Gary Moore’s 1961 Gibson SG Junior, used on Showbiz Blues, and across his Blues for Greeny tribute album to Peter Green, is to be sold at auction.
It’s returning to the auction block just two years after it was last sold alongside a collection of some of Moore’s other beloved guitars, with this rare model being used extensively on stage and in the studio.
The instrument enjoyed its heyday under the Irish blues legend’s fingers three decades after it was built. As auctioneer Luke Hobbs details, it was played on the road by Moore and immortalized on some of his most iconic recordings and performances.
“This guitar was used for some of the press photo sessions for the BBM Tour; Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Gary Moore,” he says.
“It was also used on some of the sessions for Blues For Greeny and it does appear in the [concert film of the same name].
“And there is one track in particular that this features on, and you can see that up on YouTube, Showbiz Blues. There’s some fantastic playing there where Gary Moore is using a slide but it just sounds incredible.”
Moore, a known modder, seems to have toyed with the instrument after it made its way to him. Its original tuners – included in the lot – have been swapped out for more robust locking tuners, but the real intrigue comes with its sole pickup.
Gibson and Epiphone Junior models are famous for their use of P-90s in favor of the PAF-style humbuckers typically seen on Les Paul and SG-propers.
Yet, while it retains the original pickup, there was a spell when the guitar – as the 2022 auction lot details – was loaded with a Seymour Duncan JBJ humbucker.
Indeed, a close look at Moore’s propulsive Showbiz Blues performance shows the JBJ in place.
It’s not clear if the modification was made by Moore, or if he was the one who re-installed the original pickup – with its original cover sadly lost somewhere along the way – but what is certain is that it’s a guitar with history.
It was built to be played, and Moore played it a lot, as some minor neck and body wear signals.
The guitar’s TV Yellow finish was a staple of Gibson’s ‘50s creations, with the rumor being the colorway was devised to make the instruments look better on television. They were, however, slowly phased out by the early ‘60s, meaning Moore’s may have been one of the last to leave the factory.
Its shape also adds to its rarity. Les Paul Juniors have been mainstays in the guitar world for years, with the likes of Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong synonymous with them, but the SG Junior has enjoyed only a slither of that spotlight over the past 60 years.
Gen-Z' ‘guitarist of the people’ Yungblud has helped reverse that trend in recent weeks with the launch of his new signature guitar, what is believed to be Epiphone’s first signature SG Junior.
Moore's guitar ships in an Ibanez case, possibly for another forgotten relic in the Ibanez Musician, with the original case lost long ago. Hobbs says it adds to “the charm” of the guitar.
Moore’s 1995 Blues For Greeny album was a touching tribute to Peter Green, one of his biggest influences and someone he was proud to call a friend.
After Green quit Fleetwood Mac, the guitarist sold his near-mythical Greeny Les Paul to Gary Moore for £100, helping support Moore's career early on.
Suffice to say, he put it to good use, with his performance of Don’t Believe A Word with Thin Lizzy arguably the most famous moment he created with the instrument.
Metallica’s Kirk Hammet is the latest custodian of the guitar, and he takes the “guitar of the people” all over the world with him. He has since worked with Gibson to create multiple replicas of the guitar.
While Moore’s SG Junior isn’t quite as illustrious or well known, it tells its own story, and with ties to Moore and his hero, it will be interesting to see how much the guitar sells for.
Head to Gardiner Houlgate to learn more about the sale.
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