For this reason, John Lennon’s first Rickenbacker 325 is nicknamed “Hamburg”. Lennon apparently took a liking to the guitar (the fact that it was American-made likely added to this appeal) and went to purchase one from Steinway’s music store in Hamburg shortly after. The story goes that Lennon and the Beatles had gone to see the jazz artist Toots Thielemans perform while on tour through Hamburg, Germany in 1960, and Toots was playing a Rickenbacker. It was the one that he played during the Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show on February 9th, 1964, which marked the first time that many Americans had heard of the Beatles, and thus sparked the Beatlemania phenomenon across the country.
This is his most famous guitar as it was the one he played during the Beatles’ initial rise to fame.
The first Rickenbacker 325 that John Lennon owned was a 1958 Capri model, with a natural finish and a serial number “V81”. 1958 Rickenbacker 325, “Hamburg” John Lennon during the Beatles first Ed Sullivan Show appearance, February 9th, 1964.
Read on to learn about all of John Lennnon’s Rickenbacker guitars. He did play other guitars as well, but he always went back to his trusty Rickenbackers. John Lennon played four different Rickenbacker 325s over the course of his career with the Beatles. The instrument features a hollow body, a C-shaped sound hole (though not Lennon’s, for reasons you’ll soon find out), and an exceptionally short scale that measures only 20 3⁄ 4 inches. He was personally responsible for many of the most popular designs at Rickenbacker, including the 325 model that was used by Lennon.
The Rickenbacker 325 was designed by Roger Rossmeisl, who worked at Rickenbacker for eight years prior to being hired by Fender. Some speculate that Rickenbacker would not have become such a successful guitar company without John Lennon and the Beatles While the company had been around since 1931, and are actually credited with being the first company to manufacture an electric guitar, it wasn’t until the Beatles started playing and them and subsequently rose to international fame that the Rickenbacker brand truly took off. In addition to all these things, John Lennon (and later Paul and George) was also known for his affinity towards the Rickenbacker 325 guitar. John Lennon of The Beatles was a renowned figure for many reasons, from songwriting to activism and of course his notorious relationship with Yoko Ono. John is holding his 1958 Rickenbacker 325. John Lennon and Paul McCartney on the set of The Ed Sullivan Show in NYC in 1964.
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