NEED TO KNOW
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has responded to claims from Mick Taylor that his guitar, which was part of an exhibition in 2019, was stolen from him
The museum told PEOPLE that “this guitar has a long and well-documented history of ownership”
Keith Richards played the storied 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar when the Rolling Stones made their debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964
Mick Taylor can’t get no satisfaction.
The former Rolling Stones guitarist and the Metropolitan Museum of Art disagree on the rightful ownership of a 1959 Gibson Les Paul guitar that was once played by Taylor, 76, along with his former bandmate, Keith Richards.
Taylor had last seen the guitar in 1971 when recording Exile on Main Street with the band at Richards’ villa in the South of France. The guitar, known as the “Keithburst,” named after its famed owner, was believed to be one of several guitars stolen at the time by burglars, The Times reported.
Over 50 years later, the guitar has resurfaced — but the Met denies Taylor ever owned it.
Paul Natkin/Getty
Mick Taylor in Chicago in September 1987
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Museum spokesperson Ann Bailis told PEOPLE in a statement: “This guitar has a long and well-documented history of ownership.”
The instrument was donated to the museum by guitar collector and billionaire Dirk Ziff in 2019. The guitar was part of Ziff’s “landmark gift of more than 500 of the finest guitars from the golden age of American guitar making” for the Met’s exhibition, Play it Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll.
“These guitars are examples of outstanding artistry and craftsmanship as well as visually powerful tools of expression and distinction,” the Museum said at the time when announcing the donation.
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Taylor recognized the unique features of the guitar, such as its starburst patterns, and claimed it is his. “There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared,” business manager and partner, Marlies Damming, told the New York Post‘s Page Six.
“The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls [from the late 1950s], is that they are renowned for their flaming … which is unique, like a fingerprint.”
PEOPLE reached out to Damming directly and did not receive an immediate response.
Per the Associated Press, Taylor claimed that Richards, 81, gave him the guitar in 1967. Taylor would replace former Rolling Stones member Brian Jones, who died in 1969, making his debut with the band in Hyde Park.
Richards previously played the guitar in 1964 when the Stones made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, a performance which “ignited interest in this legendary model,” per the Met when announcing the donation six years ago.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor and Charlie Watts in Los Angeles in May 2013
Richards owned it until 1971, when the late record producer and manager Adrian Miller, who represented artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, acquired it. The instrument was then passed on several times throughout the years.
Christie’s put the guitar up for auction in 2004 and failed to sell it. It was purchased by Ziff in 2016, who donated it to the Met Museum three years later.
Read the original article on People
