Slide Like Skydog

From the desk of Ned P. Rauch

Want to sound like Duane Allman? All you have to do is come up with a few hundred thousand bucks or so and buy his guitar, the goldtop pictured at right. A guy named Mike Boulware is selling it (he even posted an ad on Craigslist, where I found it) for an unspecified price. Les Pauls from 1959 regularly sell for $150,000 and up. This one's a '57, but it makes up for its non-'59-ness by having been owned by the guy Rolling Stone named the second best guitar player of all time, behind only Hendrix. This is the guitar he played while recording "Layla," with Eric Clapton (ranked No. 4 on Rolling Stone's list, between BB King and Robert Johnson). Mr. Boulware has a lot of good information on his site about the guitar and about the Allman Bros. scene in general. Like this: When the guitar resurfaced, it was shown to various members of the band for verification purposes. Gregg, though, asked not to see it, as he said it'd be too painful. He cries every day thinking about his brother, who died in 1971. Anyway, this guitar could be yours.

In 1999, Clapton auctioned off most of his guitars to raise money for his rehab center in Antigua. The big prize was "Brownie," the Strat he used during the Layla sessions. It sold for $450,000. Wouldn't it be something if the guy who bought Brownie also bought Duane's guitar, therefore reuniting a pair of guitars that made one of the best records of all time? Yes, that would be something. I think the guy should do it, then give it to the Experience Music Project, in Seattle, where Brownie's on display now.

(Photo of Allman's Les Paul lifted from Boulware's Web site without permission. I don't think he'll mind the free advertising.)