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The manager of former Rolling Stones<\/a> guitarist Mick Taylor<\/a> reported shock at discovering a guitar stolen from the band in 1972 was found among 500 donated to New York\u2019s Metropolitan Museum of Art in May.<\/p>\n The 1959 Gibson Les Paul in question was once owned by Keith Richards <\/a>before Taylor bought it from his future bandmate in 1967. Richards played it during the Stones\u2019 Ed Sullivan Show<\/i> appearance in 1964.<\/p>\n Taylor was seen with the instrument at many shows, including the controversial Altamont Speedway event<\/a> in 1969. It was also played by Jimmy Page<\/a> when the Led Zeppelin<\/a> icon was still a session musician, and by Eric Clapton<\/a> at a Cream<\/a> concert in 1966 after his own guitar had been stolen.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> How The Rolling Stones Got Banned from the Ed Sullivan Show<\/a><\/p>\n The guitar was among nine stolen from Villa Nellc\u00f4te, the French mansion where the Stones were recording Exile on Main St.<\/i><\/a> in 1971. Rock folklore suggests the theft was carried out by local drug dealers after Richards failed to pay them for their wares.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s partner and manager, Marlies Damming, has now claimed the Les Paul was part of a collection given to the Met by collector Dirk Ziff in May \u2013 a move the museum described<\/a> as a \u201ctrailblazing and transformative gift\u201d that made the establishment \u201cthe epicenter for the appreciation and study of the American guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n Damming said in a statement via PageSix<\/a>: \u201cThere are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n She added: \u201cThe interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls [of that era], is that they are renowned for their flaming\u2026 which is unique, like a fingerprint.\u201d<\/p>\n Guitar Player<\/em><\/a> noted that the instrument had post-purchase modifications that helped provie it was Taylor\u2019s, adding: \u201cThe Les Paul\u2019s unique woodgrain pattern acts as a fingerprint. In the case of this particular example, dark figuring near the cutaway, along the edge of the top\u2019s lower bout, is a key to its identity.\u201d<\/p>\n A source told PageSix: \u201cTaylor says he never received compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met\u2019s collection.\u201d<\/p>\n The guitar \u2013 also heard on the Stones\u2019 1970 album Get Yer Ya-Ya\u2019s Out<\/a><\/i> \u2013 would have been easy to steal from Villa Nellc\u00f4te. The security was so lapse that it\u2019s been theorized the band were watching TV in another room when the collection of instruments, including one of Bill Wyman<\/a>\u2019s basses, was liberated.<\/p>\n Given how long they’ve been together, the\u00a0Rolling Stones\u00a0have actually weathered a surprisingly small number of lineup changes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Jeff Giles<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nMick Taylor\u2019s Guitar Would Have Been Easy to Steal<\/h3>\n
Rolling Stones Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide<\/h2>\n