6 famous guitarists who lost their instruments (and sometimes got them back)

Clothes make the man, but when it comes to rock music, it’s all about the guitar. Many famous guitarists – including Eddie Van Halen, Brian May of Queen, Trey Anastasio of Phish and Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) –use a specific to play most of their music.

But what happens when they lose their trusty axe? Here are six notable cases where musicians have lost their instruments – some were missing for just a day, while other guitars went missing for up to half a century. Some are even missing to this day.

In February 2024 a woman named Cathy Guest returned Paul McCartney’s famous violin-shaped Höfner 500/1 electric bass guitar, which made headlines because the instrument was missing for decades.

Sir Paul bought the legendary bass in 1961 and used it on early Beatles hits such as “She Loves You,” “Twist and Shout,” and “Love Me Do.” (Incidentally, John Lennon’s J-160E Gibson acoustic guitar also disappeared from the “Love Me Do” sessions, only to resurface in San Diego in 2015.) McCartney even had the Höfner 500/1 on during the Beatles’ explosive US television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show“It’s an iconic instrument,” said Nick Wass, a semi-retired Hofner adviser who worked with Mr. McCartney. “It sparked Beatlemania.”

Macca continued to use the Höfner bass regularly when writing and recording let it be– until it was stolen in 1969. Three years later, the thief allegedly sold it to the landlord of a London pub for some quick cash and a few pints of beer, after which the new owner gave the bass to his brother, Guest’s late husband. It spent years gathering dust in the attic of their home in East Sussex, England, just hours from where the ex-Beatle last used it in London.

Guest discovered the instrument’s true identity through the Lost Bass Project, launched in 2018 by two journalists and a Höfner bass expert to track it down. She returned it to McCartney, who reportedly gave her a six-figure reward for her efforts.

Paul McCartney was not the only Beetle lose an instrument. In 1968, Eric Clapton gave George Harrison a red 1957 Gibson Les Paul, which Harrison named “Lucy” after Lucille Ball.

Five short years later, Harrison lost Lucy after a robbery at his Beverly Hills home. Soon after, she was sold to a music store in Los Angeles. Musician Mighel Ochoa bought her and took her home to Mexico. Harrison later contacted him and Ochoa agreed to return Lucy in exchange for a Fender Precision Bass and a sunburst 1958 Gibson Les Paul. About a decade later, Ochoa sold the so-called “ransom” Les Paul, which was later purchased at auction for $312,500 in 2022. Lucy is still owned by Harrison.

What’s the deal with Eric Clapton and stolen guitars? Years before he gave Lucy to George Harrison, Clapton lost his own iconic Gibson Les Paul guitar, which remains missing to this day.

It all began in 1966 when Clapton appeared on the debut studio album by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. Although he has been known for playing Fender Stratocasters since 1970, he created a new and distinctive sound on the Bluesbreakers album thanks to his Les Paul (presumably from 1959 or 1960, although there is some disagreement among fans). The guitar was nicknamed the “Beano ‘Burst” because of its sun-colored finish and Beano Children’s comic that Clapton reads on the cover of the album.

Unfortunately, the Beano ‘Burst was stolen within days of the album’s release. At the time, Clapton was just forming his next band, Cream, which would further propel Slowhand to legendary status and influence legions of electric guitarists. Before fans could hear that Les Paul on any Cream tracks, the Beano ‘Burst had disappeared; according to Clapton, it was stolen straight from Cream’s rehearsal room and never seen again. There is a rumor that it is currently in a private collection in the US.but the search for this one still continues.

Noise rock pioneers Sonic Youth have been using guitars in novel and highly experimental ways for decades. Lee Ranaldo, one of the band’s founding guitarists, is known for playing a wide range of guitars, but began favoring a heavily modified 1965 sunburst Fender “Jazzblaster” Jazzmaster in 1996.

He used that guitar both live and in the studio until the summer of 1999, when the band’s moving truck was stolen in Orange County, California, with all of their unique, custom-made gear inside. The truck turned up in Los Angeles a few days later, but the instruments did not. Guitarist Thurston Moore, another co-founder of the band, recovered his missing white Fender Jazzmaster in 2005, but Ranaldo’s sunburst Jazzblaster, considered by fans to be the original Jazzblaster, is still at large.

Jerry Cantrell, the revered guitarist and songwriter of Alice in Chains, recently reported that his beloved 1984 G&L Rampage, which he bought used in 1985, was stolen from his car in Southern California. Cantrell has used the uniquely decorated “Blue Dress” guitar, named after the eye-catching pinup sticker near the bridge, on almost all of his recordings.

The music community rallied to support Cantrell when he announced the loss. The day after his post, he released a follow-up video announcing that the guitar was not lost after all: It was out of place between a photo shoot and a studio session. Cantrell also revealed that he is working on a new record that will feature the famous Blue Dress guitar.

In 1986, musician Steve Vai lost a custom guitar made by famous guitar maker Joe “Jem” Despagni. (It was nicknamed the “Swiss Cheese” guitar because of its wild finish and holes in the body.) The Swiss Cheese guitar was the first JEM guitar to have a handle-like grip built into the body, which would become an important feature of future models.

Vai, who began his career with Frank Zappa, used the Swiss Cheese guitar on David Lee Roth’s debut solo album, Eat them and smileand the music video for the 1986 single “Yankee Rose”. Shortly thereafter, it was stolen during a recording session in Pasadena and remained missing until 2023, when Iván Gonzáles Acosta found the guitar in his grandparents’ attic in Tijuana, Mexico, and posted a picture of it on social media.

One of Vai’s co-workers saw the pictures online and arranged to have it returned to the guitarist. “Getting this guitar feels like an old friend has returned home to jam with me after so many years,” Vai said. “I think we’re going to make a wonderful ham and cheese sandwich.”

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