Rock and Roll Photography. Visual storytelling at it’s best.

Copyright Rob Shanahan.

Copyright Rob Shanahan.

I’m going to be giving a talk at the Griffin Museum of Photography in Boston, February 16th in conjunction with their current exhibit on Rock and Roll photography.

Some of the featured photographers are: Mike Mitchell, Herb Greene, Bob Bonis, Ron Pownall, Astrid Kirschherr, Melissa Mahoney and Brian Babineau to name a few.

Many of these photographers have had a enormous impact on me.
Their enduring and powerful images have inspired me to make photography a major part of my collection.
It prompted me to write a post on Rock and Roll photography and how important it is as an art form.

Photography has brought new meaning and importance to items I have purchased over the years. Whether serving as photographic reference, or adding depth and history to the items I have.

The story and photo behind the piece I have often found is more interesting and meaningful to me than the piece itself.

They are everywhere we want to be.

Backstage and onstage.
In limos.
In the studio.
Standing in front of the stage.
Sitting in dressing rooms.
Riding the elevators.
Grabbing a bite in a restaurant…..catching moments no one would see, if not for them.

Thank you all.

The prints shown here are those of Rob Shanahan.
These two beauties are in my personal collection.

You can see more of Rob’s exceptional work on his website.

robshanahan.com

….And he’s just published a book.
I had the pleasure of finally meeting Rob in Anaheim at the NAMM show this past January just a few weeks ago where he was signing and promoting his book.

Here’s a bit more info on this super talent.

Rob is recognized as one of music’s most published photographers. He’s also Ringo Starr’s personal photographer. “Volume 1” is his first book of photographs and it features photos of such iconic musicians as Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, Keith Richards, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Christina Aguilera, Sheila E, Tommy Lee, Dave Navarro, and many more. It includes intimate shots of the musicians not only behind the scenes, but also in the studio, onstage and backstage as well. Along with the photos is a foreword by Ringo Starr, artist quotes, and personal anecdotes shared by Shanahan.

Rob has been getting a lot of good press about his book. Check out his interview on Good Day LA and slideshow at Spin Magazine.

My room is not only filled with memorabilia, it’s filled with books on Rock and Roll Photography.

Copyright Ken Regan. Keith Richards, San Antonio, 1975. (I own the guitar strap.)


Copyright Michael Putland. The Rolling Stones 1978. (I own the shirt Keith is wearing.)

Copyright Paul Natkin. Keith Richards portrait. (I own the attitude.)

Here’s a few other wonderful prints I own.
All I need is the room to hang them.
If I stop buying prints, I could maybe build an addition.

Enjoy.

In honor of Keith Richards’ 68th birthday, some of my favorite Keith items.

Handwritten letter to a fan, circa 1965.

Keith's pirate worn in the "Respectable" video in May of 1978.

Keith's leather jacket worn in the late 70's.

Keith's Bobby Lee guitar strap used during the Tour of the Americas, 1975.

Main Offender Tour bag.

Signed rubber skull from backstage. "Who is the guy?"

My blog 2010, the year in review.

Happy New Year.

Just received data from WordPress on how my blog has been doing over this past year.
Very interesting stuff.
According the the numbers it was viewed roughly 65,000 times in 2010.
If it were a concert at Madison Square Garden, it would have to be performed 3 times.

I wrote 24 new posts this past year and uploaded 91 pictures.

2 of the most popular and viewed posts were about the Stones secret show at Sir Morgan’s Cove, 1981 and Keith Richards’ famous skull ring.

Not surprisingly there is an incredible appetite for anything having to do with Keith. His 5 string guitar. His infamous skull ring. His clothes. The letters he writes to fans.
As I wrote in an earlier blog he seems to still maintain and have the strongest fan base and with the buzz around his new book, seems everyone wants more Keith.

Since my collection has been focused primarily on Keith, I’ll be sharing some of my favorite rarities in this post.
Looking forward to another great year.

Peace,
Gary Rocks

Keith’s pirate shirt worn in the “Respectable” video shoot on May 2, 1978.

Keith’s Bobby Lee guitar strap used throughout the “Tour of the Americas” and well into 1981.

Keith’s leopard lined leather jacket worn in the late 70′s, and given to Art Collins.

A couple of fantastic handwritten letters from the 60′s. (Keith fancies a red biro.)

Charlie Watts. Gentleman, Artist, Horse Breeder, Cricket Fanatic, Jazz bandleader and one of the world’s greatest drummers.

Charles Robert “Charlie” Watts (born 2 June, 1941) is an English drummer best known as a member (from January 1963 through the present) of The Rolling Stones. He is a jazz bandleader, record producer, commercial artist and horse breeder. Mick Jagger sometimes refers to Watts as “The Wembley Whammer” when introducing him during concerts.

Charlie Watts was born to a lorry driver for a precursor of British Rail and his wife at University College Hospital, London, and raised (along with his sister Linda) in Islington and then Wembley. He attended Tylers Croft Secondary Modern School from 1952 to 1956; as a schoolboy, he displayed a talent for art, cricket and football.

Watts’s parents gave him his first drum kit in 1955; he was interested in jazz, and would practice drumming along with jazz records he collected. After completing secondary school, he enrolled at Harrow Art School (now the University of Westminster), which he attended until 1960. After leaving school, Watts worked as a graphic designer for an advertising company, and also played drums occasionally with local bands in coffee shops and clubs. In 1961 he met Alexis Korner, who invited him to join his band, Blues Incorporated. At that time Watts was on his way to a sojourn working as a graphic designer in Denmark, but he accepted Korner’s offer when he returned to London in February 1962.

Watts played regularly with Blues Incorporated as well as working at the advertising firm of Charles, Hobson, and Grey. It was in mid-1962 that Watts first met Brian Jones, Ian “Stu” Stewart, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, who also frequented the London rhythm and blues clubs; but it wasn’t until January 1963 that Watts finally agreed to join the Rolling Stones.

Watts has been involved in many activities outside his high-profile life as a member of the Rolling Stones.
In 1964, he published a cartoon tribute to Charlie Parker entitled Ode to a High Flying Bird.

Although he has made his name in rock, his personal tastes focus on jazz; in the late 70s, he joined Ian “Stu” Stewart in the back-to-the-roots boogie-woogie band Rocket 88, which featured many of the UK’s top jazz, rock and R&B musicians. In the 1980s, he toured worldwide with a big band that included such names as Evan Parker, Courtney Pine, and Jack Bruce, who was also a member of Rocket 88. In 1991, he organized a jazz quintet as another tribute to Charlie Parker. 1993 saw the release of Warm And Tender, by the Charlie Watts Quintet, which included vocalist Bernard Fowler. This same group then released Long Ago And Far Away in 1996. Both records included a collection of Great American Songbook standards. After a successful collaboration with Jim Keltner on The Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon, Charlie and Jim released a techno/instrumental album called simply Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project. Featuring the names of his favourite jazz drummers, Charlie stated that even though the tracks bore such names as the “Elvin Suite” in honor of the late Elvin Jones, Max Roach and Roy Haynes, they were not copying their style of drumming, but rather, capturing a feeling by those artists. Watts At Scott’s was recorded with his group, The Charlie Watts Tentet, at the famous jazz club in London, Ronnie Scott’s. In April 2009 he started to do concerts with “The ABC&D of Boogie Woogie” together with pianists Axel Zwingenberger and Ben Waters plus his childhood friend Dave Green on bass.

Besides his musical creativity, he contributed graphic art to early records such as the Between the Buttons record sleeve and was responsible for the famous 1975 tour announcement press conference in New York City. The band surprised the throng of waiting reporters by driving and playing “Brown Sugar” on the back of a flatbed truck in the middle of Manhattan traffic; a gimmick AC/DC copied later the same year, Status Quo repeated the trick for the 1984 video to “The Wanderer” and U2 would later emulate it in the 2004 video for “All Because of You”. Watts remembered this was a common way for New Orleans jazz bands to promote upcoming dates. Moreover, with Jagger, he designed the elaborate stages for tours, first contributing to the lotus-shaped design of that 1975 Tour of the Americas, as well as the 1989–1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour.

There are many instances where Jagger and Richards have lauded Watts as the key member of The Rolling Stones. Richards went so far as to say in a 2005 Guitar Player magazine interview that the Rolling Stones would not be, or could not continue as, the Rolling Stones without Watts. An example of Watts’s importance was demonstrated in 1993, after Bill Wyman had left the band. After auditioning several bassists, Jagger and Richards asked Watts to choose the new bass player; he selected the respected session musician Darryl Jones, who had previously been a sideman for both Miles Davis and Sting.

In 1989, the Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the July 2006 issue of Modern Drummer, Watts was voted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame along with Steve Gadd, Keith Moon, Buddy Rich and other highly esteemed drummers.

Charlie Watts plays Gretsch drums and a variety of brands of cymbals, mostly UFIP. His drums are 1956-7 Gretsch Round Badge: a 22″ (56 cm) bass drum, a 16″ (41 cm) floor tom, a 12″ (30 cm) tom and a 5-by-14-inch (13 cm × 36 cm) snare drum. Cymbals he is known to use include: an 18″ UFIP Natural Series Fast China, a UFIP Rough Series China with rivets, a very old UFIP Flat Ride, an Avedis Zildjian Swish, and a very old set of hi-hats, brand unknown.

Keith Richards and “The Lost Sessions” Longview Farms, 1981.

Much has been written and documented about the now infamous Keith Richards “Lost Sessions” from Longview Farms in North Brookfield, MA prior to the 1981 tour.
When Keith, Patti Hansen his wife, Jane Rose his manager and Alan Dunn and his wife visited Gil Markle’s legendary Longview Farms to check it out before the 1981 Tattoo You tour, Keith as usual made his visit memorable.

Bootlegs galore have been made of those handful of classic songs Keith played on piano along with his Screwdriver and friends sitting close by.

Here is the story written by Gil Markle. Pictured here is the actual Master Tape of that session from Art Collins former Exec. President of Rolling Stones records from 1981-1986.

An excerpt from Mojo Magazine referencing the session.

The Master Tape labeled artist Keith Richards and the songs he sang/takes etc.

The following is an account taken from Gil Markle’s incredible website, “Diary of a Studio Owner.”

http://www.studiowner.com/essays/essay.asp?books=0&pagnum=3018

I was true to the promise I made to Patti Hansen, although it took me a day or two longer than expected to deliver.
“What d’ya think, Keith,” I began. “We’ve been in here for days, it seems. I’ve got to do some things in Worcester. You’ve got to go to Rome. Why don’t I call Bill Mahoney, the pilot, and get you and Patti out of here before the front comes through?”
There really was a lot of bad weather on the way, and it’s best not to fool around with that unless you really have to.
“Sounds O.K. to me,” Keith said. “Sounds O.K. to me. Either that or you’ve got to give me a job banging nails with those lads out in the barn.”
Wouldn’t that be something, I mused. Last remaining superstar guitarist knuckles down with North Brookfield country strong hands — building a Sound Stage for the use of his band, the Rolling Stones.
That didn’t happen, of course. Instead, we called Mahoney and set up a departure out of Worcester for Teterboro at 11 AM the next morning. And I set about doing some rough mixes of the two-inch recording tape I’d made the night before. The piano demos I’d done with Keith. As luck would have it, our Chief Engineer, Jesse Henderson, had taken a week to do some engineering chores for Sha Na Na, in California. And so I had to engineer myself, leaving Reed Desplaines, Night Manager, to play assistant engineer — running back and forth to the tape library for more reels of virgin tape. This for studio buffs: we used three Neumann ’87 microphones on the Steinway, which Pat Metheny left with us two years ago. The piano, I mean. Mikes in our top-secret positions. Another Neumann ’87 on him, close up, with a pop filter; voice highly compressed using an Eleven-seventy-six limiter set at twelve-to-one. Finally, a good measure of live acoustic reverb on either side of his voice, in stereo. Lots of E.Q., on everything. I had only one shot at this, and I wanted it to be right the first time.
The live mix was great all by itself, and the best results of that extraordinary session were in fact recorded directly onto our Studer mastering deck, and not the 24-track. 30 ips; no noise reduction, very hot on AMPEX 456 tape.
“Listen to this one, Keith,” I said, just before driving him to the airport.
I selected the live stereo tape of “The Nearness of You,”1 a classic Hoagy Carmichael ballad dating from the late ’30′s. Keith Richards playing the Steinway, and singing, too.

“It’s not the pale moon, that excites me,
that thrills, and delights me;
Oh no, It’s just the nearness of you.”

“Far out, Gil. Voice sounds great. Sounds great.”
“ZIP — BUZZ . . .” There was a loud, familiar noise on the tape.
“What the hell was that?” Keith asked, with a look of anguish on his face.
“Jane Rose taking a picture of you with her Polaroid camera,” I replied.
“Bloody well ruins that take, didn’t it?”
“No, Keith,” I said. “I think I can razor it out later. We’ve got this tune about six times, anyway. So don’t worry.”
Recording enthusiasts will be interested to know that the eventual edits on these ten or so tunes — classic Keith Richards piano demos — took nearly two weeks’ work. I found the time to do it only a month after the Stones had finally gone, and performed the edits on a 7 1/2 ips dub inadvertently left behind at my house on Cape Cod. Editing at 7 1/2 ips is no fun, as you may know. Several hundred cuts were required, since Keith never really bothered to begin or end any of the tunes. He’d just keep on playing, and singing, with me scrambling to keep tape on the tape machines, late at night in the A-Control Room at Long View Farm.
Don’t
Blue Monday
Studio A at Long View is the one people travel considerable distances to use, and I think you’d hear it said at the Farm that I can make it work pretty much as well as anybody can. Mixing tape is what I like to do. I can make really good, live, super-present mixes. That’s what got me into all this, back in ’72, when I was still teaching Philosophy at Clark. I figured I needed some time off to build a studio to make some mixes in. And that’s how Long View came about.
So when I tell you that the live stereo tape of Keith Richards sounded good, you better believe me that it did.
Oh, what a feeling
Apartment Number 9
We drove Keith Richards and Patti Hansen to the airport the next day. 300-foot overcast; visibility a quarter of a mile in rain and fog. Mahoney couldn’t make it in, missing two instrument approaches in an attempt to land 75 X-Ray. So Randall Barbera, who works for me, as you may remember, offered to drive Keith and Patti over to Westfield in the Cadillac. Westfield was still operating, and only about 45 minutes away. They had a wonderful trip, I learned later. Cruising along on a light powdering, Stolni’s and orange juice, and a fantastic compilation of fifties rock ‘n’ roll classics played at high volume on those wonderful-sounding Auratones mounted on the rear deck of the car. Pete Wolf of the J. Geils Band had left this particular cassette behind. By mistake, I’m sure, because it was a real beauty. “Earth Angel,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “Tears on my Pillow,” and songs like that.
“Take this and listen to it on the way to Westfield, Keith. Only remember it’s not mine but Pete Wolf’s, and he’s certain to want it back.”
“O.K.” Keith said laughing. “I’ll bring it back with me. See you.”
“See you, Keith,” I said.
“Bye, Gil,” Patti said, and then they roared off.
And you take it from here, Pete, if you want that cassette back. He won’t give it to me.
Let’s all pause for a second and note that Keith Richards said “O.K. I’ll bring it back with me.” Meaning the cassette of course. Meaning also that he intended on coming back to Long View. That this gig was going to happen, after all. It was during Randall’s trip to Westfield with Keith Richards that I figured it out all over again — that the Rolling Stones were coming to Long View Farm.

Maybe I’m just a bit slow, sometimes.

When Keith Richards uses your office as a closet, what do you do?

Keith's Black leopard lined leather jacket, worn in the late 70's.

Art Collins Vice President of Rolling Stones Records from 1981-1986,
experienced a thing or two in his time with the band, as this post and story will attest to.
Like his office being used by Keith Richards to store various items of clothing.
Specifically the black leather jacket you see pictured.
When I bought this item, I was as fascinated by the story,
as I was being able to buy such an iconic item belonging to the legend himself.

What really defines a rock star?
Many things I imagine.
Obviously their music first and foremost.
But then, a close second has to be their style.
And what describes “The Human Riff,” better than one of his many leather jackets.
In building my collection I’ve always had an eye to collecting items that truly capture the spirit and the essence of the individual.
In the case of Keith Richards, he has for me defined what Rock and Roll is.
In his music, and his lifestyle.
The true definition of Rock and Roll excess.

Here’s the letter from Art describing the circumstances in which he came upon Keith’s jacket as well as an article in a trade magazine describing the clothes Art speaks of piled up in his office on his couch.

Enjoy.

Keith Richards’ famous skull ring. How the obsession began.

Over the past 30 years Keith Richards silver skull ring has taken on its own mythology and iconic status. The most famous ring in the world has come to signify not only Keith Richards the man – seen wearing it at every gig and in every photograph – but Rock and Roll itself. The ring has inspired both an international cult following and unlimited fake copies. There have been countless claims as to who designed and made the original but this is the true story.

In 1978 the celebrated London goldsmiths David Courts and Bill Hackett were working on a small scale silver sculpture of a human skeleton. Using a real skull for reference they carved a perfect miniature replica which they then moulded. When the hollow wax skull was removed from its mould the inspiration for the ring was born. Further experimentation led to the creation of the original silver skull ring. At the same time an invitation arrived from Keith Richards to his birthday party in New York – so Bill and David decided that the new ring would make a fantastic present. From the moment he put it on his finger, the magic began and he has worn it ever since.

Since Keith put on the original Courts and Hackett skull ring in 1978, David and Bill have received countless requests for a copy but their original decision that the ring should remain unique has meant that there is no replica mould and no duplicates.

Now, for the first time and only available from them is a magnificent new deaths head ring sculpted from the same human skull used for the original.

Using unique techniques developed in their workshop they have created the ultimate skull ring. Exquisite details include an immaculately carved bone structure, individual teeth and finely engraved cranium.

Crafted in solid 925 silver each ring will be stamped with the Courts and Hackett hallmark guaranteeing authenticity, date, materials used and country of origin.

http://www.courtsandhackett.com/new_ring.html

http://members.tripod.com/blue_lena/news2009.html

*Thanks to Tamara Guo, (aka Blue Lena) the most die-hard Keef fan I know.

The secret gig that wasn’t a secret. The Rolling Stones play Sir Morgan’s Cove, 1981 Worcester, MA

RARE T-SHIRT, KEITH, RONNIE GUITAR PICKS AND TICKET STUB FROM THE INFAMOUS SHOW.

The Rolling Stones’ “private” jam session at Sir Morgan’s Cove was supposed to be just that — private — and also secret, with the Stones attempting to pass incognito as the Cockroaches. But as the nature of the business would have it, there was a leak. It occurred early in the day Monday after weeks of rumors. And before the day was over, the local media would claim that “history has been made in Worcester.”
Before the Stones finished their free two-hour concert early yesterday morning for 300 “randomly selected” fans, local police would arrest and charge six people with offenses ranging from drinking in public to illegally “launching missiles” (beer cans, mostly). The Worcester police department’s already depleted overtime budget would be $5,000 more in the red. And the city’s sanitation workers would be faced with a block-long layer of beer cans, bottles and trash.
But for all that, the corporate brass of the local FM radio station that helped organize, promote and execute the event at Sir Morgan’s would be more than pleased. In the intensely competitive hard-rock market surrounding Boston, WAAF-FM had scored a major coup.

Steve Stockman, 23, WAAF’s promotions director, said he kept in constant contact with members of the band, but “it wasn’t until last Friday that everything started to gel. Ian Stewart, the group’s keyboard player, told me the group wanted to make some small, private night-club appearances. They hadn’t appeared before an audience in three years, and they needed to warm up to crowds before Philadelphia.”
Stockman said Stewart had selected Sir Morgan’s on his own. He said Stewart had anonymously visited “every bar in Worcester” in search of a place that seated no more than 400, had a low ceiling and a high stage.
“All he needed was a mechanism to get tickets out to loyal fans in the area without revealing the location of the event,” Stockman said. Together, WAAF and the Stones decided that the station would start announcing on Monday morning that the Stones were giving such a performance, but that no tickets could be purchased.
Instead, the station announced, representatives of WAAF and the group would be driving the streets of Worcester throughout the day looking for people wearing WAAF T-shirts or with WAAF bumper stickers either on themselves or their cars.
They, and they alone, would get the mere 300 nontransferable, laser-etched, computer-coded tickets marked, “Blue Monday” and “The Cockroaches.”

A Boston rock station, an arch-competitor of WAAF, was leaked the information by either Worcester police or a member of the band that played before the Stones were to perform at Sir Morgan’s. And the Boston station immediately began broadcasting not only where the Stones would appear, but also that people should stay away.
“They said there’d be a riot there or something,” Stockman said. “It was awful, and the Stones were almost as furious with that station as we were. But to tell you honestly, we did get lucky. It easily could have turned into mayhem. All I can say is thank God for the rain.”

Source http://www.studiowner.com/essays/essay.asp?books=0&pagnum=3001

TICKET STUB

SET LIST FROM THE SHOW DIRECTLY FROM IAN MCLAGEN KEYBOARD PLAYER.

Bill Wyman, Stone Alone.

“I’m always shy in front of an audience, so I’m always at the back, in the shadows, just doing it. I don’t like the front, the adulation.”
Bill Wyman

After a career lasting more than thirty years as the bass player with the Rolling Stones everyone probably assumed that Bill Wyman would retire – however, it gave him the time to do the many other things he really wanted to do.

Bill Wyman has written seven books, which have sold almost two million copies and been translated in eleven different languages. He’s an acclaimed photographer having staged exhibitions around the world. He’s acknowledged as Britain’s most celebrated metal detectorist, who has also designed and created a detector for children and newcomers to the hobby. He’s done countless gigs for charities and taken a hat trick at the Oval in a cricket match. He’s been awarded an honorary doctorate, he’s an archivist and collector, opened his own restaurant, Sticky Fingers, in London and found time to raise a young family.

Bill has written and produced for film and television and appeared in several movies. He’s released over a dozen albums as a solo artist and with his own bands, the Rhythm Kings and Willie & The Poor Boys, as well as scoring music for films. In addition he was the first Rolling Stone to have a hit solo single around the world.

Si Si, he’s so much more than just a rock star.

Source http://www.billwyman.com

Here’s some memorabilia from his days as a solo artist.
Also an excerpt for a letter written by an entourage member who became close friends with Bill while working with the Stones at Longview Farms before the 1981 Tattoo You tour.
Bill gave him his custom made horsehide leather belt made to support his Bass and help his bad back.

Keith Richards’ Bobby Lee Guitar Strap. Well loved. Well used. And seen everywhere in 1975.

The rare Keith Richards guitar strap pictured here I shouldn’t own.

But I do.

The story of how I came upon the holy grail of Keith items might be better than the piece itself.

Not really, but pretty interesting nonetheless.

It’s a story of how doing your homework, saving information, and going with your gut will sometimes, not always, reward you with some amazing finds.

This guitar strap was listed on ebay with a pile of other paper items, some photos and some other odds and ends back in September of 2005.

I watched for days as the collection got little to no interest. I had sent the seller an email asking for more detail, pictures etc. but never received any response.

The seller had a 2 feedback rating. Not very comforting. It was listed as a complete collection not to be broken up.

There were several interested bidders whose questions to the sellers were posted, but no one willing to pony up any serious cash for items they could hardly see in these tiny photos. In the final minutes of the auction I found myself being the high bidder at $865.00. The reserve wasn’t met. The auction ended. I never followed up, but saved the listing and information.

Fast forward to January of 2007.

I come across the printouts from the auction and decide to send the seller an email asking if the collection had been sold.

I was shocked. I thought for sure someone, anyone smarter than me would have scoffed up what I believe in my gut was a very, very rare collection of Rolling Stones items.

It was still available. It hadn’t been broken up and the sellers wanted to sell.

This time I asked for photos, condition descriptions, and ANY information, dates, times, they could give me about the collection and how they acquired it.

Their story was unbelievable.

This couple worked at Longview Farms where the Stones practiced before their 1981 “Tattoo You” tour. The husband was a carpenter who actually built the stage they practiced on. His wife worked as a secretary.

After his work was done, he was asked by the owner to stay on to become part of the Stones entourage as they felt like they needed more people to help out.

So he did. And he worked the night shift. The shift which they practiced.

As the photos came in, I began to do my homework. The fun part as I see it. Looking for articles, photos, information detailing the time and dates of the Stones stay at Longview.

I enlarged pictures he sent of the guitar strap to match up the pattern on both the front and back to make sure it was the one pictured with Keith in what was eventually hundreds of photos from 1975-1978. It was in fact one of his most loved and most used guitar straps of his entire career. Duct tape, electrical tape and all. Pictured in every major book published or featuring stories on the “1975 Tour of the Americas.”

This was clearly a collection with rock solid provenance.
I made the deal for the entire collection.
The crown jewel of the collection wasn’t even pictured in the listing on ebay.

A handwritten set list from the surprise gig at Sir Morgan’s Cove in Worcester, MA written by Jagger himself.
Taken off the stage by Ian McLargen, the keyboard player touring with the Stones and given to the owner of this collection right after the gig.
He also grabbed a few Keith and Ronnie guitar picks.

Goes to show you, save everything.
Follow up.
Do your homework.
Never make any assumptions.

And with a little luck you’ll score some pretty cool shit.

Keith Richards' Bobby Lee Guitar Strap used during the Tour of the Americas in 1975