A Les Paul guitar stolen from The Rolling Stones in the 1970s has been found in a collection recently given to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, which was owned by former Stones guitarist Mick Taylor at the time of the burglary, was found in the collection of 500 guitars recently acquired by the museum. Until now, it was thought to be long gone, after it was stolen during the Stones’ sessions for their 1972 album ‘Exile On Main St.’ at the Villa Nellcôte mansion on the French Riviera.
The burglary was said to have been carried out by local drug dealers Keith Richards owed money to. Nine guitars in all were stolen, along with Bill Wyman’s bass and Bobby Keys’ saxophone.
Taylor bought the guitar from Richards in 1967. It was played by Taylor at the band’s infamous Altamont Free Concert set in 1969 and by Richards during their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964. Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton are among those to have borrowed and played the guitar in the past, too.
Taylor’s business manager, Marlies Damming, confirmed to Page Six that the 1959 Les Paul is among the collection of instruments obtained by the museum, with the guitar’s ‘flaming’ body pattern making clear that it’s the one.
Dramming explained: “There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared. The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls is that they are renowned for their flaming, which is unique, like a fingerprint.”
Another unidentified source told the outlet: “Taylor says he never received compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection.”
The museum first announced a “landmark gift of more than 500 of the finest guitars from the golden age of American guitarmaking” back in May, and even made reference to Taylor’s guitar at the time, noting that the collection included a “1959 sunburst Les Paul guitar used by Keith Richards during The Rolling Stones’ first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.”
Businessman Dirk Ziff donated the collection of guitars, with instruments belonging to names including Roy Rogers and Mississippi John Hurt.
In other Rolling Stones news, it was reported last month that the rock legends are working on a new album and planning to tour again. The Sun claimed that Richards, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and Steve Jordan had been working on a follow-up to 2023’s ‘Hackney Diamonds‘ since April.
