One of the most instantly recognizable guitars in the world, Eric Clapton's 1964 Gibson SG is instantly recognizable to the masses for the psychedelic paint job applied by a Dutch artistic duo known collective as "The Fool".
Eric Clapton originally purchased this Gibson SG after his "Bluesbreakers" Gibson Les Paul was stolen. It has been speculated, but never officially confirmed that this guitar originally belonged to George Harrison of The Beatles. It is known that Harrison owned an SG and recorded the song and iconic riff "Day Tripper" with one, and that he later gave it up around the same time Clapton acquired his. This is all speculation of course, and neither party has ever confirmed the story.
Armed with "The Fool" SG, Eric Clapton innovated what is now known today as "The Woman Tone". Clapton himself has described "The Woman Tone" as, "a sweet sound… more like the human voice than the guitar." Essentially, "The Woman Tone" is the sound of a Gibson SG, plugged into a Marshall amplifier with the tone setting on the guitar turned almost all the way down and the volume full up.
One of the mysteries surrounding the guitar is exactly what year the guitar was manufactured. It is sometimes thought that the guitar is a 1961, however with six screws in the pick guard, this rules this out as a possibility (six screwed pick guards had only begun to be attached to SGs beginning in 1964). Therefore it is thought that the guitar is either a 1964 or a 1965. It is impossible to know the precise date due to the fact that when the guitar was being painted, the serial number was sanded off.
In his 2007 Autobiography, Clapton described how he linked up with "The Fool" and approached them to add their own spin to his new acquisition. "'The Fool' were...two Dutch artists, Simon and Marjike, who had come over to London from Amsterdam in 1966 and set up a studio designing clothes, posters, and album covers. They painted mystical themes in fantastic vibrant colors and had been taken up by The Beatles, for whom they had created a vast three-story mural on the wall of their Apple Boutique on Baker Street. They had also painted John Lennon's Rolls-Royce in lurid psychedelic colors. I asked them to decorate one of my guitars, a Gibson Les Paul, which they turned into a psychedelic fantasy, painting no just the front and back of the body, but the neck and fretboard too."
Note: Clapton describes the guitar in the above passage as a Gibson Les Paul, but it is obviously and most assuredly an SG
"The Fool's" work was not limited to just Eric's guitar. The collective had originally been contacted by Cream's (Eric Clapton's band at the time) manager, Robert Stigwood about doing an eye-catching psychedelic design on the instruments of all the group members. Thus, in 1967, when Cream left the U.K. for a tour of the United States, all three members, bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and Clapton, were all decked out in the latest in style of the 1960's.
The guitar was painted with oil-based enamel paint. Marijike Koger described the overall theme of the design as, "good versus evil, heaven versus hell, and the power of music in the universe to rise above it all as a force of good." The crazy hair on the head of the cherub, the centerpiece of the artwork, was inspired by Clapton's own hairdo at the time.
The guitar made its debut on 25 March 1967 at the RKO theater in New York City. It was Cream's first show in The United States and the band would go on to play a nine-show stint alongside The Who, footing the bill for headliner, Mitch Ryder. Clapton would use this guitar to record the albums, Fresh Cream, and Disraeli Gears.
After Cream broke up in 1968, Clapton decided to part ways with the Gibson SG, giving it to guitarist Jackie Lomax after working with him on a recording session for the song, "Is That What You Want?". Lomax owned the guitar for four years before deciding himself to sell the guitar to acclaimed American guitarist, Todd Rundgren for $500.
Upon acquiring the instrument, Rundgren renamed the guitar "Sunny" and took it with him on most of his subsequent tours. When he first received it from Lomax, the guitar had been worn down and beaten up from years of playing and abuse. Thus shortly after purchasing it, Rundgren had it custom restored to its former glory. Ultimately when the cost of insuring the guitar increased to a level where it was deemed impracticable to take out on tour, Rundgren had several copies of the instrument made, and put the original away in storage.
In 2000, Rundgren sold the guitar for at a Sotheby's auction for $150,000, with ten percent of the proceeds going to Eric Clapton's Crossroads Antigua Rehabilitation Center. It was later re-sold to a private unknown collector in for a staggering $500,00. It was last publicly available for viewing at the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco.
Armed with "The Fool" SG, Eric Clapton innovated what is now known today as "The Woman Tone". Clapton himself has described "The Woman Tone" as, "a sweet sound… more like the human voice than the guitar." Essentially, "The Woman Tone" is the sound of a Gibson SG, plugged into a Marshall amplifier with the tone setting on the guitar turned almost all the way down and the volume full up.
One of the mysteries surrounding the guitar is exactly what year the guitar was manufactured. It is sometimes thought that the guitar is a 1961, however with six screws in the pick guard, this rules this out as a possibility (six screwed pick guards had only begun to be attached to SGs beginning in 1964). Therefore it is thought that the guitar is either a 1964 or a 1965. It is impossible to know the precise date due to the fact that when the guitar was being painted, the serial number was sanded off.
Note: Clapton describes the guitar in the above passage as a Gibson Les Paul, but it is obviously and most assuredly an SG
"The Fool's" work was not limited to just Eric's guitar. The collective had originally been contacted by Cream's (Eric Clapton's band at the time) manager, Robert Stigwood about doing an eye-catching psychedelic design on the instruments of all the group members. Thus, in 1967, when Cream left the U.K. for a tour of the United States, all three members, bassist Jack Bruce, drummer Ginger Baker, and Clapton, were all decked out in the latest in style of the 1960's.
The guitar was painted with oil-based enamel paint. Marijike Koger described the overall theme of the design as, "good versus evil, heaven versus hell, and the power of music in the universe to rise above it all as a force of good." The crazy hair on the head of the cherub, the centerpiece of the artwork, was inspired by Clapton's own hairdo at the time.
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| Simon Posthuma & Marijike Koger: "The Fool" |
After Cream broke up in 1968, Clapton decided to part ways with the Gibson SG, giving it to guitarist Jackie Lomax after working with him on a recording session for the song, "Is That What You Want?". Lomax owned the guitar for four years before deciding himself to sell the guitar to acclaimed American guitarist, Todd Rundgren for $500.
Upon acquiring the instrument, Rundgren renamed the guitar "Sunny" and took it with him on most of his subsequent tours. When he first received it from Lomax, the guitar had been worn down and beaten up from years of playing and abuse. Thus shortly after purchasing it, Rundgren had it custom restored to its former glory. Ultimately when the cost of insuring the guitar increased to a level where it was deemed impracticable to take out on tour, Rundgren had several copies of the instrument made, and put the original away in storage.
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| Todd Rundgren with "The Fool" |
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