The instrument, played on 'At Fillmore East,' is now one of the most valuable guitars ever sold.
(Image credit: courtesy of Heritage Auctions)
On July 21 and 22 Heritage Auctions sold off 19 instruments from Graham Nash’s personal collection, including the famous 1969 Martin D-45 he played with Crosby, Stills & Nash at Woodstock, as well as instruments that once belonged to Johnny Cash, Stephen Stills, Bo Diddley and others.
The guitar that garnered the most pre-auction interest, however, was a 1961/1962 Gibson SG that had belonged to Duane Allman and is famous for being the instrument played on the live recording of "Statesboro Blues" from the Allman Brothers Band’s classic At Fillmore East.
And the SG did not disappoint. Listed with an opening bid of $125,000, the Gibson fetched a whopping $591,000, making it one of the 20 most valuable guitars ever sold.
The SG is currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York as a part of the "Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock and Roll" exhibit. Prior to the auction, Nash said, “This is the famous From 'One Brother to Another' guitar, traded between Dickey Betts and Duane on all their live shows. This is a very special guitar. Duane was obviously one of the great guitar players in the world. To be able hold his guitar and humbly play A minor, that's about the best I can do.”
Nash’s Woodstock Martin D-45 made an impressive showing as well, selling for $162,500 after an opening bid of $75,000.
Rich is the co-author of the best-selling Nöthin' But a Good Time: The Uncensored History of the '80s Hard Rock Explosion. He is also a recording and performing musician, and a former editor of Guitar World magazine and executive editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine. He has authored several additional books, among them Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the companion to the documentary of the same name.
