A vintage Gibson acoustic guitar previously owned by George Harrison and Eric Clapton is up for sale on Reverb for a cool $949,999.
Even more enticing, there’s evidence the guitar — a 1913 Gibson Style O — was used by Harrison as he and Clapton composed “Badge” in Clapton’s garden during a visit to Los Angeles in 1968. “Badge” was the hit single from Goodbye, the final album released by Clapton’s power trio Cream in 1969.
Harrison would later take the middle eight from “Badge” as the inspiration to write “Here Comes the Sun,” one of his most famous songs, which appeared on the Beatles’ 1969 album, Abbey Road.
The Gibson Style O was photographed in Harrison’s hands as he and Clapton played in a garden, as seen in the documentary Eric Clapton; Life In 12 Bars. Reportedly, the two men were workshopping “Badge” during this session, which Cream and Harrison would record at Wally Heider Studios, in Hollywood, on November 21.
At some time in its history the Gibson ended up with Delaney Bramlett, one half of the music duo Delaney & Bonnie, who have their own history with Harrison and Clapton. Both men fell for the group’s country-rock stylings in 1969 and performed onstage with their troupe, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, when they arrived in England that year.
The group of musicians would go on to perform on Clapton’s self-titled 1970 solo debut, while their keyboardist, Bobby Whitlock, would help Clapton form Derek & the Dominos. Both Whitlock and Clapton would also perform on Harrison’s 1970 solo masterpiece, All Things Must Pass.
Given its shared history with Harrison and Clapton, the guitar was eventually nicknamed Pattie, a reference to Pattie Boyd, who was married to Harrison from 1966 to 1977, and to Clapton, from 1979 to 1989. Boyd was the muse behind Harrison’s “Something” as well as Clapton’s “Layla.”
While the guitar’s provenance is enticing, the Gibson Style O has its own historic charms. The model was produced as early as 1902 but was restyled and reintroduced as the “new” Style O in 1908. Its unusual appearance included a scroll, similar to that found on Gibson’s F style mandolins, and featured 15 frets clear of the body rather than the then-standard 12. The cutaway was not the typical deep circular shape but was instead flat.
Despite its striking appearance, the Style O was not popular with performers. Its thick top tended to muffle the volume, and the large neck made fretting difficult. Big Bill Broonzy was among the few notable guitarists who played the model, which might explain its appeal to Harrison and Clapton, both of whom were fans of the blues guitarist. The Style O disappeared from Gibson’s price list in 1924.
The Harrison–Clapton-owned Style O features a variety of modifications, including an aftermarket tailpiece, all of which helped to authenticate it.
Eventually, Pattie wound up in RCA Victor’s Victor Vault before finding its way to Reverb. The company produced a video detailing the guitar’s history, as seen below.
As Beatles guitar fans will note, Pattie isn’t the only guitar shared by Harrison and Clapton. In 1968, Clapton gifted Harrison his Cherry Red 1957 Gibson Les Paul, which Clapton then went on to play when tracking his lead guitar work on Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” from the Beatles’ 1968 White Album.
Lucy, as Harrison named the guitar, was later stolen from Harrison’s home and held for ransom, which led Harrison to launch a televised plea for its safe return. The guitar is now part of Harrison’s guitar collection owned by his family.
In addition, Pattie isn’t the only Harrison guitar Delaney owned. At some point Harrison gifted him his 1969 Fender Rosewood Telecaster, famously seen in the Beatles’ Let It Be film and the 2021 documentary series The Beatles: Get Back. Delaney sold it at auction in 2003, two years after Harrison’s death, where it was purchased for $434,750 by an intermediary for Harrison’s widow, Olivia.
