In May, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it had acquired a collection of 500 guitars, and it appears that one of the most high-profile donations may have been stolen.
The collection included a 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard played by the Rolling Stones‘ Keith Richards during their historic Ed Sullivan Show appearance in 1964, a guitar that was amongst those stolen during the recording of the Stones’ classic 1972 album Exile… On Main Street eight years later.
The burglary, which took place at Villa Nellcôte, the Côte d’Azur mansion hired by the band for the album’s recording, was reputedly carried out by local drug dealers owed money by Keith Richards. Nine of his guitars went missing, as well as a saxophone belonging to Bobby Keys and Bill Wyman’s bass.
Now Marlies Damming, the business manager of former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor, has revealed that the guitar in the Met’s collection actually belonged to Taylor, who purchased it from Richards in 1967 before joining John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers as a replacement for Peter Green. Taylor also played the guitar during the Rolling Stones’ infamous Altamont Speedway show in late 1969.
“There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared,” says Dramming. “The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls is that they are renowned for their flaming, which is unique, like a fingerprint.”
A source tells pagesix.com, “Taylor says he never received compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection.”
The guitar was also played by Jimmy Page during his time as a session musician, while Eric Clapton used it at a Cream show in July 1966 after his own instrument was stolen during rehearsals.
Classic Rock has reached out to the Met for comment.