing, calling us to keep up the fight for equal rights, freedom and justice for all. You bring us all together in ways no one else can. I send my deep love and warm wishes for many more wonderful years to come. Hope to see you soon!..XX your ‘lil sis,’ Bonnie

BONNIE RAITT ANNOUNCES AN INTIMATE CONCERT WITH HER BAND TO BENEFIT INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM AND PROTECT A FREE PRESS ON SEPTEMBER 23rd AT SUNSET CENTER IN CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA

8 July 2024

Bonnie Raitt and her long-time touring band will perform at the historic Sunset Cultural Center in Carmel-By-The-Sea on California’s Monterey Peninsula. Special guest Roy Rogers will support the show. Proceeds will be donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to investigative journalism and protecting a free press. “With our democracy at a crossroads, never have investigative journalism and protection of a free press been more essential to holding the powerful to account and keeping the public informed and engaged,” says Raitt. Tickets for Carmel-By-The-Sea concert will go on Fan Presale tomorrow,  Tuesday July 9th at 12pm local time  here . Please use the code BonnieFC24 when prompted.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, July 12th at 12pm local time. Tickets $350; $200; and $100. There are a limited number of VIP Fundraising Packages ($500) available: Patrons receive a ticket to the concert and can enjoy some dessert and join Bonnie for a picture at a post-concert Reception. Limited to 50 people.

https://cart.sunsetcenter.org/883?queueittoken=e_vmsafetynet~q_7520ad76-0061-4c3b-b7ed-3da25876f59c~ts_1720457783~ce_true~rt_safetynet~h_47121ad01e81bb7d26445a545e38548925d931fe2f6ec892a9058a543b31d192

Bonnie joins The Fabulous Thunderbirds on their new album

28 June 2024

In celebration of the band’s 50th Anniversary, The Fabulous Thunderbirds have just released Struck Down, their first studio album in eight years on Stony Plain Records. The ten-track album includes a wonderful cover of Memphis Minnie’s “Nothing in Rambling,” featuring longtime friends, T-Birds founding member Kim Wilson, along with Bonnie, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal and Mick Fleetwood.

Bonnie and the band go way back, playing live together often over the decades. Bonnie invited Kim to be one of her special guests on ROAD TESTED, her 1995 live album/concert film. Here’s a clip of their rockin’ duet of Kim’s T-Birds hit, “I Believe I’m In Love With You,” from that show, which has been a highlight of Bonnie’s concerts for years. — BRHQ

Check out Struck Down including the track, “Nothing in Rambling,” here: https://stonyplainrecords.com/fabulousthunderbirds/

Watch the clip from Road Tested here: https://www.tiktok.com/@bonnieraittofficial/video/7385585402700156191?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7345185561815369246

Boston concert reviews

17 June 2024

What a great time was had by all on Saturday night at Bonnie’s sold out show at Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway. She was honored to have fellow soul rocker Peter Wolf at the show. Here’s a photo of them backstage after the show and linked below are a couple of great reviews. Bonnie thanks all the fans, her band and crew, The James Hunter Six and their MGM hosts for a fantastic night! — BRHQ

Photo by Duke Levine Boston.com review: https://tinyurl.com/4tez795f Boston Globe review: https://tinyurl.com/mr38sue7

Happy Father’s Day!

15 June 2024

With Father’s Day this weekend, we wanted to note how special it has been for Bonnie to perform in some of the more historic venues on the East Coast of the U.S. where her father, Broadway legend John Raitt, performed many times over his career. John brought Broadway to “small town USA” appearing in Summer Stock productions across the country for 25 consecutive summers from 1960-1984. Performing in venues like Westbury Music Fair (now know as NYCB Theater at Westbury) and Cape Cod Melody Tent, both of which Bonnie and her band played to sold out crowds this past week. Thinking of John Raitt and the many fathers and father-figures in our lives who have inspired and taught us so much. Happy Father’s Day to all! — BRHQ Learn more about John’s Summer Stock legacy here: https://www.johnraitt.com/career/road Marquis photo by @James “Hutch” Hutchinson

NJArts.net – Bonnie Raitt remains at top of her game at NJPAC concert

11 June 2024

Written by Jay Lustig

“Oh my gosh, what would we do without soul music!” said Bonnie Raitt, before singing her own soulful “Nick of Time” at her June 5 concert at Prudential Hall at NJPAC in Newark.

Testifying to the power of music itself was a constant theme of her between-song commentary during this show. After performing John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery,” for instance, she remembered how Phoebe Snow used to come to her New Jersey shows and how Snow would sit in with the band and “tear the roof off of that sucker right there. We’d do a Sam & Dave song, ‘I Thank You,’ and it was just … I fell over, you know.”

Read the full review here: https://www.njarts.net/bonnie-raitt-remains-at-top-of-her-game-at-njpac-concert-review-photos-setlist-video/

Photo by John Cavanaugh

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The 100 Most Iconic Guitars of All Time (Nos. 100-51)

As chosen by a panel of ace guitarists across a variety of genres, as well as experts and journalists.

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From the blues to jazz to rock to folk to country, the guitar is probably the most pivotal instrument of the 20th century, serving as a centerpiece for a variety of genres that changed the course of culture in America and around the world.

In honor of the stringed instrument that has amped up audiences for centuries, we present Billboard ’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time.

No, that’s not a typo. This is not a list of 100 guitarists – though each item on this list is associated with a particular guitar slinger. And it’s not a list of guitar brands or companies. This is a list of actual guitars, played by great guitarists. It puts the shine on guitars throughout modern history that have been a part of the evolution of popular music. Instead of focusing on guitar playing style, we’re looking at the instrument itself as handled by various luminaries across everything from bluegrass to heavy metal.

What is “the greatest”? Iconic, influential, inventive, famous, game changing? Unusual, oddball, beautiful, even whimsical? Just plain cool? It’s all of that and more. Some of the guitars that follow are standard models with minimal modifications; others are one-of-a-kind pieces that have been endlessly tinkered with. Some are technical and auditory wonders; others have been beaten to hell over the years by overzealous owners. But all are important to the guitar’s history and ongoing evolution.

This was a big undertaking that we didn’t want to do alone. We invited a panel of ace guitarists across a variety of genres, as well as journalists and experts, to peruse a lengthy list of guitars, compiled by Billboard, and vote on them. We invited our voters to submit their own picks. After tallying their responses, we sent it back to the voting panel, solicited additional feedback and incorporated that into a final list of the 100 Greatest Guitars of All Time.

In addition to a few voters who wished to remain anonymous, the voting panel included: Duane Betts, Nick Bowcott of Sweetwater, Carl Broemel of My Morning Jacket, Larry Campbell, Joanna Connor, Michael Doyle of Guitar Center, Alejandro Escovedo, Pete Evick of Bret Michaels Band, Damian Fanelli of Guitar World , Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Slim Gambill who plays for Lady A, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Jim James of My Morning Jacket, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge and Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr, Dave Mason, Scott Metzger, Bob Mould, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Orianthi, Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Joe Satriani, Chris Scapelliti of Guitar Player , Peter Stroud of Sheryl Crow’s band, Matthew Sweet, Mark Tremonti of Creed and Alter Bridge, Seth Walker, Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards, Jack White, Nancy Wilson, Andy Wood and Oliver Wood.

This week, we’re rolling out the first half of the list (guitars 100-51), and next week, we’ll unveil the full 100 (for now, the image above will serve as a hint).

This list is far from exhaustive. There are so many legendary guitars that even a list of 100 fails to encompass all of them. Regardless, we hope what follows spurs some excitement, debate, discovery and even, perhaps, someone to pick up a guitar and start playing.

100. Johnny Thunders - ca. 1959 Les Paul Junior TV Model

The band was the New York Dolls. The attitude was punk rock. And the color was TV Yellow — which guitar manufacturer Gibson at one point marketed for budding rock stars to stand out on black-and-white broadcasts. “Me and Johnny Thunders basically put the Les Paul Junior on the map,” the Dolls’ other guitarist, Sylvain Sylvain, said in 2009 . “It was the perfect guitar for the New York Dolls because it was stripped down — like the band was and like our songs were.” Guitar World called the circa-1959 Junior “minimal, direct and cut-through with the essence of rock ’n’ roll – basically the blueprint for Thunders’ own ethos.”

Talk of the Town: “I lusted after his TV yellow Les Paul Junior,” The Cult’s Billy Duffy told Guitar World. “ I finally picked up my own Les Paul Junior in 1979, though it was a wine red one. I couldn’t find a yellow one in England at that time.” 

On Display: The Punk Rock Museum in Las Vegas has shown Thunders’ guitar for several years.  – STEVE KNOPPER

99. Brittany Howard - 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom

Howard never used to like Les Pauls, which she found heavy and unfamiliar, until she borrowed an SG from Heath Fogg, the guitarist from her band Alabama Shakes. She eventually found her own, a 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom in Inverness Green. It’s battered but beautiful — a reissue from the early ‘80s, she has suggested — with three pickups. Howard soon had a collection of SGs (at least five, at one point), which she has been known to play through Orange amps, which offer a warmer, vintage-y sound. She played the SG during the Alabama Shakes’ star-making appearance on Saturday Night Live in 2013.

Strange But True: The SG (short for “solid guitar”) was popularized by blues legend Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who played a white one. Howard inducted Tharpe into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

Six-String Stories: “My number one thing for my guitar techs is: Do not clean the pickups,” Howard told The Guardian in 2020. “I like the sound of pickups that are worn down and kind of degraded – it’s just more interesting-sounding. That is why my SG is so unique, because of how the pickups were wound, and how long it has been since they were cleaned up.” – ALLISON STEWART

98. John Mayer - PRS Silver Sky

When PRS Guitars and John Mayer introduced their first collaborative model in 2018, it was something that looked familiar — and also alien — to the guitar community. Combining a Strat-like body (or “S-style,” as they say in the business) with PRS’ sleek, more contemporary aesthetic, the Silver Sky, like Mayer himself, immediately became a hot-button topic amongst purists and newer players alike. The fact that Mayer had spent much of his career as a staunch Strat man only added to the curiosity of why he had opted to develop the instrument with PRS. His explanation? His desire to make a guitar that was “sort of the future of the classic design.” Just a few years later, it’s one of the more popular signature models on the market.

Shop Talk: According to Mayer, the Silver Sky’s initial finishes were inspired by Tesla car colors. “If you look at materials that were available in the 1950s and ’60s, they’re still being used all the time, only for guitars,” he said in a Guitar Center video . “Things that are sunburst, things that are mother-of-pearl. I wanted to really move it more into this modern period of Tesla, Apple, Leica.”

Specs: Alder body, 25.5 scale length, maple neck with 635JM fretboard shape, trio of 635JM single-coil pickups, “reverse” PRS trademark headstock shape

Sound Decision: The “635” designation in the custom-designed pickups is believed to reference the fact that tonally they sound somewhere in between Mayer’s favored 1963-1964-era Strats, hence “63.5.” – RICHARD BIENSTOCK

97. Adam Jones - 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom “Silverburst”

The Gibson Les Paul has several famous finishes, among them the red-orange-yellow Sunburst and the elegant ebony that adorns the “Black Beauty” model. Thanks to Tool guitarist Adam Jones, the considerably rarer Silverburst has now joined the ranks of coveted LP colorways. Reportedly conceived to commemorate the Les Paul’s silver anniversary in 1979, and initially produced only from 1978 until 1982, the Silverburst seemed lost to history until Jones made a ’79 Les Paul Custom in the unique finish – a silver center giving way to darker hues around the body’s border, with the silver taking on a greenish hue over time due to nitrocellulose lacquer aging – his main guitar with Tool. Its stunning appearance, combined with Tool’s fervid fanbase, led Gibson to partner with Jones on a period-correct Custom Shop recreation, and eventually a full line of Jones-inspired Silverburst models.

Rarity Factor: Between just 150 and 200 Silverbursts were reportedly produced during the model’s original run. Jones has stated he owns six of these, including two 1979 examples.

Strange But True: Gibson originally employed metal-flake paint for the finish, and Jones has said he believes the “particular metallic paint does something to the tone or the resonance or the polarity” of the instrument.

Signature Style: Gibson sister brand Epiphone unveiled the Adam Jones Art Collection in 2024, featuring seven Silverburst models emblazoned with artwork from some of the Jones’ favorite visual artists, among them fantasy legend Frank Frazetta and pop-surrealist Mark Ryden. – R. BIENSTOCK

96. Jimmy Page - 1959 Telecaster “Dragon”

Like any mythical beast, Jimmy Page’s dragon-painted 1959 Telecaster boasts an epic backstory. Used almost exclusively on Led Zeppelin’s debut album and for the solo on “Stairway to Heaven,” this guitar’s origins trace back to Jeff Beck. Beck, who used it on such Yardbirds hits like “Shapes of Things” and “Heart Full of Soul,” gifted it to Page in 1965 as a token of esteem. Originally featuring a White Blonde finish, maple neck and slab rosewood fingerboard, Page initially personalized it by adding eight circular mirrors to the body. Shortly after, he stripped the finish and repainted it himself, creating a psychedelic dragon in a vaguely Japanese style. “I painted it in one go over the course of an evening, finishing it the next day,” Page said in his autobiography, Jimmy Page: The Anthology . “Once it was created and painted, it became like the legendary Excalibur.”

Specs: Page replaced the Telecaster’s original black pickguard with a transparent acrylic one, inserting a sheet of diffraction grating film to create a spectrum of colors when hit by light.

Retirement Party: In 1969, Page switched from the Telecaster to a Les Paul because the Tele’s single-coil pickup caused it to squeal at the volumes needed for live performances in bigger concert halls. – BRAD TOLINSKI

95. Lzzy Hale - Gibson Explorer

The Gibson Explorer’s angular shape was seen as futuristic when it debuted in the late ‘50s, but by the time Halestorm lead singer and guitarist Lzzy Hale began rocking out with the model onstage, it was deliciously retro, evoking the ‘80s metal bands she grew up idolizing. From her signature Epiphone Explorer with an “Alpine White” finish to her Gibson Explorerbird that rocks a “Cardinal Red” colorway, Hale is, in turn, converting a new generation of shredders to the hard-rocking church of the Explorer.

As Seen On: Hale flaunts her Alpine White Explorer in the music videos “Freak Like Me” and “The Steeple,” both of which are Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplays No. 1s.

Six-String Stories: “That’s pretty much my go-to guitar,” Hale told Harmony Central of her white Explorer in 2018. “Honestly, that guitar, I don’t know what voodoo happened with that one, but it works in any situation.” — JOE LYNCH

94. Rory Gallagher - 1961 Fender Stratocaster

Rumored to be the first Fender Stratocaster to grace Ireland, its original owner, Jim Conlon, had ordered a red Stratocaster from the U.S. but received this sunburst model by mistake. When the intended red Strat finally arrived six months later, Conlon sold the sunburst model, which was promptly snapped up by Gallagher for just £100 in 1963.

For the next three decades, this guitar was a central piece of Gallagher’s career until his untimely death in 1995 at age 47. Over the years, the guitar’s finish was nearly stripped away, which Gallagher’s brother attributes to Rory’s highly acidic sweat, which aged the paintwork prematurely.

Strange But True: Dublin’s Temple Bar hosts Rory Gallagher Corner at Meeting House Square, marked with a full-sized bronze recreation of his legendary Stratocaster.

As Heard On: Rory Gallagher may not be as universally known as Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix, but he made a significant impact, selling over 30 million records worldwide. His 1973 album, Blueprint , which features the ’61 Strat, is often considered his best work.

Shop Talk: In a 1984 interview with Vintage Classic , Gallagher shared, “After a while, the original neck went bad on me. That was about 10 years ago, but I took it off and hung it up. After a few months it dried out and was fine again.” – B. TOLINSKI

93. Lou Reed - Gretsch Country Gentleman

Late-’60s photos show Reed’s primary guitar in his Velvet Underground days was a Gretsch, which he confirmed to Guitar World in 1998. A San Francisco “electronics guy” built in an echo, he said, “so I could seem to play faster than I really could.” He tinkered relentlessly, making it stereo, adding batteries, until “eventually it just ruined the guitar.” Another key Reed VU guitar: a Kent Copa, purchased for about $150 from a catalog, according to Premier Guitar. As 2021’s documentary The Velvet Underground shows, Reed and co-VU axeman Sterling Morrison took turns playing it.

Specs: The Kent Copa, made by Japanese company Guyatone, had three pickups, three volume controls, a tone control and a rotary selector switch.

Six-String Stories: “I’d been listening to [avant-garde jazz artists] Cecil Taylor and Ornette Coleman. Of course I was not trained to play like them. I couldn’t read and write music. I couldn’t even begin to think of having technique like that. But I certainly had the energy—and a good ear,” Reed told Guitar World. “ So that’s what I was listening to, along with guitar players like James Burton and Steve Cropper.”  – S. KNOPPER

92. J Mascis - 1958 Fender Jazzmaster

Before they were re-discovered by ‘80s alt-rock hopefuls with no money, Jazzmasters were best known for their appeal to surf-rock and jazz aficionados. Mascis bought his ‘58 Jazzmaster in a Vermont, or possibly Connecticut, trailer park. He covered its gold hardware with more gold hardware, and made it the engine of Dinosaur Jr.’s lumpy, distorted, magisterial sound. It’s also the primary inspiration for his one of Mascis’ own Signature Jazzmasters, an atypically affordable, much-desired model by Squier that has gone in and out of production.

Strange But True: Mascis went to the trailer park with the hope of buying a Stratocaster, but it was too expensive.

Strange But True, Part 2: Mascis learned how to play guitar on a Jazzmaster, his first guitar.

As Heard On: Though Jazzmasters are thought of as foundational to the band’s sound, Mascis doesn’t actually record with them. “There’s hardly ever a Jazzmaster or a Big Muff on any studio recording,” he told Reverb . – A. STEWART

91. Jimmie Rodgers - 1927 Martin 00-18

Before he became “The Father of Country Music,” Rodgers was a tubercular young crooner, yodeler, former brakeman and guitar player known for his signature Martins. He used an unadorned spruce-and-mahogany Martin 00-18 to make his first recordings during the legendary Bristol Sessions in 1927. Once he had money, he used a custom Martin 00-45 (from either 1927 or ‘28) with a pearlized nameplate, and, for the audience, the word “THANKS” printed on the back.

As Heard On: Rodgers used the 00-18 to record “The Soldier’s Sweetheart” and “Sleep Baby Sleep.” Both from the Bristol Sessions, they would be the rocket fuel that powered Rodgers’ ascent when they were released two months after the sessions.

As Heard On, Part 2: Rodgers used another model, the 00-45, to record his signature hit, “Blue Yodel.”

Strange But True: Rodgers actually had an endorsement deal — when such things were unheard of — with the Philadelphia-based Weymann company. Its circa-1931 “Jimmie Rodgers Special Model 890” sold for $90, a fortune during the Great Depression. – A. STEWART

90. Ron Wood - Zemaitis Metal Front

Tony Zemaitis, a London-born luthier, initially made waves in the ’60s by crafting distinctive acoustic guitars for legends like Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Donovan. However, in the ’70s, he shifted his focus to electric guitars, creating designs that drew even more attention. His exploration into the properties of aluminum on guitars began after a 1969 conversation with Clapton. Zemaitis discovered that incorporating an aluminum front enhanced the guitar by reducing feedback and improving tuning and intonation—plus, it looked incredibly cool.

One of his most famous electric models was commissioned by Faces and eventual Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood. Of the two guitars Zemaitis made for Wood, it was the second—with its black body and striking central metal plate—that became iconic. The design sparked a craze, drawing clients like Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, Marc Bolan, David Gilmour and Pretenders’ James Honeyman-Scott.

Specs: Many of Zemaitis’ metal plates were intricately tooled by shotgun engraver Danny O’Brien.

Stage Debut: Zemaitis built his first electric guitar for Tony McPhee of the Groundhogs.

Sold!: Zemaitis crafted only eight to 10 guitars annually. He retired in 2000 and died in 2002. These days, some of his original pieces can fetch upwards of $50,000. – B. TOLINSKI

89. Jerry Garcia - Doug Irwin Custom 1979 “Tiger”

Delighted with the craftsmanship of his custom Doug Irwin “Wolf” guitar, Jerry Garcia commissioned another instrument from Irwin, urging the luthier to “not hold back.” Irwin rose to the challenge, creating a guitar known as “Tiger,” distinguished by its “hippie sandwich” construction—a lamination of several layers of wood. This unique guitar also featured a tiger inlay near the tailpiece, and its solid brass binding and hardware contributed to its substantial weight of about 14 pounds.

Irwin crafted two more guitars for Garcia, “Rosebud” and “Headless.” But following Garcia’s death, a dispute ensued between Irwin and the Grateful Dead over the ownership of Jerry’s four custom guitars. The conflict was resolved in 2001, granting Irwin possession of both “Tiger” and “Wolf.”

Stage Debut: Garcia first played Tiger live at a concert in Oakland, Calif., on Aug. 4, 1979.

Retirement Party: Tiger was the last guitar Garcia used in public with the Grateful Dead, during a performance on July 9, 1995.

Sold!: Tiger was purchased by Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts, for $957,500 in 2002. – B. TOLINSKI

88. Zakk Wylde - 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom “The Grail”

When Zakk Wylde joined Ozzy Osbourne’s band in 1987, he sought a distinctive guitar to mark his new role. His choice fell on a white 1981 Les Paul Custom equipped with EMG pickups, which he eventually obtained by trading a double-neck Gibson EDS-1275 with a friend. But Wylde faced a challenge: the legendary Randy Rhoads was famously associated with a similar white Les Paul during his time with Ozzy. Seeking to carve out his own identity, Zakk opted to have his refinished in a unique oblong “vertigo” pattern. The customization resulted in a simpler, yet iconic, black and white bullseye pattern instead. Wylde embraced this unexpected design, which soon became his signature “The Grail.”

As Heard On: Wylde composed “Miracle Man,” his first song for Ozzy, on the Grail.

Strange But True: In 2000, the Grail temporarily vanished after accidently falling out of a truck on the way to a Texas gig. Fortunately, it survived its ordeal and was recovered.

Retirement Party: In recent years, Zakk has favored instruments from his own Wylde Audio guitar line. – B. TOLINSKI

87. H.E.R. - Signature Chrome Glow Stratocaster

H.E.R. is the first Black woman to receive a signature Fender model, and it’s a doozy – a chrome-covered Strat that flashes iridescent in the light (reportedly in tribute to a nail-polish color she likes). There’s footage on YouTube of H.E.R. playing her first Strat when she was a kid, and her trademark guitar combines that same classic feel (its vintage vibe includes a mid-’60s C-shaped neck) with modern touches (a pearlescent glow finish).

Stage Debut: At the 2020 Primetime Emmys, playing “Nothing Compares 2 U” during the In Memoriam segment, as a tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor.

Specs: The Strat has three Fender Vintage Noiseless pickups, meant to ensure a cleaner tone.

Strange But True: H.E.R. famously played a see-through Strat at the 2019 Grammy Awards. Crafted out of acrylic and entirely clear, it was custom built by Fender in a week. – A. STEWART

86. Billy Gibbons – Dean Z "Fur" Guitar

By 1984, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill weren’t lacking for woolliness. But they turned the hirsute quotient up to 11 with the Dean Z “fur” guitar and bass they brandished in that year’s “Legs” video. Gibbons had played a Dean ML model on the accompanying album, 1983’s Eliminator , and Dean Guitars founder Dean Zelinsky offered to build custom instruments for the band for the supporting tour. Gibbons had one request: incorporate some sheepskins he had purchased in Scotland into the design. Up for the challenge, Zelinsky delivered a white guitar and bass, the Eliminator logo emblazoned on the fretboards, and (as requested) matching sheepskin finishes. The results even upstaged the video’s star attraction – the various pairs of legs showcased throughout the clip.

Strange But True: After covering the guitar and bass with sheepskin, Zelinsky used electric horse shears to shave a path down the center of the bodies to make room for the pickups, tailpiece and strings.

Strange But True, Part 2: The build stretched into the 11th hour. “I remember we were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars,” Zelinsky recalled. “He waited while we boxed them up; they had to make it to the video shoot the very next day.”

Strange But True, Part 3: The instruments featured an attachment that enabled them to be spun 360 degrees from Gibbons and Hill’s waists while being played. – R. BIENSTOCK

85. Kurt Cobain - 1959 Martin D-18E

A bungled attempt by acoustic guitar manufacturer Martin to make inroads into the growing electric guitar market of the late ’50s, the D-18E — essentially a D-18 dreadnought guitar fitted with two DeArmond pickups, two tone controls and a volume control — was produced for only one year and would have been nothing more than a seldom-discussed oddity if Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain hadn’t purchased one from Voltage Guitars in Los Angeles in the fall of 1993. When Nirvana came to New York to record their unforgettable MTV Unplugged performance on Nov. 18 of that year, Cobain played the guitar (which, much to the show’s producer’s dismay was plugged into two effects pedals and a Fender Twin amplifier) for the entire epochal performance, giving the much-maligned D-18E a belated star turn.

Middleman: Cobain was not happy with the sound produced by the D-18E’s DeArmond pickups and had a Bartolini 3AV pickup installed in the sound hole between them, which he used exclusively for Unplugged .

Sold!: Cobain reportedly paid $5,000 for his Martin in 1993. In 2022, it sold at auction for more than five million dollars.

Lucky 7: Martin production records indicate that Cobain’s guitar, serial number 166854, was the seventh D-18E produced. – TOM BEAUJOUR

84. Wayne Kramer - American Flag Stratocaster

Inspired by Pete Townshend and The Who’s British-flag pop-art iconography, the guitarist motivated his protopunk band, Detroit’s MC5, to hang American flags over their amps. It was a way of reflecting the counterculture in general and protesting the Vietnam War specifically: “The idea was, it’s my flag, too. It’s not just the right-wing flag,” Kramer told guitar.com in 2022, two years before his death. “I decided to have my guitar painted with that motif.” Kramer initially painted his white Strat with red stripes, then added the blue-and-white stars pattern to the pickguard. He also added a humbucker to make his solos louder.

Strange But True: In the ’70s, Kramer was an addict and offered the guitar to a Detroit music store to raise cash — only to be told he’d ruined it with the stars and stripes. To sell it, Kramer had to repaint it. “I suspect somewhere in Michigan there’s a Stratocaster in a case under the bed that nobody’s seen in 50 years,” he said.

Talk of the Town: “I’m a guitar-rock guy,” Kramer once told Detroit Artists Workshop. “I love loud guitars and that’s the way I still play.” – S. KNOPPER

83. Dave Grohl - 1967 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard

In the swinging ’60s, Trini Lopez made his mark as Gibson’s premier signature artist, captivating audiences with uptempo folk-rock hits like “If I Had a Hammer” and “Lemon Tree.” Although Lopez’s popularity has faded, Dave Grohl has significantly helped in keeping his legacy alive by using his signature Gibson guitars during his performances with Foo Fighters in some of the world’s most famed venues.

Grohl acquired his first Trini Lopez guitar in 1992 from a guitar shop in Bethesda, Maryland, using his earnings from his tenure as Nirvana’s drummer. He was searching for a guitar that was versatile enough to play acoustically at home and powerful enough to electrify audiences in large venues like Madison Square Garden. The guitar’s distinctive diamond-shaped F-holes and elegant headstock particularly drew Grohl’s attention, leading him to develop a deep appreciation for Lopez’s design and become an avid collector of other Trini guitars.

Shop Talk: Dave Grohl once remarked , “I didn’t really know anything about Trini Lopez when I bought the guitar. I thought it was unusual.”

Specs: Trini Lopez specifically requested that Gibson incorporate a unique Fender-style six-on-a-side headstock in his design.

Specs: In 2024 Epiphone released the Dave Grohl DG-335, designed in conjunction with Grohl and boasting diamond-shape f-holes and other distinctive features from his beloved ’67 Trini. – B. TOLINSKI

82. Nancy Wilson - Gibson SG Junior with Bigsby

One of Wilson’s most beloved guitars, she reportedly purchased the then-burgundy woodgrain Gibson at a used guitar store and modified it with a Bigsby Vibramate and a single Kent Armstrong P-90 pickup that gives the guitar its down-and-dirty sound.

As Heard On: The SG was Wilson’s go-to guitar for live versions of Heart’s “Barracuda.”

Signature Specs: The back of the SG is emblazoned with a large sticker of the U.S. Marine Corps logo — a tribute to Wilson’s father, who was in the military.

Sold! : In 2022, Wilson put a number of guitars from her collection on sale through the Reverb.com website, including the SG, which was listed for $100,000. It’s unclear who purchased it. — FRANK DIGIACOMO

81. Waylon Jennings - "No. 1" Leather-Covered Fender Telecaster

Of the five guitars that Jennings used onstage, “No. 1” and “No. 2” were mid-’50s Telecasters. (They’ve been referred to as both 1953 and 1954 models in descriptions.) The first was a gift from his band the Waylors in the early ‘60s when they were playing the Phoenix club scene: a Butterscotch Blonde Tele that they had covered in black leather decorated with a cream-colored floral pattern and spiral stitching around the perimeter of the guitar.

Strange But True: According to Waylon’s son Shooter Jennings, the band paid around $40 for the Telecaster. Other accounts say the band shelled out another pittance to either a janitor or bartender at the club they were playing to add the hand-tooled leather sheath.

Signature Specs: Jennings used a banjo key on the low E string with a 1:1 ratio — the number of turns required to change the pitch from, say, an E to a D (the average is 18 turns). The key made the change instant.

Sold!: No. 1 remains with Jennings family, but Nicole Kidman dropped close to $100,000 to buy “No. 3” — a 1950 Fender Broadcaster — at auction for her husband Keith Urban. Keith Richards acquired the ’67 Telecaster that was one of the Jennings five. — F. DIGIACOMO

80. Jeff Beck - "Wired" Fender Stratocaster

Jazz fusion great John McLaughlin often praised Jeff Beck as the “best guitarist alive.” The feeling was mutual, with Beck raving that McLaughlin’s playing was “unequaled.” Their respect for each other was evident when they toured together in 1975. During this time, Beck smashed his beloved ’62 Stratocaster. As a kind gesture, McLaughlin bought Beck a replacement—a white Stratocaster from Norman’s Rare Guitars in Tarzana, California. Tragically, this guitar, which graced the cover of Beck’s 1976 album Wired , was stolen soon after it was acquired. Unfazed, McLaughlin stepped in once more, purchasing another white Strat for Beck. It is believed that this guitar, alongside the repaired ’62 Strat, were the ones Beck played on Wired , an album that showcased his mastery and innovation on the electric guitar.

Shop Talk: Jeff Beck expressed his straightforward view on instruments to Guitar World in 2014: “When it comes to guitars, I don’t really give a damn about ‘custom this’ and ‘custom that.’ Most of what I need is in my fingers. You know, let’s hear it for the fingers!”

Talk of the Town: While Beck’s album Wired is hailed as a seminal work in jazz fusion, Beck himself did not identify as a jazz musician. However, he felt a deep honor when jazz legend Charles Mingus commended him for his sensitive rendition of Mingus’s own “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat.”

Chart a Course: Wired peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and was also released in a special four-channel quadraphonic edition. – B. TOLINSKI

79. Prince - Auerswald Symbol Guitar

Prince employed a futuristic-looking Jerry Auerswald guitar – the Model C – on late ’80s efforts like Sign o’ the Times and Lovesexy . In 1993, in the midst of a contract dispute with his label, Warner Bros., he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and recruited the German luthier to build him a guitar in the same shape. Known as the Auerswald Symbol (or Love Symbol) guitar, Prince played the gold creation during the period surrounding his 1995 album The Gold Experience . He later used models in various colors, including black and white, and capped his 2007 Super Bowl XLI Halftime Show performance by playing “Purple Rain” with a Schecter-built version – finished, of course, in purple.

Specs: Carved maple body and neck, “arrow” headstock, gold-plated heart-shaped tuning knobs, EMG pickups (single coil and humbucker).

As Seen On: Prince plays the original Auerswald in the official music videos for The Gold Experience ’s “Endorphinmachine” and “Gold.”

Rarity: The gold Auerswald, reportedly the only Prince-owned Symbol model still in existence, resides in the collection housed at Paisley Park, Prince’s home and studio in Chanhassen, Minn. – R. BIENSTOCK

78. Elvis Presley - 1942 Martin D-18 "Sun Sessions"

Known as the “Sun Sessions” guitar, Presley used this Martin on his early classics at Sam Phillips’ studio between 1954 and 1956. It’s unclear exactly which songs he played the guitar on, but among the songs from these sessions were “That’s All Right,” “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Mystery Train.” Presley affixed the letters from his first name on the body, but the “S” has disappeared over time, so it still reads: “ELVI.” Presley purchased the guitar at Houck’s Piano Store in Memphis, trading in his Martin 000-18 as part of the price. “There is also extensive wear visible on the guitar due to Presley’s hard strumming,” observed Guitar World before the Martin went up for auction.

Sold!: In 2020, the guitar sold for $1.32 million to an undisclosed buyer through auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll.

On Display: New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art included the Martin in its “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll” exhibition in 2019. – S. KNOPPER

77. Clarence White - Martin D-28 Herringbone

For an instrument sometimes hailed as “the Holy Grail of bluegrass guitars,” Clarence White’s Martin D-28 had an inauspicious start. In 1959, a teenaged White bought a heavily damaged, 20-some-year-old acoustic guitar, which was soon fixed up by a Los Angeles luthier named Milt Owen , who admitted the result was far from perfect. But the guitar isn’t famous for being beautiful: It’s the instrument on which the dexterous White – as part of the folk revival outfit Kentucky Colonels — helped popularize the acoustic guitar as a lead instrument in bluegrass (acoustics were mainly seen as rhythm instruments prior to the innovations of White and Doc Watson, among others). By the time White began playing with the Byrds, the Martin D-28 was out of his life – but its influence on future generations of bluegrass players was set. In fact, Tony Rice – a disciple of White’s – owned and played the guitar for years.

Battle Scars: For whatever reason, someone had carved away at the Martin D-28’s sound hole before White bought it. Perhaps deciding a knife wasn’t enough, White upped the ante and shot it with a BB gun before parting ways with the guitar in 1965.

Talk of the Town: When Tony Rice bought White’s Martin D-28 in the ‘70s, he could barely believe his good fortune. “I kept waiting to wake up,” Rice told Fretboard Journal . “For days I was thinking, ‘It couldn’t possibly have been this easy.’” – J. LYNCH

76. Allen Collins - 1958 Gibson Explorer

The Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist went through a series of instruments during his time with the band, but in 1976 switched to the Explorer, in its original form one of the rarest and most coveted guitars Gibson has ever made. According to Ultimate Guitar , the company made just a handful of them during their initial run in 1958, and Collins’ Korina wood edition — replicated by Gibson with a 100-axe run in 2003 — became iconic.

Strange But True: According to his guitar tech , while playing in the Skynyrd successor Rossington-Collins Band in 1980, Collins tripped while running out onstage and broke the tip of the headstock off, then glued it back on with Elmer’s glue; when Gibson issued its signature, they recreated that aspect on purpose.

As Heard On: Street Survivors, the final album with Skynyrd’s classic lineup, which was released three days before the plane crash that killed three members of the band and almost claimed the life of Collins. — DAN RYS

75. Memphis Minnie - 1941 National New Yorker

One of the first electric guitars on the market, the 1941 National New Yorker Electric Spanish was the guitar of choice for Memphis Minnie when she went electric in the early ‘40s. The Queen of Country Blues’ playing on this hollow, sound hole-free guitar helped the blues evolve into early rock n’ roll and inspired artists from Jefferson Airplane to Bonnie Raitt.

Rarity Factor: One of the few hollow guitars with no sound holes, the National New Yorker is additionally rare because America’s entrance into World War II necessitated the reallocation of resources used to make that model. The one Minnie wielded featured a sunburst finish.

Talk of the Town: None other than 20th century poetry giant Langston Hughes had this to say about Minnie’s guitar playing: “Louisiana bayous, muddy old swamps, Mississippi dust and sun, cotton fields, lonesome roads, train whistles in the night, mosquitoes at dawn, and the Rural Free Delivery, that never brings the right letter. All these things cry through the strings on Memphis Minnie’s electric guitar, amplified to machine proportions — a musical version of electric welders plus a rolling mill.” — J. LYNCH

74. Joe Satriani - 1990 Ibanez JS Special "Chrome Boy"

Joe Satriani, known for his fluid playing technique and his distinctive bald look, has always mirrored the sleek and polished style he embodies. His breakout album, 1987’s Surfing with the Alien , notably features Marvel’s Silver Surfer on the cover, embodying the same smooth aesthetic. It’s no surprise that Satriani’s most iconic guitar, the 1990 Ibanez JS-2 Chrome Boy, boasts a brilliantly reflective silver finish that complements this theme perfectly. Although the original “Chrome Boy” offered exceptional sound, its finish was prone to peeling due to Ibanez’s then-unperfected chroming technique. Ironically, Satriani observed that each time the guitar was refinished, its sound improved, eventually making it one of his favorite instruments.

Specs: Since its inception in 1990, Ibanez has created five different versions of the Chrome Boy.

Strange But True: Satriani notes that it wasn’t until the fourth iteration, the JS1CR30, that Ibanez finally perfected the chroming process, joking, “They figured it out…it only took 30 years!”

As Heard On: Chrome Boy’s distinctive sound can be fully appreciated on the 2001 album Live in San Francisco . – B. TOLINSKI

73. Ace Frehley - 1974 Gibson Les Paul Custom “Budokan”

The Spaceman has said he purchased the Cherry-burst guitar in 1976 at Manny’s Music on West 48th Street — once part of Manhattan’s much-mourned Music Row. He later modified it with three DiMarzio humbuckers, including a Super Distortion at the bridge — the Les Paul originally had just two pickups — which helped give KISS its distinctive roar.

As Heard On: Alive II

Retirement Party: According to acefrehleylespaul.com, although the Custom is most associated with Frehley and KISS, it was his primary guitar for the shortest period — 17 months between 1976 and 1978.

Sold!: Frehley’s axe was purchased by rare guitar collector Matt Swanson who licensed it to Gibson to create faithful replicas. — F. DIGIACOMO

72. Buck Owens -  Mosrite Red, White and Blue Acoustic

Bakersfield, Calif., was not only the home of “Act Naturally” writer and country superstar Buck Owens but of Semie Moseley, the luthier behind Mosrite Guitars, favored by the Ventures’ Nokie Edwards and the Ramones’ Johnny Ramone. In 1966, Owens was against the Vietnam War, but also against protesters burning the American flag, and he wanted a (relatively) subtle way to show his reaction. Together, he and Moseley designed a red, white and blue acoustic — and Owens convinced his fiddle and bass players to paint their instruments the same colors. When Owens starred on Hee Haw a few years later, he said in his autobiography, Buck ‘Em! , “It seems like everybody wanted to know where they could get one.”

Mass Distribution: Owens licensed the red, white and blue model to Chicago Musical Instruments, which sold each model for $82.95, often through the Sears catalog. Owens’ first check was for $15,000.

Six-String Stories: Rev. Ray Boatwright helped fund Moseley’s forays into the guitar-building business, co-signing on a band saw, tabletop drill press, air compressor and other tools, which Moseley used to build Mosrite #1 in the reverend’s one-car garage in 1954, according to Bakersfield Guitars: An Early History. Among the first to use his models: Lorrie and Larry Collins of the Collins Kids, a ’50s rockabilly duo. – S. KNOPPER

71. Mark Knopfler - 1937 National Style "O" 14 Fret

Mark Knopfler stuck primarily to Strats and Les Pauls in Dire Straits, but the most indelible guitar image connected to the band is that of his 1937 National Style “O” resonator, famously depicted floating in the blue sky, storm clouds gathering in the background, on the cover of their Billboard 200-topping 1985 album Brothers In Arms. Knopfler purchased the National from guitarist and friend Steve Phillips in the ‘70s and used it extensively in the studio and onstage with Dire Straits and in his solo career. He has described its tone as “somewhere between the guitar and a piano,” which is pretty much exactly how it sounds on his most famous performance with it – the beautifully fingerpicked melody that leads the 1980 classic “Romeo and Juliet.”

As Seen On: The guitar also appears on the back cover of Brothers In Arms , this time as a painting by German artist Thomas Steyer.

Specs: National manufactured the first resonator guitars in 1927, designed with a metal body and interior speaker-like cones to produce more volume than acoustics in the pre-amplification days. Three years later, the brand introduced the Style O, boasting a nickel-plated brass body, with a “chickenfoot” coverplate on the front and an etched Hawaiian island scene on the back.

Strange But True: In 1973 Knopfler briefly played with an English pub rock band named Brewers Droop (slang for alcohol-induced erectile dysfunction). Sixteen years later some of these recordings were released on the album The Booze Brothers , the cover of which parodied the Brothers In Arms art — this time with the neck of Knopfler’s National experiencing the dreaded “droop.” – R. BIENSTOCK

70. Brian Jones - Vox Mark III "Teardrop"

Although Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones played many guitars during his tenure with the band, he is most closely associated with the teardrop-shaped white Vox Mark III presented to him by Tom Jennings (of Vox’s parent company, Jennings Musical Industries) in 1964. The guitar, which was a one-of-a-kind prototype built for Jones by Mick Bennett, featured two single coil pickups, a chrome pickguard, and ebony fretboard with a zero fret and a round vinyl cover that buttoned to the back of the guitar. Jones would first appear in public with the guitar on July 11 in Bridlington, Yorkshire, and he then used it for subsequent television appearances promoting the Stones’ then-new single “It’s All Over Now.”

Numbers Game: Once in production, the “teardrop” Mark III was rechristened the Vox Mark VI.

Fender Blender: When assembling Jones’ Mark III, Mick Bennett repurposed a Fender Stratocaster bridge that had been sawed off on one side to remove the hole for the tremolo arm.

Twin Tone: Vox built a companion 12-string Teardrop that was used during the Stones’ July 1964 appearances on the television show Ready Steady Go! – T. BEAUJOUR

69. Susan Tedeschi & Derek Trucks - 1993 American Standard Telecaster & Gibson Custom Dickey Betts SG

Both husband and wife are known for their playing prowess, though they come at it from very different directions. Trucks has long played his red SG — in fact, he’s rarely seen without it — in open E tuning with a classic thick glass slide, a nod to his guitar hero and Allman Brothers predecessor Duane Allman. Tedeschi, meanwhile, is less dogmatic and uses a rotation of guitars, but has become most known for her Telecaster, which Fender enshrined with a signature version modeled on her 1993 Caribbean Mist original.

As Heard On: Tedeschi’s 1998 album Just Won’t Burn features her original on the cover; Trucks has played his SG on more than a dozen albums across his solo band, three Allman Brothers records (and countless live albums) and a slew of Tedeschi Trucks Band releases.

Strange But True: Trucks’ custom SG was modeled on Gibson’s Dickey Betts SG, which itself is a replica of a 1961 SG that Dickey gave to Duane Allman, which Allman’s daughter then gave to Trucks. Got all that? — D. RYS

68. Rick Nielsen - 1981 Hamer Five-Neck

Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen is a guitarist given to eccentricities both sartorial and musical. One of his favorite absurdist acts of the late ’70s was to don up to five guitars at once, among them a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul Junior , for his unaccompanied guitar solo, playing each and then discarding it to reveal the next guitar underneath. Wishing to one-up himself, Nielsen originally approached his friends at Hamer guitars with the idea of a six-necked instrument that would twirl like a roulette wheel. He abandoned that idea in favor of a five-necked behemoth that included a 12-string at the top, three standard guitar necks in the middle and a fretless neck at the bottom.

Three’s Company: Nielsen commissioned two additional five-necks from Hamer after the original 1981 example: one a Korina wood hollow body, and one in his trademark checkerboard finish that he still brings on the road.

Chop Shop: The five-neck was constructed by modifying the bodies of five double-cutaway Hamer Sunbursts and attaching them together.

Early Adopter: Nielsen worked with Hamer from its inception and owns a Hamer guitar with the serial number #0000 – T. BEAUJOUR

67. Prince - Hohner HG-490 “Mad Cat”

His Purple Majesty played some one-of-a-kind axes, such as his custom-made “Cloud” and “Love Symbol” guitars, but his flamed maple top Hohner Mad Cat Telecaster knockoff was his primary guitar in the studio and onstage. Hohner, known for its harmonicas, began producing the Japanese-made Mad Cats in the 1970s until it was sued by Fender because its headstock was allegedly indistinguishable from Fender’s Tele.

Rarity Factor: Prince hired world-class luthier Roger Sadowsky to build six Mad Cat replicas for him.

As Heard On: Prince acquired the original in the late ‘70s — it is said that he liked the leopard-print pick guard because it jibed with his fashion sense — and used it for the recording of Purple Rain , among many other classic albums. He also played a Mad Cat during his mind-blowing solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” at the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Strange But True: Two of the Mad Cat replicas Sadowsky built were equipped with tubing to spray Ivory Liquid during the guitar masturbation scene in the Purple Rain movie. Sadowsky told Ultimate Guitar.com that he dubbed them the “Ejacucasters.” – F. DIGIACOMO

66. Dimebag Darrell - Dean ML “Dean From Hell”

One of the most iconic guitars in heavy metal has a pretty heartwarming origin story. A 14-year-old Darrell Abbott (chaperoned by his mom) won a Dean ML after smoking the competition at a guitar contest in Dallas. The future Dimebag Darrell sold the guitar to a friend, but it soon fell into the hands of his pal Buddy Blaze, a talented luthier who began toying around with it. Among other changes, Blaze tweaked the neck to emphasize the V shape, added a Floyd Rose bridge, moved the stock pickup to the neck, repainted the maroon axe a dark shade of aqua and applied a bitchin’ lightning bolt design. Not long after Phil Anselmo joined Pantera as its singer, Blaze put the guitar back in Dimebag’s hands, who fell in love with the guitar without realizing it was the same one he won as a kid. When Blaze revealed the fateful full-circle moment to him, the guitarist was ecstatic – and metal would never be the same.

As Seen On: An energized Dime sports the Dean From Hell (words that were scrawled on the guitar in marker) on the cover of Pantera’s iconic 1990 breakthrough, Cowboys From Hell.

Retirement Party: The well-loved guitar got knocked around onstage so much that Dime retired it in the mid ‘90s, bringing it out only on occasion. Fittingly, his beloved Dean From Hell was on display at his funeral after his murder in 2004. – J. LYNCH

65. Hank Williams - 1941 Martin D-28

The Shakespeare of country music made “nearly all his popular recordings with his Martin,” a 1940s acoustic that had an ebony fretboard, diamond-shaped inlays and the serial number 87422, according to Dick Boak’s Martin Guitar Masterpieces . Not much is known about the guitar’s origins, other than Hank Sr. purchased it from Tut Taylor, the dobro player who owned a Nashville guitar store, and recorded most of his classic recordings — from “Lost Highway” to “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” — with it. Hank Jr. is said to have inherited the guitar, which he reportedly sold for some shotguns.

Where It Is Now: Neil Young eventually wound up with the 1941 model and has played it regularly for years, telling crowds: “This is Hank’s old guitar,” sometimes introducing his song about it, “This Old Guitar.” Another model, circa 1944, was on display for years at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville. Boak called it “one of the most valuable guitars ever made.”

Talk of the Town: Nils Lofgren, who plays with Young and Bruce Springsteen, told guitar.com in 2022: “I think it was on ‘Walking on the Road.’ [Neil] was on an electric piano and he said, ‘Why don’t you try an acoustic guitar?’ and he just happened to have his Hank Williams guitar, ‘Hank.’ So now I’m playing acoustic rhythm on a guitar Hank Williams played. That was a beautiful thing.” – S. KNOPPER

64. Vernon Reid - ESP Custom

Reid had just formed Living Colour when he connected with the guys behind ESP, the Japanese guitar brand that had just launched in the U.S., and commissioned a custom model inspired by one he saw in the ESP offices that reminded him of Marvel’s Silver Surfer. The final version was, in a way, a bit of a collage of other inspirations: the swirl design he saw in the office; a guitar he had been using up to that point that was painted by graffiti-inspired artist Keith Haring; and a V-neck inspired by a ’63 Fender he had played in the past, with EMG active pickups, which were new at the time.

Six-String Stories: “The ESP coming into my life at that point was a shift,” Reid told the ESP site . “It was specifically for the band Living Colour. It was a colorful band name; I thought I should have a colorful guitar, right?”

As Heard On: Reid most famously used the guitar in writing “Cult of Personality,” the Grammy-winning first song off Living Colour’s 1988 debut Vivid . — D. RYS

63. Jack White - 1964 Valco Airline Res-O-Glas

Jack White has never been one to follow the beaten path, and his taste in guitars illustrates that. Those idiosyncrasies were especially evident during his years with The White Stripes, a period where White was often seen wielding a striking red-and-white 1964 Valco Airline Res-O-Glas. The angular guitar, crafted from fiberglass, was originally marketed through Montgomery Ward department store catalogs. The guitar was challenging to play, but it produced a uniquely jagged tone that resonated with White’s contrarian aesthetics. “If you want it easy, buy a new Les Paul or a new Stratocaster,” White once quipped , emphasizing his preference for instruments with character over ease of play.

Specs: The Valco Airline guitars lack truss rods; instead, their necks are reinforced with steel to maintain sturdiness.

Sold!: The price for a Valco Airline in 1964 was $99. These days they can fetch up to $3,000.

Under the Influence: During his time with the White Stripes, White also played a 1950s-era Kay Hollowbody, favored by bluesman Howlin’ Wolf, and a Gibson L-1 acoustic, known for its association with blues legend Robert Johnson. – B. TOLINSKI

62. Carlos Santana - Custom 1980 Paul Reed Smith

Before Paul Reed Smith established PRS Guitars, now one of the premier electric guitar and amplifier manufacturers globally, he was a modest luthier in Maryland. Smith had already crafted guitars for musicians like Peter Frampton and Ted Nugent when he targeted Carlos Santana, celebrated for his exceptional sound and selective choice in instruments. In 1980, Smith managed to secure a meeting with Santana, who was immediately impressed with a custom guitar Smith presented. The endorsement from Santana not only put Paul Reed Smith on the map but also kickstarted a lasting collaborative friendship.

Shop Talk: Carlos Santana initially remarked that the first guitar Paul Reed Smith crafted for him was so exceptional it must have been an “act of God,” and challenged Smith to replicate the feat. “After the fifth instrument, which was a doubleneck, he called me up and said, ‘Okay, you’re a guitar maker,'” Smith recalled to Premier Guitar in 2023.

Strange But True: In the early 2000s, Santana challenged PRS to design a high-quality yet affordable guitar, leading to the creation of the Santana SE (Student Edition) in 2001.

Specs: At Santana’s behest, Paul Reed Smith designed a revolutionary new tremolo system that incorporated miniature rollers on each string to reduce friction. – B. TOLINSKI

61. Courtney Love - 1994 Fender Venus

Love’s trademark guitar, built for her in the Fender Custom Shop, takes its cues from a Rickenbacker and a vintage green Mercury she used to play. The Venus (in Surf Green, with a matching headstock and a single pickup) was later replicated and sold as the Squier Venus.

Rarity Factor: It was custom built for Love by master luthier Larry Brooks, who had previously collaborated with Kurt Cobain. According to Brooks , Love’s “ballsy-toned” Venus was built without a volume knob at her manager’s request, so it couldn’t be damaged or grabbed when crowdsurfing.

Sold!: The Venus sold on online instrument marketplace Reverb for $68,289.95 in 2022. – A. STEWART

60. Bruce Springsteen – ca. 1953 Fender Esquire-Telecaster Composite

Springsteen was 22 when he bought this Frankensteined Fender from New Jersey luthier Phil Petillo for $185, which he later called “the best deal of my life.” An early-’50s composite of an Esquire (the neck) and a Telecaster (the body) housed in honeyed blonde wood, it had been heavily refashioned with four pickups and a wooden chunk behind the black pickguard removed. It was a “mutt,” Springsteen said, but he learned how to make it talk, and the guitar has accompanied him on his storied ascent from Jersey clubs to stadiums, even making an appearance on the Born to Run album cover.

Six-String Stories: “This feels like my arm,” Springsteen told Stephen Colbert in 2021. “If I have this guitar, I don’t have anything on. This became an extension of my actual body.”

Strange But True: To ensure the guitar made it through a typical sweat-a-thon Springsteen concert, Petillo had it waterproofed.

Retirement Party: Springsteen hasn’t brought the now-fragile guitar on the road in years, preferring to use dupes instead, though he still records with it, and played it during his 2009 Super Bowl halftime show. It has also been on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. – A. STEWART

59. Pete Townshend - 1976 Gibson Les Paul Deluxe “#5”

Some of the most classic-Who-ish photos of Townshend performing live in the late ’70s — windmilling, leaping, sneering — involved this wine-red guitar stamped with a large white “5.” Although Townshend was known in the ’60s for his Gibson SGs, he shifted to Les Pauls in the ’70s for a heavier sound, and played a variety of them, sticking numbered decals on the bodies so he could quickly select one with distinctive capo settings during live shows. He had one problem with the model: its neck. “Under the rough treatment I give them, they don’t seem to last very long,” he told Sound International in 1980.

As Seen On: The Who’s performances in The Kids Are Alright documentary, including “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” from Shepperton Studios, U.K., in 1978.

Talk of the Town: Townshend switched from the SG to the Les Paul Deluxe after Gibson took the SG of the market, which caused logistical problems for the destructive guitarist. “I don’t break them deliberately anymore, but when I spin them around, when I’ve had a few drinks, I bang them and they crack and they break.” Eventually, he contacted Gibson for custom models, and the company responded with four, at $3,000 a pop. He was displeased with them and picked up the Deluxe instead. – S. KNOPPER

58. Eric Clapton - Gibson Les Paul Standard “Beano”

Clapton was a 21-year-old British guitar phenom when he recorded Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. The 1966 album (nicknamed “Beano” because Clapton is reading a Beano comic book on its cover) kickstarted a worldwide blues-rock revolution. Throughout, Clapton played a ‘59 or ‘60 (probably a ‘60, due to the shape of its neck) Les Paul Standard with a sunburst finish, also nicknamed Beano, plugged into a topped-out Marshall amp, a sound that would change history. The Burst disappeared from a church basement in London during rehearsals for the first gig by Clapton’s next group, Cream, further cementing its journey into myth. Beano’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Strange But True: According to Clapton, whoever stole Beano came back to steal its case a few weeks later.

Six-String Stories: Few clear pictures of Beano exist, which will make authentication difficult if it ever turns up. Clapton has described it as red-gold in color, with one cutaway and cigarette marks pocking the front. “Just magnificent,” he told Guitar Player in 1985. “I never really found one as good as that. I do miss that one.” – A. STEWART

57. Lead Belly - ca. 1930 Stella 12-String

The guitar that changed the world was a workmanlike 12-string Stella, canonized by Louisiana blues and folk artist Huddie Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly. Writer Ross Altman once called Ledbetter, whose music would prove foundational to the development of rock n’ roll, a “one-man heavy metal band.” Everything about the Stella was heavy (the weight of its strings and body) and rumbly (Ledbetter probably used a lower version of standard tuning, but no one really knows for sure). The Stella was large and long-scaled, its strings widely spaced, in order to accompany Lead Belly’s large hands.

Sold!: On Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance, Kurt Cobain describes being approached by the Lead Belly estate to buy the Stella for $500,000, which even Cobain couldn’t afford. (Would David Geffen buy it for him? Cobain wondered. He would not.) According to representatives from the bluesman’s estate, Lead Belly’s niece wanted to sell the guitar to Cobain, but asked to meet him first, so he could reassure her he wasn’t going to smash it. The meeting never took place.

As Heard On: Lead Belly used the Stella on some of the best-known versions of now-standards including “Goodnight Irene,” “The Midnight Special” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” (though many versions of each song exist). – A. STEWART

56. Buddy Holly - 1954 Fender Stratocaster

Holly was struggling in geometry, and responded to this problem by trading his acoustic Les Paul (and a borrowed $1,000) for a new Fender model called the Stratocaster, changing the trajectory of rock n’ roll forever. (OK, fellow Strat aficionado Carl Perkins, and others, had something to do with it, too.) Holly used the axe he purchased at Adair Music, in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, to play those famous downstrokes on mid-’50s classics “That’ll Be the Day,” “Peggy Sue” and the rest. Holly lost this model after a tour-bus theft in Michigan — so the guitar did not die with him in the fatal plane crash of 1959 that claimed the lives of Richie Valens and the Big Bopper, too.

Where Is It Now?: Nobody knows, but a 2019 documentary, The ’54, suggests an Australian producer and collector purchased it by random chance in Lubbock in 1979.

Talk of the Town: Fender called him “the first high-profile rock n’ roller to adopt the Fender Stratocaster as his guitar of choice.” Holly-inspired Strat forebears include George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. – S. KNOPPER

55. Bob Marley - 1958 Les Paul Special

In May 1973, Bob Marley poked his head into Top Gear, a funky music shop in London known for its second-hand guitars. Among the odds and ends, he noticed an unusual Les Paul Special heavily modified by its previous owner, Dan Armstrong, the inventor of the famous Ampeg Dan Armstrong Lucite acrylic guitar. Armstrong put fingerboard markers where dots had been and a white plastic binding around the headstock. Captivated, Marley bought the guitar and used it as his primary stage and studio instrument for the rest of his career.

Yet, the modifications didn’t end there. Marley admired Jimi Hendrix and reached out to his tech, Roger Mayer, to see if he could create something that would make the Les Paul distinctly his own. Mayer told Reverb in 2021 that he suggested an elliptical aluminum plate under his pickup switch that would “be like a third eye looking out from the guitar,” and adding a matching brushed aluminum pickguard. Marley used it until his death in 1981.

Strange But True: Before Marley acquired it, the guitar was briefly owned by Marc Bolan of T. Rex, who exchanged it back to Top Gear for a Les Paul equipped with humbucking pickups.

Icon Status: Following Marley’s death, his Les Paul Special was declared a national treasure by the Jamaican government.

Retirement Party: The Bob Marley Les Paul Special is currently on display at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston, Jamaica. – B. TOLINSKI

54. Jerry Cantrell - 1984 G&L Rampage "Blue Dress"

Jerry Cantrell’s 1984 G&L Rampage, affectionately nicknamed “Blue Dress,” is a seminal piece from the grunge era. With Alice in Chains, Cantrell has wielded this guitar since he purchased it in Dallas in 1985, and it has featured on nearly all his recordings, including iconic tracks like “Man In the Box” and “Would.” The guitar’s design, inspired by Eddie Van Halen’s iconic Frankenstein, includes a distinctive circle and square pattern. Notably, it features a pinup girl in a blue dress—a sticker designed by the renowned French painter Alain Aslan, sourced from the adult magazine, which gives the guitar its nickname.

Strange But True: G&L was the creation of former Fender masterminds Leo Fender and George Fullerton (“G” for George and “L” for Leo).

Rarity Factor: The Rampage was introduced in 1984 and was one of G&L’s earliest models.

Shop Talk: “It’s nothing fancy,” Cantrell told Total Guitar in 2014. “There’s plenty of fancier, cooler guitars, but it’s always felt comfortable for me to play from the get-go.”

Missing In Action: Cantrell’s Rampage was thought to be stolen in 2024, but it was simply misplaced while in transit between a photo shoot and his recording studio. – B. TOLINSKI

53. Buddy Guy – Fender Stratocaster “Polka Dot”

For someone whose career dates back to the 1950s, it’s notable that the guitar most commonly associated with the Chicago blues legend wasn’t created until four decades later. Guy had been playing Strats since the ‘60s — he claims that Clapton and Jeff Beck picked them up because of him — but the polka dot design was crafted by his request in the early 1990s, as a tribute to his late mother; it first appeared on the album cover of 1994’s Slippin’ In , and he’s played it in concert ever since.

Six-String Stories: “I promised [my mother] that I was going to buy her a polka dot Cadillac to make her feel better, because she had had a stroke and she never saw me play … I was going to get famous and drive back to Louisiana in a polka dot Cadillac to show her I’d made it,” he told Guitar World in a 2015 interview. “So I finally got the guitar company, Fender, to make me a guitar with the polka dots, and they’ve made quite a few of them now.”

As Heard On: Guy played Strats for years, but the polka dot motif shows up on Slippin’ In, Heavy Love, Rhythm & Blues and The Blues Is Alive and Well. — D. RYS

52. Peter Frampton - 1954 Les Paul Custom “Phenix”

Gifted to him in 1970 at a Humble Pie gig in San Francisco, “Phenix,” a heavily modified 1954 Gibson Les Paul, would become Peter Frampton’s go-to guitar for a decade. Appearing on albums like Humble Pie’s Rock On and Performance Rockin’ the Fillmore , the black Les Paul would become lodged in the popular culture firmament in 1976, when it was pictured with the guitarist on the cover of his eight-times platinum Frampton Comes Alive! double album. The guitar was presumed destroyed in 1980, when a plane carrying Frampton’s equipment crashed during takeoff on the island of Curaçao, but it had in fact been recovered from the wreckage by a customs agent. Spotted by a local luthier, the guitar was returned to Frampton in 2012. As it had truly risen from the ashes, it was dubbed “Phenix” by its rightful owner.

Triple Threat: When it left the Gibson factory in 1954, Phenix was originally equipped with one P-90 and one “staple” pickup, but it had been carved out to fit three humbucking pickups before Frampton acquired it.

Less Is More: In their literature of the period, Gibson referred to Les Paul Customs as “Fretless Wonders.”

Hiding In Plain Sight: During the almost quarter century that Phenix was MIA, it was seen being played by a local guitarist in Curaçao. – T. BEAUJOUR

51. Eric Clapton - 1964 Gibson SG “The Fool”

Eric Clapton’s 1964 Gibson SG, dubbed “The Fool,” is a vibrant testament to the psychedelic era. Painted by Marijke Koger and Simon Posthuma of the Dutch design collective The Fool, this guitar became synonymous with Clapton during his time with Cream. The artwork on the SG was commissioned by Robert Stigwood, the band’s manager, as part of a broader project (that also included custom designs for Ginger Baker’s drum kit and Jack Bruce’s Fender Bass VI) in preparation for Cream’s debut U.S. tour.

The Fool was more than just a showpiece; it played a crucial role in the production of Cream’s second album, Disraeli Gears , contributing to iconic tracks such as “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Strange Brew.” The guitar’s journey didn’t end with Clapton. After Cream disbanded, he passed the SG to George Harrison, who subsequently handed it down to Apple Records artist Jackie Lomax. Later, it found its way to Todd Rundgren.

Specs: The Fool was painted with oil-based enamel paint, in the gaudy DayGlo of the day.

Lookin’ Good: The centerpiece on the face of the guitar is a cherub whose curly hair was inspired by Clapton’s hairstyle at the time.

Strange But True: The original design extended onto the fretboard, which Clapton later had cleaned to avoid interference with his playability. – B. TOLINSKI

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