{"product_id":"gibson-hummingbird-owned-and-played-by-bob-neuwirth-flat-top-acoustic-guitar-1961-13198","title":"Gibson Hummingbird Owned and Played by Bob Neuwirth Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1961)","description":"Gibson Hummingbird Owned and Played by Bob Neuwirth Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1961), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 30697, sunburst top, dark cherry back and sides finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, period black hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003ciframe width=\"678\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5VMWACzDI0o\" title='Bob Neuwirth at the Gaslight Cafe - \"Rock Salt and Nails\"' frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen\u003e\u003c\/iframe\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ehttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5VMWACzDI0o.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis heavily worn, well-traveled 1961 Gibson Hummingbird was a personal instrument for decades of Bob Neuwirth; folk singer, songwriter, record producer and visual artist probably best remembered as a longtime associate of Bob Dylan. This guitar was gifted to Neuwirth when new by Betty Stoneman, a figure in the Boston folk music scene. He had became engrossed in the folk revival after dropping out of Tufts University, briefly relocating to Paris, taking up banjo and harmonica before returning to Cambridge. That same year he met then-unknown fellow traveler Bob Dylan at the inaugural Indian Neck Folk Festival in Branford, Connecticut. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe soon became Dylan's friend and associate, a central figure in the circle that coalesced around Dylan as his fame grew. When Dylan held court in the early 1960s at the Greenwich Village Kettle of Fish Bar, Neuwirth was there. Billed as \"road manager\" Neuwirth accompanied Dylan on his 1965 UK tour and to the infamous '65 Newport Folk Festival where Dylan scandalized the folk world by \"going electric\". Neuwirth's legs, hand and the tail of his striped shirt are the background figure behind Dylan in Daniel Kramer's \"Highway 61 Revisited\" LP cover photo.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNeuwirth features prominently in D. A. Pennebaker's documentary of the '65 tour \"Don't Look Back\" (1967). Author Colin Irwin described him in this period: \"Painter, road manager, sidekick, confidante, henchman, poet, underground cult hero, womanizer, party organizer, self-appointed king of cool and baiter-in-chief of Baez, Donovan, and any other unfortunate who wound up in the line of fire of his sledgehammer jibes\". Neuwirth returned to Dylan's orbit in 1975, helping assemble the sprawling Rolling Thunder Revue tour and appearing in Dylan's subsequent 1978 self-referential road fantasy film \"Renaldo and Clara\". \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eApart from the inevitable Dylan references, Neuwirth was respected as an artist, singer, songwriter and provocateur in his own right. He became a close confidant of Janis Joplin, co-writing \"Mercedes Benz\" and introducing her to \"Me And Bobby McGee\" which led to a friendship with songwriter Kris Kristofferson. Despite averring \"I only know one chord\" he recorded five solo LPs over the decades and a stunning collaboration with John Cale \"Last Day On Earth\" in 1994. Neuwirth never pursued fame for its own sake and rarely did anything to promote these projects. \"Being famous is a full-time job\" he said. \"You can get so much more done being anonymous\". \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNeuwirth passed away in 2022. Reflecting on his longtime friend in \"Chronicles, Volume One\" Bob Dylan wrote: \"Right from the start you could tell that Neuwirth had a taste for provocation and that nothing was going to restrict his freedom. He was in a mad revolt against something. You had to brace yourself when you talked to him. Later we'd become pretty tight and travel around together. Like Kerouac had immortalized Neal Cassady in On the Road, somebody should have immortalized Neuwirth. If ever there was a renaissance man leaping in and out of things, he would have to be it\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis fancy decorated cherry sunburst flat top was part of Neuwirth's journey through the 1960s, '70s and beyond; the guitar was in his possession from 1961 until the end of his life and shows many scars from these adventures. The Hummingbird was a groundbreaking design for Gibson, opening up a new chapter in the company's flat-top history. The model was introduced in late 1960 as Gibson's first \"square-shoulder\" Jumbo; this one dates to the initial production year 1961, one of 595 shipped. Adopting Martin's popular Dreadnought shape this new Gibson was billed as \"One of the finest ever made for voice accompaniment\" and timed perfectly for the acoustic folk-era boom, quickly becoming a popular model. Neuwirth would have been one of the lucky first wave of folk singers to acquire one. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe multi-bound top is finished in a beautiful subtly shaded darker cherry sunburst. The mahogany neck, sides and back have a deep cherry stain. A distinctive \"hummingbird in flight\" pattern is engraved on the large tortoise celluloid pickguard and filled with yellow toner creating a unique look. The mahogany neck has a 25 1\/4 scale, longer than most Gibson flat tops, with a bound double parallelogram inlaid rosewood fingerboard. The unbound headstock is ornamented with the classic \"crown\" motif in pearl under the \"Gibson\" logo. The rosewood bridge has the adjustable ceramic saddle construction Gibson used at the time. Over many decades this Hummingbird has \"took a likkin' and kept on tikkin\" as the old ad went and is still a wonderful sounding guitar.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall length is 41 in. (104.1 cm.), 15 13\/16 in. (40.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 15\/16 in. (12.5 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1\/4 in. (641 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5\/8 in. (41 mm.). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis veteran Hummingbird shows decades of hard use but still sings with a lovely rich voice; one can only wonder at the number and variety of songs that have passed through the soundhole. It shows playing wear just about everywhere especially on the back on the neck which is heavily scarred, worn to the wood from extensive capo use. The all-original finish shows fine checking with dings, dents and some pick scratches to the top, and a number of deeper wear spots and repairs as evidence of long and likely fairly cavalier treatment as a gigging guitar. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere is a spot of heavy wear along the lower edge of the top at the bottom edge of the lower bass bout that can already be seen in the 1967 video of Bob Neuwirth performing \"Rock Salt and Nails\" at the Gaslight Cafe in Greenwich Village. This film shows a small sticker on the upper bout; slight marks from that remain. There is a small punch hole in the top on the upper bass bout that looks like a case lid impact; this goes fully through to the inside. The upper side at the turn of the lower bout has a large bash mark, with some displaced wood that was sealed up but not leveled or finished over. The lower perimeter of the top has a couple of ancient thin grain splits off the bottom edge of the pickguard. The back has several bash spots with some light ancillary cracks and glue\/fill marks on its upper half. These wear marks and repairs are all clearly visible but not ongoing structural issues. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe original ceramic-saddle adjustable bridge is intact and functional; the upper wing has lifted a bit from the top. Internally the maple bridgeplate is original but the rear legs of the main X-brace and rear tone bars have been rather neatly scalloped, something not uncommon in the 1960s and '70s. The top exhibits some bulging behind the bridge but remains fully solid. A gold Gibson strap button was added to the heel, the filled hole from another can be seen on the upper bout above the neck heel. The original Kluson tuners were replaced with chrome Schallers long ago, another common 1970s modification. The frets appear to be the original wire; they and the fingerboard show noticeable wear but still play well; the nut has been shimmed up. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is one of those guitars where the long wear and numerous scars are simply part of its 6-decade-long story. The Hummingbird appears to have been Neuwirth's primary performing and writing instrument early on and obviously has had many adventures over time. It does not show up in performance clips from the Rolling Thunder Revue, but appears to have been along for the ride based on a some behind the scenes footage. It is likely many other players have had hands on this Gibson over the decades, possibly including Mr. Dylan himself. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe guitar lives in a very well-worn 1960s Victoria Luggage hardshell case, the edges of which were reinforced with duct tape long ago. There are remnants of an epic number of travel tags still tied to the handle; and it carries some older stickers and a \"HB\" designation on a piece of duct tape on the side. In the case pocket are some spare bridgepins, an old capo, a vintage chromatic pitchpipe, a thin leather strap and most important, a rattlesnake tail for good mojo. The places this guitar and case have been and the people encountered would likely fill a book! Overall Very Good Condition.","brand":"Gibson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853683347596,"sku":"13198","price":16000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_7c3f5762-ca7b-4136-9a55-570f352f1724.jpg?v=1774342872","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/gibson-hummingbird-owned-and-played-by-bob-neuwirth-flat-top-acoustic-guitar-1961-13198","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}