1959 Les Paul Special

The one that got away. This was a guitar which had been repaired; broken necks were common with this style. Mine had been stripped of its original TV Yellow finish: it was a dirty white which I quickly covered with black enamel. I got it at Bell Music, a short-lived music store on West Broadway which also had a small practice studio in the basement— under a pizza parlor—you weren't allowed to play with your amps turned up!

I bought it in 1965, for $50 and my Vox in trade. When my high school band, The Others, broke up, my mother wanted me to get rid of all my band stuff, which I foolishly did. If I only had one guitar in my whole life, this would be the one. I sold it to a neighbor, who resold it to a classmate. He restored it but I have no idea where it is today.

They sell for big bucks now. Yours truly on stage with The Special:

Ladysmith, Wisconsin, March 1967