Famed Guitar Stolen From the Rolling Stones Donated to New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Decades Later

From their humble beginnings in London during the 1960s, the Rolling Stones went on to become one of the greatest rock and roll bands in the world, thanks to selling over 250 million albums. Their legacy also included numerous Grammy Awards and a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And to make it better, their legacy isn’t over as the band continued to perform. But recently, the Rolling Stones made headlines after the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City located Keith Richards’ stolen 1959 sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard, which went missing back in 1972. 

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Back in May, the Met announced it had received a massive collection of guitars. Finding themselves in possession of 500 guitars, experts started identifying the instruments. To their excitement, they eventually came upon the missing guitar. For fans of the Rolling Stones, they will remember the famed guitar was played by Richards during the band’s historic performance on the Ed Sullivan Show back in 1964. 

Just a few years later, the Rolling Stones gathered in the studio to record their 1972 album Exile..On Main Street. While working on the album, a burglary took place. Given the band’s stardom at the time, it made sense. But the thieves ended up walking away with Richards’ guitar and even Bill Wyman’s bass, and Bobby Keys’ saxophone. 

[RELATED: On This Day in 1965, The Rolling Stones Scored Their First No. 1 in the United States with a Song Banned in Their Home Country]

The Guitar Might Not Belong To Keith Richards

Although theories surrounded the burglary, it seemed it all happened due to the musician owing money to local drug dealers. Wanting to recoup their losses, the individuals decided to steal the instruments. 

With the Met sharing the news, the business manager for Mick Taylor, Marlies Damming, claimed that the guitar belonged to Taylor, who purchased it from Richards in 1967. “There are numerous photos of Mick Taylor playing this Les Paul, as it was his main guitar until it disappeared. The interesting thing about these vintage Les Pauls is that they are renowned for their flaming, which is unique, like a fingerprint.”

Another source revealed how shocked Taylor was when the guitar ended up at the Met. “Taylor says he never received compensation for the theft and is mystified as to how his property found its way into the Met’s collection.”

While unknown what will happen to the guitar now, fans can rejoice that a piece of music history returned to the spotlight.

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for RS)