Saturday, March 25, 2006

Elvis's Gibson SJ-200


There are a few holy grails of popular music out there floating in the pungent ether of private collections and lucite sealed museum boxes, and this Gibson SJ-200 would be counted in the selection if someone created a role call of culture shaping pieces. The guitarist who owned this one changed music as we know it, and his impact is almost immeasureable. Was he an incredibly proficient fret burner? A fiercely studied technician? Not sure; by all accounts he was fairly limited in his knowledge, and operated the guitar in support of his voice, but he was not without vision, and the fact alone that he slung a guitar on stage opened a million doors of interest to the guitar and it's possibilities, and let's not forget the incredible Scotty Moore, Elvis's long time guitarist.
You can see this guitar at Graceland; "Elvis '56" is a new exhibit that just opened.
Go cat, Go.

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