Follow us
The Lost & Found History of Legacy Guitars
There’s a big group of music lovers who are head over heels about a particular song or artist. For some, a guitar played by that favorite artist is the absolute holy grail; in some cases, they would do almost anything to obtain it.
That’s the case for a few famous stringed instruments that have gone missing. Some have been found and returned. Others remain somewhere out there.
Paul McCartney’s original Hofner 500/1 bass was purchased in 1961 for $37 and stolen from a van in Notting Hill in 1972. A tip led to it being found in the attic of a home in Sussex. Today, the iconic bass is estimated to be worth $12.6 million.
Fellow Beatles bandmates John Lennon and George Harrison both played an acoustic guitar that ended up sitting in an attic in rural England for 50 years.
In 1968, Eric Clapton gifted George Harrison a red 1957 Gibson Les Paul, which Harrison named “Lucy” after Lucille Ball. Five years later, it was stolen during a robbery at Harrison’s Beverly Hills home and sold to a music shop in Los Angeles, where it was purchased by a musician from Mexico. Harrison later contacted him, and the musician agreed to return Lucy to Harrison in exchange for a Fender Precision Bass and a sunburst 1958 Gibson Les Paul.
Speaking of Lucille(s), B.B. King collected multiple black Gibson ES-345s throughout his career, many bearing the name “Lucille.” In 2005, and for his 80th birthday, Gibson gifted the blues legend with a limited-edition, anniversary model Lucille. Four years later, he, too, was a victim of theft. Thankfully, a guitar collector recognized it in a Las Vegas pawn shop, knowing that the words “Prototype 1” on the headstock meant that it belonged to King.
After he died in 1978, the electric guitars played by Terry Kath of Chicago seemed to vanish. His daughter, Michelle, made the search for them part of her 2018 documentary, Chicago: The Terry Kath Experience, ultimately locating them inside a Florida closet.
Currently, there’s a search for Boston guitarist Brad Delp’s long-lost 1976 Taylor 885 12-string, which went missing in 2009. A social media push has been inspired by the Lost Bass Project, which was responsible for tracking down McCartney’s missing Hofner bass in 2024. The search is helmed by Timothy Dwelle, who is working with Micki Delp and the late guitarist’s family. In January, Micki issued a plea on Facebook, urging fans to check serial numbers and help track down Delp’s Taylor.
Micki wrote on Facebook: “It was stolen in Los Angeles, California in 2009. We have not given up hope yet that it will find its way home someday.
“As you can imagine, it’s of great sentimental value to our family. Brad has a grandson now, and it would mean so much just to see him holding Grampy’s favorite guitar. He never got to meet his Grampy, but he is totally obsessed with music, writing, singing, producing, and even making his own music videos. I would love for him to be able to play it. It may still be inside its black hard case!”
The custom-made Taylor 885’s Serial Number is #20173 and is an important piece of both Boston and Brad Delp’s legacy. It was one of Delp’s go-to guitars in his collection. Anyone with any information or potential leads is encouraged to email B.DelpGuitar@gmail.com.
-Sharon Oliver
Photo: Hofner Violin bass. (Not Paul’s but close.) CasinoKat, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Violin Bass Hofner 500/1 (1961) was lost in January 1969, when the Beatles moved from the Twickenham Film Studios to the Apple Studios on 3 Saville Rd. The Violin Bass was stolen from a van that carry the equipments.