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Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee with his family at the age of 13. In 1954, at the age of 19, Elvis began his legendary music career at Sun Records alongside producer Sam Phillips. Before becoming “The King of Rock & Roll”, Elvis found himself in a precarious position between two popular genres of music, making it somewhat difficult for his tunes to find radio air time. On the one hand, country music stations thought he sounded too much like a black artist, while on the other, R&B hosts thought he sounded too much like a hillbilly, a blend of genres which would later be known as “rockabilly”. By 1955, Presley’s contract was acquired by RCA Victor, releasing the single “Heartbreak Hotel” in 1956, and selling 10 million copies within a year. His explosion in popularity wasn’t without controversy however. In June of 1956, he made his second appearance on the “Milton Berle Show”, launching into a slow, grinding version of “Hound Dog”, accentuated by his controversial bodily movements. A “New York Times” critic later wrote of the shocking performance:
“Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. ... His phrasing, if it can be called that, consists of the stereotyped variations that go with a beginner’s aria in a bathtub. ... His one specialty is an accented movement of the body ... primarily identified with the repertoire of the blond bombshells of the burlesque runway.”
Elvis Presley went on to release 41 studio albums, with 234.1 million units confirmed sold, he was outsold only by The Beatles. He also continues to
hold the records for most songs charting in Billboard’s Top 40 and Top 100, as well as either tying with Madonna or coming a close second in number-one hits, depending on how the metric is measured. He is credited with 101 gold albums, 57 platinum albums, and 25 multi-platinum albums, making him one of the most successful musicians of all time. Presley starred in a total of 33 films, most of them being filmed during the 1960s and occupying much of his time during the decade. Nine of these films were directed by Academy Award winning director, Norman Taurog, who was gifted the guitar offered here by Presley, and was considered a life-long friend by The King. While Presley’s films were generally lambasted by critics, they were virtually all profitable and also contributed to the sales of his soundtrack albums. Unhappy with the trajectory of both his music and film career, Elvis burst back into the spotlight in 1968 with a televised live performance, and followed by a live tour in 1970. It was around this time that the guitar offered here likely entered the scene.
Presley began his career playing on Martin guitars, strumming several different models through the 1950s. Through the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Elvis mostly played Gibson guitars, but upon his return from his Hollywood film hiatus and a return to full scale touring, he made the switch back to Martin guitars where it all began.
The Martin D-35 offered was manufactured in 1972 and was likely acquired
by Presley not long after. From 1975 to September of 1976, he is seen almost exclusively playing a Gibson Dove Custom. In October of 1976, we first see
him return to the stage with a Martin in his hands in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photographic evidence from shows performed through the end of 1976, including his famous run in Las Vegas from 2-12 December, show that the guitar was a Martin D-35 just like the one offered here. The website that belonged to the longtime touring guitarist for Presley, Scotty Moore, agrees that it was a D-35 he was playing in Las Vegas in late 1976, not a D-28 as often stated. Another Martin D-35 (serial # 377704), manufactured in 1976, is also attributed to Elvis and was previously sold publicly in 2009 with an auction estimate of $150,000-200,000. Serial #377704 Martin D-35 shows some very distinct damage due to the strap breaking during and being dropped during
a show on 14 February 1977 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Many sources claim that the broken D-35 was immediately replaced with another exact model, however, photographic evidence from the following day at a show in Orlando, Florida shows The King playing a Martin D-28, possibly serial #296978, which sold at auction in 2021 for $187,500. Another Martin D-28 (serial #361817) is attributed as gifted by Presley to his bodyguard, Sam Thompson, and is often cited as
the replacement for the broken D-35 as well as the guitar played by The King
in the final shows before his death in 1977. The writer believes that the Martin D-35 #294474 offered here was played by
Elvis during his tour dates at the end of 1976 before
being replaced by D-35 #377704 at the start of his
1977 tour. #377704 was subsequently broken on 14 February 1977 and replaced with a D-28 (possibly serial #361827 or #296978) for his show on 15 February 1977 as shown in photographs.
This specific Martin D-35 shows the standard
markings and features of the model in 1972,
including the easily identifiable three-piece
rosewood back, which can be seen through the
sound hole in many of Presley’s concert photos. It
features a blonde solid spruce top, solid mahogany
neck with 20-fret ebony fingerboard, rosewood
sides and three-piece back, ebony bridge, white
binding, and a black pick guard. The example offered here is nearly identical
to D-35 #377704 which Presley damaged in February of 1977. The guitar is attractively cased in a large shadowbox along with three photos of Elvis, the center photo appearing to be of him playing a D-35 at one of his Las Vegas shows in December 1976. The writer believes the guitar in that photo, as well as other photos from those shows, is the guitar offered here. Included is a copy of a letter signed by Johnathan Taurog, son of the previously mentioned director, Norman Taurog, stating that this D-35, #294474, was gifted to his father by Presley. The previously mentioned Martin D-28 #296978 also included
a letter signed by Johnathan Taurog stating it was a gift from Presley to his father. Also included with the lot is a 2001 dated certificate of authenticity from Unique Images of Henderson, Nevada which lists the guitar by serial number and describes it as “played extensively by Elvis during his 1975 tours”. The writer believes the date in
this final statement was an error and intended to be “1976” as no photographic evidence of Presley playing a Martin D-35 on his
1975 tour could be found.
CONDITION: The guitar itself is fine showing mild wear from
stage use and some scattered minor cracking of the wood due
to drying. The pick guard shows some mild curling as is typical of
Martin guitars of this era. It has not been removed from the case to
inspect the back. The case is very fine with minimal handling/storage
wear. This is an incredible opportunity to add an attractively displayed guitar to your collection that is documented as having been played on stage by the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley!
Provenance: Elvis Presley; Norman Taurog, Johnathan Taurog, Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 15,000 - 25,000
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