The Beatles' True Collector
As Babiuk notes however, while George Harrison may not have been the single most talented musician in the Beatles (that title has to go to Paul McCartney, even if Lennon was frequently the better songwriter), he was, by far, their true instrument collector. Harrison was always on the lookout for an unusual guitar-and later of course, Indian instruments such as the sitar, and near the end of the Beatles, a Moog synthesizer.
(In between the first, hardcover edition of Beatles Gear and this second, soft cover version, Harrison of course, passed away. Most of the photo captions in Babiuk's book were updated to reflect Harrison's death. Unfortunately, a few were missed, a minor error in an otherwise excellent book.)
Because of the Beatles' enormous popularity and frequent tours at the height of Beatlemania in the mid-1960s, instrument and amplifier manufacturers such as Vox, Ludwig, Rickenbacker, Gretsch and Fender practically tripped over themselves in their rush to get their gear in the hands of the Fab Four. Babiuk notes that Rickenbacker went to absurd lengths to get their brand new 360-12 model 12-string electric guitar in George Harrison's hands: their representative visited Harrison while the Beatle was in a New York hotel room laid low by the flu at the time (and, as Babiuk notes, in a classic example of Beatlemania at its apogee, Harrison ended up receiving the guitar and simultaneously doing a radio interview!)
Selling Instruments By the Boxcar
The results paid off for Rickenbacker in spades-not only did Harrison quickly take to the new instrument, its inclusion in the movie A Hard Day's Night, both in the film, and on the soundtrack, lead to Roger McGuinn of the Byrds acquiring the same type of instrument. Between the Beatles and Byrds, the electric folk movement of the 1960s was begun. And Tom Petty continues to play Rickenbacker 12-strings to this day.
It worked the other way as well: Even if they weren't supplied an instrument as free swag by a manufacturer, any type of instrument that they were seen playing suddenly became desirable. Much like the Duke of Windsor, who in the 1920s and 30s could popularize any style of clothing he wore simply by being seen wearing it, either way, the result was the same: thousands of extra units sold, thanks to exposure from the Beatles.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Great Ed! Fascinating review, great pics too.
2 - Ed Driscoll
Eric,
Thanks. With the exception of the Lennon photo (it was tough finding a decent shot of one of the Beatles holding an instrument that had been sanded down during their "natural phase"), they're all on this site, which has some other photos and trivia that might be of interest to a Beatles fan.
Ed
3 - darryl
great article, but check your facts in your intro:
"B.B. King and Chuck Berry did with the Gibson ES-335, or Hendrix did with the Fender Stratocaster, or Clapton and Page did with the Les Paul in the late 1960s. They didn't invent new technologies, the way that The Who did with the Marshall amplifier stack."
bb king played les pauls, namely Lucille.
clapton played strats, "blackie" of layla fame and "brownie" from most cream-era recordings. GuitarPlayer published a few issues commemorating the landmark guitars and the musicians that wielded them for reference, but these should be obvious, especially Clapton's Stratocasters.
4 - Ed Driscoll
Darryl,
I just noticed your comment. But for the record, B.B. King was only associated with Les Pauls very early in his career. (There's a photo of him looking very young and holding one here. He's much more known for his use of Gibson ES-335s and ES-355s, both semi-hollowbodied guitars, both larger than a Les Paul.
Gibson's current "Lucille" model B.B. King signature guitar is essientially an ES-355 without f-holes, to reduce feedback. Compare this photograph of it, with this photo of a Les Paul, to see the difference between the two.
5 - Ed Driscoll
Darryl,
Oh, and Eric Clapton was largely responsible for introducing the Les Paul to the British blues scene, through the use of it on the classic Bluesbreakers album with John Mayall. There are several photos of him holding the late 1950s sunburst model he purchased used just before recording that album, which inspired Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Peter Green, and other British blues rock guitar heroes of the 1960s to purchase theirs. Clapton played Gibson Les Pauls, SGs, and I believe Firebirds during his Cream days, as well as during Blind Faith. He only switched to Stratocasters around the time of his first solo album in 1970. To this day, he also frequently plays Les Pauls and other Gibson guitars, particularly on more blues-based numbers, for a thicker sound. See this page for what looks like a pretty decent list of his 1960s guitars.
I've played guitar for over twenty years now, and went through periods of living and breathing this stuff, so believe me--I'm not making up who played what, and when!
Regards,
Ed
6 - Derek
I bought the book, but then discovered the web site www.beatlesgear.com Once I figured out that the web site was not connected to the book, it dawned on me that the book is a joke and so is much of the information in it. Babiuk's research falls short when compared to the hard facts provided in the website. My guess, he's just a fan who went with whatever he was told just to fill the pages of the book. I don't mean to be so hard on the author, but the book cost way more than the web site and is obviously full of a huge amount of mistakes.
7 - Ed Driscoll
Derek,
That's a rather harsh statement about a book that's been very well received by both musicians and fans. What are some examples of mistakes you found in it?
Ed
8 - Caroline
Went to www.beatlesgear.com but found only amplifiers there. Nothing more.
9 - Ricki Moss
I believe I have the Challen Piano used in Hey Jude at my house.... how could I confirm whether this is true? I'd be interested in some help.