Vintage guitar expert Norman Harris of Norman’s Rare Guitars fame has bought and sold countless six-strings over the course of his celebrated career, ranging from oddball rarities to instruments steeped in history – but, it turns out, there was one ultra-valuable electric guitar that got away from him.
Harris first started selling vintage instruments in the 1960s, and he has counted some of the biggest players in the world as loyal customers over the years. In 2023, for example, he struck a deal with Joe Bonamassa for “one of the most important guitars I’ve ever sold”.
Indeed, Harris and his legendary store were recently the topic of a brand-new Netflix documentary, in which some of those stars – including Slash, Richie Sambora, Post Malone, and more – all feature.
But when Harris sat down with Gibson TV a few years ago, he revealed one of his biggest-ever career mistakes – and it was one of the first he made after entering the business.
“The first really big star that I ever dealt with was George Harrison,” Harris reveals in a recently resurfaced clip.
“He had asked me, when he was looking for sunburst Les Pauls, ‘You know my Gretsch Country Gentleman?’ – probably the most famous guitar of all time – ‘I'm thinking maybe I'll trade you that or something.’
“I was not thinking,” he continues. “I'm looking at George and I said, ‘Who's going to believe that I've got George's guitar?’ They're going to say, ‘Yeah, and you’ve got Napoleon’s suit also.’
“I just figured people would call me a liar so I didn't take that guitar – and that guitar I think may be the most valuable guitar [in history]. I mean, the Beatles meant so much to so many people.”
It's an understandable reaction considering his relative inexperience in trading gear at that point, but there's no arguing that, in hindsight, Harris missed out big time there.
Harrison's Gretsch Country Gentleman is an especially mythical instrument, and was believed to have been smashed to bits in December 1965.
As the story goes, Beatles chauffeur Alf Bicknell had been tasked with transporting the band from London to Glasgow, and with the four Beatles and their road manager, Neil Aspinall, all coming along for the ride, room was at a premium. So, the Country Gent and a Rickenbacker were reportedly strapped to the back of the car.
After around 40 miles, a truck signalled for Bicknell to pull over, as the Gretsch was apparently missing. They found the guitar some 12 miles back, and it was in a sorry state.
“The guitar and its case were smashed to bits,” Bicknell once said. “We never even bothered to pick it up.”
But, as YouTuber Nick Martellaro recently mused, new evidence – arriving after Paul McCartney's long-lost Höfner violin bass miraculously returned after 50 years in obscurity – seems to suggest that the guitar that was smashed to bits on the fateful night was actually another of Harrison's Gretsch guitars.
That begs the question, is the Gretsch still at large today? And if it is, where is it? At this point in time, there is no resolute answer. But, had a young Harris been a little more shrewd so early on in his gear-flogging career, that instrument may have had a very different fate.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
“He took a bass to Jason Newsted. James kept flipping it back and forth, studying it… Then he asked if we could meet”: How Ken Lawrence came to build some of James Hetfield’s most iconic guitars – including one using wood from Metallica’s former home
“This may be the ultimate Superstrat-Tele hybrid”: Caparison Dellinger-JSM V2 review
