A recently resurfaced Gibson TV interview with Norman Harris, the owner of the world-famous vintage guitar store, Norman’s Rare Guitars, has added weight and context to the mystery surrounding one of the most famous Beatles electric guitars.
Recent months have seen new developments in Beatles gear, from the rediscovery of Paul McCartney's Höfner violin bass to the “unprecedented sale” of John Lennon's 12-string Framus acoustic as featured on Help!
Harris’ “What if?” moment, though, adds intrigue on one of the most enduring Beatles mysteries, with George Harrison at its center.
Harris has become so famous for acquiring rare instruments that he’s now the subject of a Netflix documentary and today counts the gear-obsessed Joe Bonamassa as a regular customer.
Asked by Gibson TV if he’s regretted letting a guitar slip through his fingers in the past, Harris offers one story from his very early days in the business.
“The first really big star that I ever dealt with was George Harrison,” he begins. “He had asked me, when he was looking for sunburst Les Pauls, ‘You know my Gretsch Country Gentleman?’ – probably the most famous guitar of all time – ‘I'm thinking maybe I'll trade you that or something.’
Harris admits to “not thinking” in the heat of the moment. “I'm looking at George and I said, ‘Who's going to believe that I've got George's guitar?’ They're going to say, ‘Yeah, and you’ve got Napoleon’s suit also,’" he says. "I just figured people would call me a liar, so I didn't take that guitar.”
He adds that the hollowbody Gretsch “may be the most valuable guitar" in history.
Harris's story adds another level of intrigue to the enduring question about Harrison's second Country Gentleman. As previously reported by GP, George gave his first Country Gent, a 1962 model, to Brian O’Hara, lead guitarist for the Fourmost — a Liverpool act handled by Beatles manager Brian Epstein — in 1965. His second Country Gent, a 1963 model acquired in '63, supposedly met its demise on the road in 1965 when it fell out of the trunk of the Beatles' limousine and was run over by a truck.
However, a tuner salvaged from the guitar's remains was used soon after to repair Paul McCartney's first Hofner bass, which was rediscovered in late 2023 or early 2024. The tuner isn't from a Country Gent, however — it's from a Gretsch Tennessean. Which begs the question: Did George's Tennessean meet its end on the road, and Is his second Country Gent still around. If so, is it the guitar he attempted to sell to Harris — whose store opened in 1975? More importantly, where is that guitar today?
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