Not saying this guitar wasn't owned by Dickey Betts, but I always thought the Les Paul that Dickey painted red in the 2000s was "Goldie", which was always a '57 Gold top.
UPDATE: never mind
Les Paul Goldtop changed to Ice Tea Sunburst
[Edited on 11/21/2019 by porkchopbob]
This may have been owned by Dickey at some point, but it definitely ain't Goldie.
I know his first Gold top was refinished as a burst and given to Dan Toler, which is why it has an uneven binding.
There is a lively discussion about this guitar that disputes it being "Goldie" on Facebook:
Still, a nice guitar, but not sure the claim is accurate.
That is not Dickey's 1957 Les Paul Goldie. Goldie is now red with a distinctive pickup switch and a white pick guard.
Dickey played a ES-335 when the ABB formed. He also had a 1961 SG. In late 1969 Dickey began using a Sunburst Stratocaster. By summer of 1970 Dickey moved to his SG as his number one. He loved the Strat for rhythm guitar but it didnt cut through when the band was really cranking like Duane's Les Paul as the Strat apparently had stock single coils. In late 1970 Dickey decided to go to a Les Paul himself and I believe Joe Dan said the first one Dickey bought in Detroit but he didnt like it. Dickey acquired several Les Pauls including the Gold Top he had the red paint added to the edge of the body that he used on Fillmore East and later gave to Dan Toler.
Dickey finally found the Les Paul he wanted at a Pawn Shop in Manhattan. A 57 Goldtop that became Goldie. Dickey was pleased with the tone, the strong Humbucker pickups and it played well and stayed in tune. It was his number one for 20 years.
In 1994 Duckey became pissed at Gibson for ignoring him and switched to Paul Reed Smith. In 1995 he added a 61 ES-335 to the mix then he went to a Fender Stratocaster through the rest of the 90's.
Dickey did let the rock and roll hall of fame display Goldie. During the years it sat in Cleveland, it turned a puke green. Whene Dickey got it back, he removed all the paint then painted it red. Installed a pick guard that it didnt have before and used, I think, a belt buckle to frame the toggle switch for the pickups.
I'm sure Dickey wouldn't sell that guitar. He has about 30 guitars but Duane Betts has 3 of them in the road with him. A 2001 Les Paul Dickey Betts signature Gold Top is his number one but on certain tunes Duane Betts uses Dickey's old 1956 Fender Stratocaster hardtail and a 1961 red Gibson ES-335.
When I read the article and it said this guitar had been broken in 5 pieces. Dickey did toss a Les Paul across the stage he became angry with. Red Dog said he picked it up and put it back in Dickey's rack. But the next day when Dickey saw it he beat it into the stage so hard several times it broke into pieces. I think the Dog said when Dickey left that part of the stage the Dog put it in the dumpster. I imagine Dickey himself may not be sure that was one of several Pauls he had before he settled on Goldie.
That is NOT "the" Redtop, My youtube page has a picture of DB playing his SG while I'm playing the Redtop, While everyone refers to it as a Redtop it's actually a fire orange, Sweet musical tool. While it may have some DB history to it, it isn't "the" Redtop.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fretsmanrfs
Thank you. I was trying to find a word to describe the unique red color. Fiery orange. Did Dickey use a belt buckle or what to make the pickup toggle switch unique?
Thank you. I was trying to find a word to describe the unique red color. Fiery orange. Did Dickey use a belt buckle or what to make the pickup toggle switch unique?
We didn't get into that, He educated me with many stories, His tales were the candy and I was the kid. He went in depth with the shallack issues and why the '57, '58. & '59's were the most valuable that the toxic stuff they used back then was outlawed and how created his own desired color and had Gibson apply it and use the old original stuff to keep it as original as it could be. Gibson is allowed to have a very limited amount done and pay a fine. Every guitar had a story and he was just the sweetest Gent and loved my interest. I asked what his favorite guitar lick he wrote was and then he played it … Jaw dropping cool. He got a violin as a gift from Vassar hanging on his wall, He said it belonged to Vassar's Dad. DB then played it for 5 min's, I don't think Larry Campbell has anything to worry about just yet, but he sounded Great!
A refurbished 1958 Les Paul is going to fetch some cash, no matter whose hands it touched. The seller isn't claiming it is "goldie" (that was me wondering since he claimed it happened to be painted red at some point, but with spray paint) but you would think a southeastern-based dealer would reach out to the ABB circle (Big House or even Dickey's camp) to get confirmation of the Dickey-connection claim.
but you would think a southeastern-based dealer would reach out to the ABB circle (Big House or even Dickey's camp) to get confirmation of the Dickey-connection claim.
They did:
We reached out to the management of the rumored previous owner and were unable to verify his lineage with this guitar. So we have posted a picture of the guitar we feel this one is, played by Dickey Betts and also in this picture is Duane Allman with his then newly acquirred Hot Lanta Darkburst Les Paul. Mr Betts,
Could this be the guitar Reddog was talkiing about that Dickey trashed in the studio or rehearsal?
I think Reddog retrieved in out of the trash. Forget the rest of the story.
but you would think a southeastern-based dealer would reach out to the ABB circle (Big House or even Dickey's camp) to get confirmation of the Dickey-connection claim.
They did:
We reached out to the management of the rumored previous owner and were unable to verify his lineage with this guitar. So we have posted a picture of the guitar we feel this one is, played by Dickey Betts and also in this picture is Duane Allman with his then newly acquirred Hot Lanta Darkburst Les Paul. Mr Betts,
Well there you have it.
In the link, in the black and white pic of the band, who is that on the left playing drums?
In the link, in the black and white pic of the band, who is that on the left playing drums?
Bobby Caldwell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Caldwell_(drummer)
[Edited on 11/22/2019 by porkchopbob]
