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On July 25, 1965 Bob Dylan headlined the Newport Folk Festival with some of the greatest folk singers in the world. After seeing great folk singers like Pete Seeger and others, Dylan came on stage without his trademark Gibson acoustic guitar. He walked over and plugged a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar in an amp and instead of playing"Blowing in the Wind" he blew the world's mind.
Pete Seeger was so mad at Dylan he said, "if If I had an axe, I’d chop the microphone cable right now.” The audience listened to an electric version of "Maggie's Farm" and "Like A Rolling Stone" and booed the great Bob Dylan off the stage. Although Dylan did come back on stage with an acoustic guitar, in this concert and others he was booed and called a "Judas" by the folkies. But the world of Rock & Roll loved it and so did I.
Now for the mystery. A lady named Dawn Peterson says she has the Fender Stratocaster guitar he played that night and has evidence to prove it. She wrote a letter to Dylan's lawyers seeking ownership papers. They wrote back and said that "if' the guitar was Dylan's, it was still legally his property. The "if" is there because Bob Dylan claims to still have the guitar.
This is a 47 year-old mystery and I hope Dawn makes a bundle off of it. This guitar, or this moment in history, has been called one the the top 50 events in Rock & Roll history and this guitar might be worth millions. Ms. Peterson got the guitar from her father, who was the pilot who flew Bob Dylan and other performers from concert to concert. He left it to Dawn when he died.
Eric Clapton has auctioned off many of his old guitars to support his center for alcoholism. He has made millions from his guitars and amps. The most famous of them was a Fender Stratocaster he called "Blackie". He made it himself out of 3 different guitars and played it for years. It was auctioned off for a cool $959,500. Clapton's 1956 Fender Stratocaster Sunburst, known as "Brownie" went for $450,000. Les Paul, a legend and the face of Gibson guitars auctioned off his guitars and other memorabilia for over $5 million dollars. That ain't chicken feed folks.
So, how much is the great Bob Dylan's guitar and all the history that goes with it worth? Who knows? But Ms. Peterson also found some papers in the guitar case that were certified to be Dylan's handwriting and are the actual lyrics from his Blonde on Blonde album. These are being estimated to be worth 60 to 100 thousand dollars. I really hope Dylan doesn't do the asshole thing and try and get this guitar back after 47 years.
I would hate to see this woman lose most of her money hiring lawyers, but I have heard Dylan can squeeze a dime so tight it will turn into a quarter. But, you are in luck. This week, the PBS program History Detectives aired an episode that tried to determine whether Dylan’s guitar is the same one in the possession of Dawn Peterson. You can watch the show below and you can be the judge. Good luck Dawn. (I'm single by the way)
Watch Bob Dylan's Fender Stratocaster on PBS. See more from History Detectives.
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Comments
Dunno if I'd trade my hving been at Woodstock for newport. But maybe.
RATED.
Anyway.. great writing there polygmy boy ( jokes) :P
Algis, thanks you rock too!
Gerald, I found this on Open Culture, luckily. It's something I didn't know and was interesting. Thanks!
CM, it's wrong if he does. I think the publicity might scare him, but hell, he's Dylan, he could care less what people think~
mac, would have loved to see her. Big club, small club, any club!
Ali, I voted for Mitt. We go to the same church (not)
Mary, that's the second time I've watched it. They have a new fan.
Also, you read the part where I'm single, right, hah~~
the guitar in question is dylan's newport stratocaster
ownership has yet to be determined
the guitar estimated $250,00o and up
the lyrics found in the guitar case
esitimated @ $30,000 +
Con, no way Jose, you crook. It's not worth a dime over $300.
Jeff, my pleasure my man~
Lea, everyone deserves a payday once in their life. This is hers I hope.
Thanks huge.
Rated in the best way possible -- want to pass this on the afficionados.
The doc was fascinating and they make a very strong case that the guitar has to be Dylan's. But I wonder why they didn't mention fingerprints. Would all of them have worn off over the years? The google sites I checked said 40 years at an upper limit but this guitar was mostly in a case so that ought to have extended it. But I wonder why it wasn't mentioned.
It's a sunburst Strat. So, even if it were a guitar belonging to Dylan, which is quite possible, it wouldn't necessarily be that Strat.
The performance is historic. It merged a lot of folk into rock. It is a very well-known moment, as it should be. It would not be an exaggeration to call the instrument historic.
This is definitively the Newport Strat. There was a photographer at that concert who got close, clear pictures and the wood grain matches.
i dont have time to watch, unfortunately. whats your verdict?
He's just a good musician now and I'm not convinced his guitar is worth worrying about.
?
not the dylan(s) i know.
maybe the old man masquerading as dylan, now, i dunno.
let her get rich, bob, jesus, you are a ladie's man!