This is the guitar from She Loves You. Many remember it as the “Ed Sullivan Gent”, one of the most recognisable icons of the Beatlemania era.
George bought his first Country Gentleman in May 1963 from Sound City in London as an upgrade to his old Duo Jet, and he used it constantly during the most intense phase of the early tours. A few months later, while that first guitar was in for repairs, a second Country Gent arrived. It was virtually identical, but with a few factory updates, including a new flip up mute system fitted on either side of the vibrato. It is a subtle detail, but it makes the two guitars easy to tell apart in photos.
For years it was widely accepted that the Gretsch destroyed in the 2 December 1965 road accident was the first one. The story is well known: the day before the start of their British tour, near Glasgow, the guitar fell from the band’s car and was damaged beyond repair. Reduced to pieces, it was left on the roadside, although a few parts were salvaged for use on other instruments.
The tale has taken on a legendary tone, but the recent recovery of Paul’s long lost Hofner has cast doubt on the whole thing. The recovered bass appears to carry a chrome tuning machine salvaged from that very accident, and it matches the hardware of George’s Gretsch Tennessean, not the Country Gentleman, which had gold tuners. Could it be that both guitars share the same fate?
What remains certain is that the Country Gent is one of Harrison’s most iconic guitars, not only for its role in the early stages of the Beatles’ career but also for its lasting presence in the band’s visual history.
The guitar in our photos is a Gretsch 6122 62 Country Classic II, built to Harrison specs, a pre Fender era reissue that recreates many of the aesthetic and construction details of George’s original Country Gentleman. You can also spot a 1971 Gretsch 6122 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman in our video for Help!.
