George Harrison’s “Lucy” Les Paul is one of the famous electric guitars in rock history, and when it was stolen from him, the Beatle did everything in his power to get it back.
The tale reads like a movie script: theft, mystery, TV pleas, a chase across the Mexican border, and a hardy stand-off. It turns out that Norman Harris of Norman's Rare Guitars played a key role in getting the guitar back, and it cost Harrison a pretty penny.
The Beatle had been gifted the cherry red guitar by Eric Clapton, who had used it to track his hugely influential While My Guitar Gently Weeps lead lines. It's a cut that's widely regarded as one of the greatest guitar solos of all time, and the guitar's prestige was furthered when Harrison used it on two of the Beatles' biggest albums, White Album, and Abbey Road.
Then, in 1973, the axe was stolen and promptly sold to music shop Whalin Sound City. A Mexican musician by the name of Miguel Ochoa didn’t take a second glance when he saw it in the store.
“It got sold in a store in Hollywood and they tracked down who bought it,” Harris explains in a new Instagram post from CBS Mornings Plus. “And the guy said, ‘I bought it in good faith. I would like another late ’50s Les Paul in exchange.’”
So, Harris was drafted in to help with his demands.
“My friend Dale said, ‘I've got a buddy who's got three of them,’ and Dale calls me. He goes, ‘Listen, I’ve got this really important customer. I need you to come down here right away. It's George Harrison.’
“I say, ‘Where,’ and he says, ‘He's getting a slice of pizza.’ With that, the door opens. It was like the Pope and the President all in one.”
Harris, with the full weight of his burgeoning vintage gear empire behind him, was more than happy to help.
“He ended up buying two,” he goes on. “One to trade to get Lucy back, and one he fell in love with that he wanted for himself.”
Though armed with the appropriate goods, Harrison’s mission was far from complete, but for Harris, his role had been played. It also rounded out a full-circle moment for Harris: one of Harrison’s guitars is the one that got away from him.
He was offered his infamous Gretsch Country Gentleman in his early gear-shifting days, but conceded that he’d be “embarrassed to tell somebody because they’d call me a liar”.
Harris’ involvement in the retrieval of Lucy is just another colorful tale in the storied life of Norman’s Rare Guitars, which is now the subject of a star-studded Netflix documentary. In the future, the store may well be run by Joe Bonamassa as Harris casts a glance towards retirement.
Ochoa, meanwhile, also came out the deal better off. The Les Paul he got as part of the bargain was sold at auction for $312,500 in 2022.
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