“The instruments he’s sold have been used to make music that’s changed the landscape of rock ‘n’ roll”: The highly anticipated Norman’s Rare Guitars documentary gets its first trailer – and an official Netflix release date
The feature-length film about the legendary vintage gear shop is due to land before the end of the year – and it will star some huge names
An official trailer has been released for the upcoming Norman's Rare Guitars documentary, which will be streaming on Netflix next week.
It was announced the feature-length film would be released by the streaming giant last week but no release date was slated. Now it’s been confirmed that the film, five years in the making, is set to be available to watch from December 31.
The legendary guitar store, owned by vintage guitar expert Norman Harris, has developed a larger-than-life reputation, and has become one of the most famous vintage and rare guitar gear retailers in the world.
For Harris, though, that was never part of the plan: as he can be heard saying in the trailer: “I never thought about opening a store in my life. It was really a plan B.”
The store opened in 1975 and over the years has been frequented by a who's who of legendary electric guitar players, from Eddie Van Halen and George Harrison to Joe Bonamassa, Slash, and Machine Gun Kelly, as the store continues to inspire generations of players.
As Bonamassa says in the trailer, “The instruments that he’s sold have been used to make music that’s changed the landscape of rock ’n’ roll.”
Indeed, the reputation of Norman’s Rare Guitars extends beyond just four walls lined with drool-inducing vintage gear. As Bonamassa expands, Norm’s stock has frequently made its way onto the big screen – and smaller ones, too – and has helped shape some of Hollywood’s most famous guitar moments.
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“Norm is not just guitar collecting,” says Bonamassa, “it's Hollywood; everything from The Last Waltz to Spinal Tap.”
The trailer reveals just some of the all-star names who will star in the film, with Bonamassa guesting alongside the likes of Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, the late Taylor Hawkins, actors/musicians Kiefer Sutherland, Malcolm McDowell, and former manager Mark Agnesi, who now works at Gibson.
Smartly, Harris has ensured the store has shifted in harmony with the ever-changing landscape of the industry. His YouTube channel boasts over 600,000 subscribers, with its ‘Guitar of the Day’ series demoing rare gems and jams with big-name players.
The documentary also takes a future-minded turn, as Norm’s daughter, Sarah Edwards, opens up on her struggles to get her father to retire, admitting: “He doesn’t have an identity without that store.”
The documentary drops on Netflix on December 31, with Norman’s Rare Guitars saying it “will be available on other streaming platforms in the coming months”.
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A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
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“It’s time”: A Norman’s Rare Guitars documentary telling the story of the world's most famous guitar store is launching on Netflix – and some huge names are set to feature