Al Jardine's Mystery Gibson Guitar, 1966: Solved! Photos/info/neat connection

[guitarfool2002]

Background: Photos were posted here last week from the Bill Yerkes book showing Al Jardine onstage with the Beach Boys at Ithaca College, 11/22/1966. Al was playing a guitar which wasn't one of his usual stage guitars, what appeared to be a Gibson J-160E, sometimes known as the "John Lennon" model because he was seen with one throughout the 60's, but the model itself was a somewhat regular presence on stage in the wake of Beatlemania.

Here is the link to that original thread:
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php?PHPSESSID=7a0306feb64a09a3be964f32918dacdf&topic=15162.0

At first glance I thought it was a Gibson J-160E, which in itself was unusual because Al was not known to have owned one, nor did he play one on stage based on the more common photos. THEN, looking closer, it wasn't even a "standard" J-160E. There were two pickups where the stock model only had one, there were four knobs where the stock model had two, and there was a selector switch under the pickguard which the stock model did not have at all.

I went fishing for info, guitar sites and forums and the like, and found nothing. So I ran a theory I had hinted at in the original thread: Perhaps Al had borrowed it from another act they were touring with at the time.

That nailed it.

The guitar belonged to Chad And Jeremy, who were on tour with the Beach Boys in November and December 1966, and if the Nov. 22 date is correct this Ithaca show was during a one-show-per-night run on the tour that week.

Here are the cool trivia and connection parts of the story.

Chad And Jeremy at that time were touring behind a few folky-acoustic hits, but were also part of the so-called British Invasion bands, so the folk side was also complimented by a pretty flashy stage setup with custom guitars, and soon Fender "Dual Showman" amps with a Union Jack graphic on the speaker cabinets.

Among their guitars was a Gibson doubleneck electric, the kind made most famous by Jimmy Page playing live with Led Zep throughout the 70's and also by the Eagles when they'd play Hotel California on stage and Don Felder would be seen playing one as well.

In 1966, these Gibson doublenecks were very, very expensive for the time and were only available by custom order, which means unless someone traded one in or the shop owner ordered one, you could not walk into a random music shop and buy one. Chad And Jeremy were one of the only live acts in 1966 to be seen playing one of these Gibsons regularly.

So we know they had dealt with Gibson with custom orders, and other photos show both the J-160E with the unusual features AND another J-160E style guitar with even more radical features and a Western-style cutaway...more on that to come.

***I'm convinced my theory was correct on both counts. First, Al Jardine was simply playing one of Chad And Jeremy's guitars in the photo. Second, the guitar itself was most likely a custom order from Gibson, because as photos will soon show, the band had at least *three* rare Gibsons on stage in 1966 which would only have been available through custom order.

Now here is the interesting connection that extends this into the 1970's. Probably common knowledge for some, but the photos bring it home even more.

One of the musicians playing with Chad And Jeremy on that 1966 tour with the BB's, and it seems he was also acting in something of a bandleader/musical director kind of role too, was James Guercio, also known as Jim or Jimmy Guercio.

Yes, that same Jim Guercio who would find success producing the Buckinghams, then Chicago, then eventually getting the whole Caribou operation up and running and working with the Beach Boys in the mid 70's.

So on this 1966 tour, notice in the photos that Guercio is seen playing a Hofner violin bass (the McCartney bass), as well as a really unique Gibson acoustic-electric with features similar to several of their famous guitars, again what looks like a custom order from Gibson.

It's always neat to see these photos from when Guercio was just working his way up, touring with an opening act for the Beach Boys, and still actively playing on stage. Then he goes on to work with the Beach Boys directly a decade later.

Notice on these photos as well the backline of amps. It's the same line of Fender Showman amps that are seen behind the Beach Boys in the Ithaca photo.

First photos are of Al and the Boys, next Chad And Jeremy shown playing the guitar Al borrowed and the doubleneck Gibson, and then Guercio on bass and guitar on stage.

[Mikie]

That guitar is almost as big as Al is.  And Guercio doesn't look much different than his days on stage with The Boys, circa 1974.

[metal flake paint]

Guitarfool2002, great investigative work as always!

[guitarfool2002]

Guitarfool2002, great investigative work as always!

Thank you! I get really psyched when this kind of thing comes together. It started out wondering what Al was doing with a guitar he wasn't known to have owned, and outside those photos one which I had never seen him play live or in-studio. Then the guitar's oddities and unusual features became an issue...asked around a bit, got nothing substantial back (so far) . Then just this morning I thought of that theory I had, what if he had borrowed it from someone else on the tour? Who was on the tour...Chad And Jeremy. Check a few of their websites...within a few seconds there was the mysterious Al Jardine Gibson guitar...owned and played by Chad And Jeremy in the 60's.

Bingo! 

From the photos of both Chad And Jeremy and their then-backing musician Jim Guercio, it looks safe to assume they ordered "matching" custom Gibson acoustic-electrics for their stage shows. Those were custom guitars with custom features, yet they both "match" each other for the most part. It had to have been a custom order, i wouldn't doubt the order was placed and the guitars made as a pair on the same production run rather than bought as individual models. But that's pure speculation.

The bonus for me was finding those great candid shots of Jim Guercio. I had never seen them until today, and I can pretty much say I always knew him most as a producer even in the 60's going back to his amazing work with The Buckinghams, but had never seen or noticed a photo of him actually performing with a group from this era (66-67). That was a really neat find, totally accidental and a cool surprise.

[leggo of my ego]

Both of those J160e's are cool but I really like the one with the single cutaway best

Chad and Jeremy were on a Patty Duke Show Episode I dont know if they were playing these guitars...but I can check

[leggo of my ego]

nope, Gibsons but just one neck pickup not these customized guitars.

[guitarfool2002]

Thanks for the info about C&J appearing on Patty Duke's show! What year was that appearance? These custom guitars were an odd case to begin with - I knew the duo were kind of known for playing these J-160E guitars in the 60's, of course after the Beatles made popular and very visible this guitar model which really wasn't very highly regarded or even popular among players until Beatlemania, yet until the Al Jardine connection I never took notice they even had these customized versions. Even on some album covers and other notable appearances, you'd see the standard J-160E with C&J.

That one with the cutaway is a freakin' awesome looking guitar, isn't it? It has the more ornate bridge like the jumbo SJ-200 acoustics, it has that great cutaway which looks like the same pattern and cut as the 175, the standard Gibson jazzbox of the era, and it's just a really cool design. There were some early precursors of the J-160E that were supposedly trying for the "acoustic Les Paul" vibe with the shape and concept, but they never took off, and then the more workable J-160E wasn't a smashing commercial success at all until Lennon and Harrison made them iconic. And some even said the way John and George came to order and own those guitars may have been an accident, or a case of getting something close to the models they actually had in mind when they ordered them. I'll have to confirm that, perhaps it's another myth that has since been busted. 

[Sheriff John Stone]

Chad and Jeremy were on a Patty Duke Show Episode I dont know if they were playing these guitars...but I can check

I remember (cough) when Chad & Jeremy appeared on Batman with The Catwoman, Julie Newmar! http://youtu.be/biH_oM4v-D0

[guitarfool2002]

Chad and Jeremy were on a Patty Duke Show Episode I dont know if they were playing these guitars...but I can check

I remember (cough) when Chad & Jeremy appeared on Batman with The Catwoman, Julie Newmar! http://youtu.be/biH_oM4v-D0

Oh, hell yeah!  Thanks for posting that clip - and notice he's playing the "Al Jardine" guitar too! Not to mention they have the same backline of Fender Showman amps as in the '66 photos. Cool stuff.

The question "Ginger or Maryann?" is a valid one. For me, maybe "Cinnamon, Dana, or Casey?" For others, "Marcia or Jan?", "Jill or Kelly?", etc.

But the ultimate one is "Eartha Kitt or Julie Newmar?" 

[bgas]

Chad and Jeremy were on a Patty Duke Show Episode I dont know if they were playing these guitars...but I can check

I remember (cough) when Chad & Jeremy appeared on Batman with The Catwoman, Julie Newmar! http://youtu.be/biH_oM4v-D0

Oh, hell yeah!  Thanks for posting that clip - and notice he's playing the "Al Jardine" guitar too! Not to mention they have the same backline of Fender Showman amps as in the '66 photos. Cool stuff.

The question "Ginger or Maryann?" is a valid one. For me, maybe "Cinnamon, Dana, or Casey?" For others, "Marcia or Jan?", "Jill or Kelly?", etc.

But the ultimate one is "Eartha Kitt or Julie Newmar?" 

Nah....  the Ultimate one is " Marilyn, Diane or Barbara?"

[Rocker]

Thanks for that cool info!!

Among their guitars was a Gibson doubleneck electric, the kind made most famous by Jimmy Page playing live with Led Zep throughout the 70's and also by the Eagles when they'd play Hotel California on stage and Don Felder would be seen playing one as well.

In 1966, these Gibson doublenecks were very, very expensive for the time and were only available by custom order, which means unless someone traded one in or the shop owner ordered one, you could not walk into a random music shop and buy one. Chad And Jeremy were one of the only live acts in 1966 to be seen playing one of these Gibsons regularly.

There also was a version that had a bass (6-string) instead of a second guitar, the Gibson EBS-1250 Double Bass. Presley used one of them in his '66 movie "Spinout" and various publicity pics.
Find out more about the guitar and it's history here:

http://www.scottymoore.net/ep65EBS1250.html

[NHC]

A side question to the guitar itself, but were either Chad or Jeremy known as accomplished guitarists, or mostly rhythm strummers relying on back-up musicians for the more complex parts (assuming there were any)? I listened to them a lot back in the 60's but wasn't paying attention to that kind of thing then.

[leggo of my ego]

Thanks for the info about C&J appearing on Patty Duke's show! What year was that appearance? These custom guitars were an odd case to begin with - I knew the duo were kind of known for playing these J-160E guitars in the 60's, of course after the Beatles made popular and very visible this guitar model which really wasn't very highly regarded or even popular among players until Beatlemania, yet until the Al Jardine connection I never took notice they even had these customized versions. Even on some album covers and other notable appearances, you'd see the standard J-160E with C&J.

That one with the cutaway is a freakin' awesome looking guitar, isn't it? It has the more ornate bridge like the jumbo SJ-200 acoustics, it has that great cutaway which looks like the same pattern and cut as the 175, the standard Gibson jazzbox of the era, and it's just a really cool design. There were some early precursors of the J-160E that were supposedly trying for the "acoustic Les Paul" vibe with the shape and concept, but they never took off, and then the more workable J-160E wasn't a smashing commercial success at all until Lennon and Harrison made them iconic. And some even said the way John and George came to order and own those guitars may have been an accident, or a case of getting something close to the models they actually had in mind when they ordered them. I'll have to confirm that, perhaps it's another myth that has since been busted. 

This is the Air Date.

The Patty Duke Show #59     2-23      1059      17/Feb/65   Patty Pits Wits -- Two Brits Hits

ALSO - Looks like C&J made it on two Batman episodes The Cats Meow / Bat's Kow Tow.

63     2-29      9737-1    14/Dec/66   The Cat's Meow (1)
64     2-30      9737-2    15/Dec/66   The Bat's Kow Tow (2)


See here at 0:17 for a still of the double neck and J-160 (headstock in the way hard to indentify the acoustic)  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-XKOLvYOHs

[Chalk n Numbers]

Great info, great detective work. Fascinating stuff!

Just a quick side note: as you're probably aware, Guercio also penned an original (and very good) song for Chad & Jeremy's Of Cabbages & Kings LP: "I'll Get Around to It When and If I Can." So that's another dimension of his relationship with C&J.