This is possibly the first Gibson Les Paul Sunburt from the late 1950s to find its way to England. Keith Richards brought it over after one of the Stones' early U.S. tours. You can see him playing it in the T.A.M.I. Show, a landmark rock and roll movie.
I finally got out to see Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll at the Metropolitan Museum. It was fabulous, no surprise, and I will be returning as soon as I can. I came away with a feeling that a musical instrument is not fully complete without the player. But no matter, this exhibition rocks in a big way. I’m a huge fan of the Met and I go as much as I can. They did a great job here.
This show was somewhat small on a physical scale. Really, how much space does it take to house a hundred or so guitars and a couple of keyboards and drum sets? But the feeling is very intimate. There are also some video displays and they add a lot. One clip shows The Beatles playing at Shea Stadium in one of their last concerts. They were definitely rocking it and they made me want to see the entire show.
I was delighted when I saw Sister Rosetta Tharpe's Gibson SG Custom. I have a great SG and part of the reason I bought it was because it reminded me of the sound of this guitar. You can see SRT tearing it up with this golden guitar in the video below. On the left is Jimmy Page's main axe that he used as a session player. Again, mind-blowing - because it was stolen in the late '60s and just returned in 2015. I couldn't believe it when I saw it!
Jimmy Page is a central figure in Play It Loud. Most of his legendary axes are here, including his ’59 Les Paul Sunburst, his Gibson Doubleneck, and a Telecaster that he played with the Yardbirds. His other amazing Tele may be present as well! I lost count. Clapton is well represented, too. The “Fool” SG is here, along with “Blackie,” the ‘50s Stratocaster that he used for many years.
This gear survived some performances by The Who. Look closely at the guitar and you can see a huge crack along the upper bout. I once played a mint example of this guitar, and it was so beautiful it made me wonder what it would take emotionally or artistically to smash it to pieces. They don't make bands like The Who anymore.
The Who figure prominently as well, with one of John Entwistle’s trademark Gibson Thunderbird basses (not original, I think – of course he smashed that one!), a pieced together Gibson SG Special smashed by Townshend (you can see the cracks!) and one of Moonie’s drumsets, nicknamed Pictures of Lily after, well – you’ll see. This set doesn’t include the original bass drums, as Moon had a penchant for explosives and would put them in the bass drum and detonate them. It’s amazing he lived as long as he did!
Jimi Hendrix, the Who’s chief rival, was also present, with his hand-painted Gibson Flying V and a piece of the guitar that he burned and smashed at Monterey. But the guitar that really touched my soul was Jimi’s white Stratocaster, the one he played at Woodstock. Yep, he cranked out “The Star Spangled Banner” on this unassuming white Fender with a maple neck, no – not one of the fabled “Pre-CBS” models that go for huge sums, but an off-the-rack, contemporary model. The guitar is surprisingly clean. It looks like it hasn’t been played that much. But it was played by Jim Hendrix himself, at perhaps the most historic rock concert ever.
Jimi Hendrix's white Fender Stratocaster that he played at Woodstock. It's remarkably new looking, as if he barely got a chance to play it or perhaps he took very good care of it. Somebody did. In the Isle of Wight film, you can see him toss his guitar to the ground in frustration at the end of the set. Not this one.
I visited the Woodstock site once and although I missed the ‘60s scene (too young!), I was touched much in the same way when I saw the bucolic grounds. Time stood still for a moment and I got this little rush of delight. Time will surely stand still for you too if you love rock music when you see this excellent and timely exhibition. -Christian Botta