“I went back to Joe and I said, ‘It’s my dream guitar but I don’t have $5,000’”: Joanne Shaw Taylor on how Joe Bonamassa’s haggling skills helped her land a signed signature model of her favorite player

One of Joanne Shaw Taylor's biggest inspirations is the game-changing bluesman Albert Collins. Therefore, when Taylor spotted an Albert Collins signature model – signed by the man himself – propped up in a guitar store in New York, she simply couldn’t turn around and ignore it.

The only problem? The price tag – which led her to enlist the haggling skills (and celebrity status) of her friend and collaborator, Joe Bonamassa.

“About 15 years ago, I flew to New York to see Joe for a few days,” she relates in an interview with Guitarist. “He was rehearsing for the first time for their first show with Black Country Communion. So I went out to see him.

“I went to Manny's [Music], I think at the time, it was still there. And in there, they had an Albert Collins signature model that was signed by Albert Collins.

Joanne Shaw Taylor on the guitars and effects she crafts her incredible sound with - YouTube

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“I think it was for sale for about $5,000, so I went back to Joe, and I said, ‘I found this Albert Collins signature model. It's like my dream guitar, and it's signed by Albert, but I don't have $5,000.’ And he's like, ‘Okay, well, what do you have?’ I said, ‘I could probably get together about four.’ He's like, ‘All right, well, come back with me. They'll probably want a photo of me, but I could probably get it for you for four.’”

Lo and behold, the two went back to the guitar shop and Bonamassa put his haggling skills to the test.

“He plays the guitar. He's like, ‘How much?’ The guy's like, ‘What will you pay for it?’ He's like, ‘Look, I'll give you four grand for it.’ And the guy goes, ‘Okay, four grand and a picture of you buying it, and you can take it.’ So we did the deal, and then he kept the guitar for himself!” she adds with a chuckle.

Thankfully, Taylor finally managed to get her hands on it after Bonamassa's dad, Len, got involved.

Taylor remembers, “About a year or so later, I talked to his dad, Len, and mentioned this, and Len was furious. He's an upstate New York guy, so he's like, ‘I can't believe he did that to you. You've been such a good friend to him, Joanne. I'm going to talk to him.’

“So Len must have phoned him and read him the Riot Act, because I got a text the next day going, ‘Remind me of your address,’ so text him back, and then this was delivered in the post.”

Taylor and Bonamassa struck up a friendship back in 2008, and over the years have performed together several times, with Bonamassa even producing her 2022 record, The Blues Album. However, their friendship got off to a rocky start when Taylor told him that she wasn’t a big fan of Les Pauls.