A HOLLOW-BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR, SUPER CHET 7690

Chet Atkins presented this guitar to Mark Knopfler to thank him for travelling to Nashville in September 1984 to play on his 1985 album Stay Tuned. The Super Chet soon featured in publicity photos for the Brothers In Arms Tour, shot in New York by Deborah Feingold in 1985. Seen holding the guitar in a group shot of the band, guitarist Jack Sonni also strapped on the Super Chet for a full-page portrait published in the Brothers In Arms Tour programme. In 1987, Knopfler produced American singer songwriter Willy DeVille’s 1987 album Miracle and played this Super Chet 7690 on the song 'Heart and Soul'. Notably, Chet Atkins was also credited as a session guitarist on the track. See footnote to previous lot.

GRETSCH
The Gretsch company was founded in Brooklyn, New York, in 1883 by 27-year-old German immigrant Friedrich Gretsch. Originally launched as a musical instrument shop for the manufacture of percussion instruments, the company was making ukuleles and banjos by 1910 and in 1933 debuted a line of archtop guitars. By the 1950s Gretsch had shifted their concentration to electric guitars and it is within this realm where Gretsch instruments made a lasting impression in the market. With a crowded field of manufacturers producing electric guitars, Gretsch set itself apart by first concentrating on hollow-body and semi-hollowbody electric guitars. They embraced colour schemes and eye-catching ornamentation not found on Gibsons, Fenders or Rickenbackers. The endorsement by guitarist Chet Atkins and subsequent Chet Atkins models drew a loyal following, as did artists who performed on Gretsch hollow-bodies like Stephen Stills and Neil Young. The model 6120 and similar Gretsch hollow-bodies became a mainstay for guitarists of the early British Invasion. George Harrison, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Jerry Marsden, Brian Jones and Pete Townshend can all be seen performing on Gretsch electrics.