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| John Lennon's uncle Charlie with Tony Saks and the Beatles guitar |
Some of you might remember Tony Saks. Maybe you were one of his students that took
guitar lessons from him in the 1960’s or 1970’s in Virginia Beach, Virginia at “Tony
Sak’s Guitarland.” Or maybe you met this zany character at a
Beatles convention in the 1970’s or early 1980’s. You might have paid Tony a few bucks and
got a Polaroid taken holding his “Beatles guitar.” Many people remember Tony Saks as being a
friendly, eccentric man who loved the Beatles and would talk about them to
anyone who was willing to listen.
On February 9, 1964,
back at the Plaza Hotel after the Beatles first performance on the Ed Sullivan
Show, a California Rickenbacker guitar dealer named F.C. Hall brought out some guitars to show
the Beatles (in hopes of them purchasing them). His friend, Tony Saks went along with him
to help demonstrate the new line of guitars.
At the time, Tony was in his 50’s, but he automatically liked the four
guys from Liverpool and became a Beatles fan.
One of the guitars the Beatles had tried was a 1964 Fireglo Rickenbacker
model 365. The decided against getting
the guitar, but a wise Tony Saks asked Mr. Hall if he could purchase it since
the Beatles did not want it.
Tony had a plan for this guitar that had been played by the
Beatles (Tony said that all four Beatles played this guitar, but really I do
not see why Ringo would have played it).
Tony was going to get all four of the Beatles to autograph the guitar.
Tony is a persuasive man and he got in touch with Derek
Taylor and made a deal to get the autograph on September 13, 1964 at the
Holiday Inn in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tony had a great idea as to how he was going to seal the Beatles famous
signatures onto the guitar. He came
armed with gold tape that is typically used for adding a name on a Bible
cover. Derek Taylor tells what
happened next in his impossible to own book, Fifty Years Adrift
'He brought with him his wife, a guitar, some gold leaf and a request/instruction for me to get the guitar signed by all four Beatles. They were to write with a hard pen through the strips of gold leaf, so that he would have a guitar signed in gold. Desperate to do right by Tony Saks, a man of incredible energy and persuasiveness, I somehow managed to wake each of them... and after handing each of them an Orange Juice, handed them a pen and gently urged them to sign, through the strip of gold leaf, their famous golden names. I had many difficult duties, some of them more bizarre than others; this however was one of the easiest because it was so outrageous. In the depths of early awakening, they dutifully gripped the ballpoint pen and Tony Saks got his 'gold guitar'.
Guitar
students from as early as 1965 vividly recall seeing the signed guitar each
week during their lessons. Tony soon
started to consider himself to be the “World’s Oldest Beatles fan.” He would
take his signed Beatles guitar, Beatles Remco dolls and photos of his wife with
the Beatles with him to record shows and Beatle conventions and talk to fellow
fans. He would let fans hold the guitar
and pose for a photo (for a small fee of course) and he gave out postcards of
the guitar. Tony was proud to be a
Beatles fan and he was proud of that guitar.
In 1984,
when Sotherby’s of New York had their first huge Beatles auction, and auctioned
of many of John Lennon’s belongings, including his psychedelic Rolls Royce,
Tony was there to see the action and be with the fans. As seen in a video from the 1982 Beatlefest
in Los Angeles, Tony had a passion for
the Beatles and would get emotional when talking about John.
Tony Saks
passed away in 1987, leaving the famed Beatles guitar in his will to his
daughter. She hung onto the guitar for
10 years and then through Bonham’s auction house in 1997, auctioned it off for
an unknown amount. No one is quite
sure where the guitar is today, but many speculate that it was bought by a
collector in Japan and is either in a museum in Japan or in a private
collection.
There has
been some speculation that the autograph on the guitar is not genuinely signed
by the Beatles, but was signed by Neil Aspinall. Tony was not present when the autographs
were signed, as he gave the guitar over to Derek Taylor, who went to the Beatle
rooms and had them sign it. It is
possible that none of the Beatles themselves signed that guitar and it is Neil’s
work on the guitar instead. I am sure
it is much more difficult to authenticate a golden signed guitar than it is a piece
of paper, and since the exact whereabouts of the guitar are currently unknown,
we will not know the truth. I am
certain that Tony believed that the guitar was signed by the four Beatles and
that he had the one and only guitar signed by the four Beatles. (There was a guitar signed by three of the
Beatles, and one signed by the Beatles and other British groups, but as far as
history knows Tony’s guitar was the only one in existence that had the signatures
of just the four Beatles).
For the
sake of Tony’s memory I really hope Neil didn’t sign it and it is a true signed
guitar by John, Paul, George and Ringo.
Nice story. I recall there was a guitar signed by Paul, George and Ritchie around the time of the Anthology, sold for charity. A Rickenbacker I think.
ReplyDeleteI knew Tony Saks. I took guitar lessons from him in the 60's. As I recall, his Norfolk studio where I took my lessons had pictures of Tony and the Fab Four together all over his wall. Also, he had a guitar case with three guitars personally autographed by them. I was deeply saddened when he passed in 1987. A truly likeable guy who loved teaching and he was proud of knowing the Beatles.
DeleteI took group guitar lessons in the 60s I was the only girl in the class. I believe I was 15. I have a picture of the group and Tony. It was his Norfolk Studio and he proudly displayed the guitar signed by the Beatles.
DeleteWho's John's uncle and who's Tony in this pic?
ReplyDeleteJohn's uncle Charlie is the one holding the guitar and Tony is the man with the "world's oldest Beatle maniac" shirt on.
DeleteI met Charles Lennon in 1986.
DeleteA lovely fella.
He showed me photos from his wallet and told me how bad John's father was.i also have a pic holding the Tony Saks guitar
I remember Tony Saks guitarland from 1973 when I was on the Navy Bsnd, his wife Grace?, had a big yellow Buick any pimp would die for. Tony would gey these crapola guitars and fix them up to play better than any off the shelf Gibson or Fender. He taught me a lot about setting up guitars; they say the stars get special instruments; and that Beatles' guitar was. Just like the Impala Richard Petty gets isn't the same one you would get.
ReplyDeleteI took lessons from Tony and have never forgotten the Beatle Guitar story. Tony also took my Spiegle catalog guitar and made it an awesome playin guitar. The man was a whiz.
ReplyDeleteI took lessons from Tony in 1977. I remember the guitar very well and always wondered about it over the years. Tony also made my Spiegle catalog SG copy an awesome guitar. He was a whiz.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 11 in 1959 my father took me to Tony Saks guitar studio in downtown Norfolk VA for lessons. My dad owned a bar down the street and knew him. I had a hard time on the ‘big guitar’ and Tony said listen to this and played a record... Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny... I liked it and he brought out a steel guitar.... my lessons began.
ReplyDeleteI was 13 in '58 when my mom bought guitar lessons for me from Tony. There were 4 of us in the class; I thought I was going to learn to play like Johnny Cash,
Deletebut he made us put an accoustical guitar on our lap and play with a slide bar like "Hawaiian style".
I was never going to make it! My girlfriend worked next door at Peggy's beauty salon, which we later bought and ran after we married in '66. I went to U.of Richmond in '64, where I knew Tony's son Anthony. I loved the Beatles too, as did pretty much everybody then. I did eventually learn how to play Carl Perkins'
thumpy guitar to all the early Cash songs!
I took steel guitar lessons from tony way back in the day and played that guitar a couple of time and took every lesson he had . We went to Sandusky Ohio a few times to compete in the International Music League convention, what a blast that was as a kid . Still have the old Multi cord Jack Parker is my name .
DeleteI have the picture that is shown above is this only one? I have it call me at 4138864965 to fill me in
ReplyDeleteI took lessons from Tony from 1985-1987. I was very lucky because I was the last student of the day which was 6-7PM. After my lesson Tony and I would talk and he would tell me stories about his past such as hitchhiking across the country with a friend. They would come to a town and play on a street corner to earn enough $$ to get to the next town. I also recall that he was really excited just before Christmas of 1986 that he received a Christmas card from Yoko and Sean and he showed it to me. One of the nicest people that I've ever met. I took lessons from him until the day that I went for my lesson and his wife put a sign on the door that he had a stroke and a few days later she called me and told me that he had passed.
ReplyDeleteI took banjo lessons from tony in the late sixties at the janif shopping center and remember holding this guitar
ReplyDeleteI met Tony Saks at a Beatles convention.
ReplyDeleteI paid £5 to hold the guitar and Polaroid snap.
Which I've still got.
I think Julian Lennon's signiture in on the guitar too
Held that guitar when Tony wasn't looking when I was in a lesson with him. Still have my Harmony Rocket I bought from him with my allowance. The students in my class all got to touch it when Tony would nod off during the lesson. He once threw an chalkboard eraser and hit me in head when he caught me playing by ear and not the sheet music. Loved that man and his lively character.
ReplyDeleteWhat a blast! I took lessons from Tony and his daughter in Norfolk about 1965-1968. My brother took steel guitar lessons from him for a short time. I saw the “Beatle guitar” and wanted one badly. The man loved his music, especially Hawaiian music. Great time.
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of having my photo taken, holding this richenbacker at a Beatles convention in The Adelphi hotel Liverpool UK 1985 at a cost of £5.00
ReplyDeleteMy brother Frank and I took lessons from Mr. Saks in his Norfolk studio on Lafayette Blvd. at the intersection with Tidewater Dr. in 1968. I distinctly remember Tonys wife telling my mother that this would be his first night back to work since having ulcer surgery. It wasn’t long into our lesson that the way Tony was acting towards us beginners it was clear to me why he had ulcers to begin wth. And yes, I remember seeing all of the Beatles memorabilia. Now in 2024 I’m 67. Great memories of my younger days!
ReplyDelete