I have a 1966 Gibson SJN I bought it 20 years ago from a pilot from Michican who says it is Gordons,and had photos of Gordon and himself by a plane,,,,the wear marks on the guitar are EXACTLY like close ups of other guitars Gordon has played,,,and I found several pix of Gordon with a guitar EXACTLY like the one I have ,,I contacted Gibson and they say there were very few of these made...30 or so...What are the chances this is really an old guitar Gordon owned and how would I verify that,,?????ANY INFO ???

I have a 1966 Gibson SJN I bought it 20 years ago from a pilot from Michican who says it is Gordons,and had photos of Gordon and himself by a plane,,,,the wear marks on the guitar are EXACTLY like close ups of other guitars Gordon has played,,,and I found several pix of Gordon with a guitar EXACTLY like the one I have ,,I contacted Gibson and they say there were very few of these made...30 or so...What are the chances this is really an old guitar Gordon owned and how would I verify that,,?????ANY INFO ???

Somebody else will know which one it was, but Gord had a guitar and sound equipment stolen in Michigan in 1974 (per Wayne Francis' Lightfoot chronology: Lightfoot's guitars and sound equipment are stolen in Saginaw, MI forcing him to cancel a concert in Ann Arbor.) And additional detail from a posting by Doug (PLUMBGURU@) back in March 1999:

"Lightfoot has been beset by quite a few problems as of late. He has his own airplane. The airplane broke down in Saginaw, Michigan. They were about to
climb aboard a rented Piper Aztec and a man walked in and said, "Mr. Lightfoot I think you'd like to know that all of your equipment has been ripped off."

So I'd be curious to know the provenance of that guitar. I think the missing guitar is the one Val described: "Among the missing was his Gibson B-45, which he lamented had "a million miles on it" and on which he had written most of his more than 300 songs". Different model?

[This message has been edited by Auburn Annie (edited October 19, 2004).]

Somebody else will know which one it was, but Gord had a guitar and sound equipment stolen in Michigan in 1974 (per Wayne Francis' Lightfoot chronology: Lightfoot's guitars and sound equipment are stolen in Saginaw, MI forcing him to cancel a concert in Ann Arbor.) And additional detail from a posting by Doug (PLUMBGURU@) back in March 1999:

"Lightfoot has been beset by quite a few problems as of late. He has his own airplane. The airplane broke down in Saginaw, Michigan. They were about to
climb aboard a rented Piper Aztec and a man walked in and said, "Mr. Lightfoot I think you'd like to know that all of your equipment has been ripped off."

So I'd be curious to know the provenance of that guitar. I think the missing guitar is the one Val described: "Among the missing was his Gibson B-45, which he lamented had "a million miles on it" and on which he had written most of his more than 300 songs". Different model?

[This message has been edited by Auburn Annie (edited October 19, 2004).]

Umm...this has the makings of a very interesting topic thread. This may not quite be the answer Dylan was looking for. I for one am quite interested to find out if this is one of the stolen guitars or not.

Hang on in there, Dylan!
I'm sure it was a Martin that was stolen - not a Gibson.

[This message has been edited by Gaby (edited October 20, 2004).]

Didn't mean to alarm you - just curious with the Michigan connection, that's all. I didn't know Gord was in the habit of giving away guitars; maybe it was originally part of a charity auction? Who knows? That was why I was asking - you, too, I guess.

Didn't mean to alarm you - just curious with the Michigan connection, that's all. I didn't know Gord was in the habit of giving away guitars; maybe it was originally part of a charity auction? Who knows? That was why I was asking - you, too, I guess.

quote:Originally posted by Dylan Martel:
I have a 1966 Gibson SJN I bought it 20 years ago from a pilot from Michican who says it is Gordons,and had photos of Gordon and himself by a plane,,,,the wear marks on the guitar are EXACTLY like close ups of other guitars Gordon has played,,,and I found several pix of Gordon with a guitar EXACTLY like the one I have ,,I contacted Gibson and they say there were very few of these made...30 or so...What are the chances this is really an old guitar Gordon owned and how would I verify that,,?????ANY INFO ???

If my memory serves me right, on the Lightfoot Forward clip on cbc.ca (in the archives), near the end of the clip where Gord is in the studio recording Pussywillows Cat Tails, he's playing what appears to be a Gibson guitar, maybe a Hummingbird? It would be worth checking out.

Cathy http://www.cathycowette.com

Dylan, did you give Gibson the serial number either on the back of the headstock, or inside the body. If Gord bought it as new, he would have sent in the warranty info, and so Gibson should have record of it.
Take care,
Sean

Dylan, did you give Gibson the serial number either on the back of the headstock, or inside the body. If Gord bought it as new, he would have sent in the warranty info, and so Gibson should have record of it.
Take care,
Sean

quote:Originally posted by Dylan Martel:
I have a 1966 Gibson SJN I bought it 20 years ago from a pilot from Michican who says it is Gordons,and had photos of Gordon and himself by a plane,,,,the wear marks on the guitar are EXACTLY like close ups of other guitars Gordon has played,,,and I found several pix of Gordon with a guitar EXACTLY like the one I have ,,I contacted Gibson and they say there were very few of these made...30 or so...What are the chances this is really an old guitar Gordon owned and how would I verify that,,?????ANY INFO ???

Dylan, take a look at this link and see if this looks like your Gibson: http://pool.dylantree.com/img/galler..._Lightfoot.jpg

Cathy http://www.cathycowette.com

Hi! Dylan-Dad
Hope things are great in Michigan. I tried to look up your e-mail address and this site came up. My e-mail address is CalleenMartel@aol.com
or
clarissam4374@yahoo.com
Have a great day! say hello to everyone!

Hi! Dylan-Dad
Hope things are great in Michigan. I tried to look up your e-mail address and this site came up. My e-mail address is CalleenMartel@aol.com
or
clarissam4374@yahoo.com
Have a great day! say hello to everyone!

I had heard that one of the guitars stolen was the exact one shown on the cover of Sundown, which is an SJN, eh? A 12-string version. Is yours a 6 or 12 string, Dylan? Regardless, it must be a fun guitar to play.
Best,
Tony