Rory Gallagher had a lifelong love for single-pickup student guitars, often modifying them with more powerful pickups before playing them on some of the world’s biggest stages. Among his collection, the 1963 Gretsch Corvette, serial number 60937, stands out as one of the most iconic. Ironically, it wasn’t a carefully planned purchase, but a lucky find by Rory’s brother, Donal Gallagher, during a quick trip to a pawn shop while Rory was browsing a nearby guitar store.
Donal recalls, “We were on one of our many trips to LA, and we only had a few hours that afternoon. Rory wanted to visit a guitar shop, Valley Sound, where he knew the owner. I dropped him off at the store, and Rory said, ‘I won’t be long; they might have something I’m looking for.’ Meanwhile, I stayed in the car, trying to keep the parking meter fed without getting a ticket.”
Guitar shops in LA were always amusing for Rory. “Whenever he’d walk in, the guys testing guitars would immediately recognize him and start playing one of his riffs at full volume to show off,” Donal shared. “Rory always handled it graciously, but I wasn’t in the mood for it that day, so I stayed outside.”
While waiting, Donal spotted a pawn shop nearby and decided to check if they had any spare guitar cases. “Rory had a habit of picking up guitars without proper cases, and we needed something more durable for touring,” Donal explained. “I walked in and asked about cases, but the shopkeeper suggested I buy a guitar instead. I wasn’t interested, so I played along, saying I couldn’t afford it.”
That’s when Donal noticed the Gretsch Corvette. “The guitar came with a really good case, which was what caught my eye. The shopkeeper initially wanted $500 for it, but I managed to talk him down to $150, mostly for the case.”
Donal bought the guitar and returned to the car, still waiting for Rory. When Rory came back, disappointed that he hadn’t found anything at the store, Donal hesitated but eventually said, “Rory, I found something. You might kill me for this, but the case is probably worth more than the guitar.”
Curious, Rory asked, “What is it?” When Donal told him it was a Gretsch, Rory’s interest piqued. Donal opened the trunk, revealing the guitar. Rory took one look at it, immediately closed the case, and said with a grin, “Let’s get out of here before they realize what they’ve sold you!”
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