$334,000
The story of Elvis Presley’s 1969 Gibson Dove acoustic guitar begins and ends with generosity. In 1969, Vernon Presley went to Guitar City, near Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, to purchase a guitar as a gift for his son. Vernon requested several custom adjustments to personalize the guitar for Elvis, including changing the finish of the guitar to ebony, reported to be chosen to represent Elvis’ recently earned black belt in karate, and the stunning acanthus script inlay of “Elvis Presley” on the fingerboard. The inlay was created by Randy Wood at Gruhn Guitars of Nashville, and the ebony finish was applied at Guitar City. Crowning the guitar and recognizing Elvis’ achievement was the application of the Kenpo Karate decal on the body of the guitar. The guitar appears to have been completed and gifted to Elvis in 1971. Presley began using the guitar that year and is photographed performing with it often between 1971 and 1973, including, most famously, during Presley’s televised and broadcasted Aloha From Hawaii concert, noted as the first televised program to be beamed around the world by satellite. The story ends in generosity when, in 1975, at a concert in Asheville, North Carolina, Presley gave the guitar to audience member Mike Harris. It was Presley’s last show of a three-night tour. Presley was in the middle of the song “See See Rider” when Presley gave the guitar to a shocked Harris. Accounts vary as to what Presley said to Harris, from the prophetic “You keep the
Auctioneer:
Juliens Auctions
Date:
2016-05-21
