The Return of the Guild!

Kind of a big deal at Ardmore Music Hall on Friday night when Tommy Conwell brought out the 1969 Guild X500. 

For those who aren’t up to speed on the history and legacy of this guitar to Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, here are a few articles to catch you up. 

• Rolling Stone Magazine – October 1988 – Introduction to Tommy’s autographed guitar. 
• The guitar was stolen when the Young Rumblers were on tour in 1990, but eventually recovered. 
• My mini-short documentary on when Stevie Ray Vaughan signed Tommy’s guitar and the history behind the signatures. 

Signing Tommy's Guitar

This is the third installment in Audio Rumble's Tommy Conwell rockumentary series.

It wasn't too long ago that DJ Caterina one day noticed the signature of guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan on Tommy's infamous 1969 Guild X500. The signature is also dated 1990, significant considering that SRV died in a helicopter crash in August of that year. So when did this meeting of two guitar greats occur and how did we mere mortals miss the epic event of feeling the earthquake and the pillars of heaven shake...

Anyway, I just always wanted to know that story...and I got to ask Tommy Conwell and he answered!

 

Return of Tommy's Guitar

Interview with Tommy Conwell (1990's) about the return of his stolen guitar, a 1969 Guild X500, with an autograph collection that includes engravings from Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Dickey Betts, John Lee Hooker, Steve Jones, Johnny Ramone, Chubby Checker and Chrissie Hynde.

Copy of article about the initial theft:

The Boston Globe, 7 December 1990

Rumblers Get Unlucky

Philadelphia rockers Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, who recently played the Paradise, had their equipment truck stolen later that night from their hotel. The truck was recovered, but the instruments were gone, including Conwell's one-of-a-kind Guild guitar with signatures from Stevie Ray Vaughan, Chrissie Hynde, John Lee Hooker and others.

Tommy Conwell's Guitar Heroes - Rolling Stone Magazine

"Tommy Conwell's Guitar Heroes" is an article from Rolling Stone Magazine, October 1988. Full text below:

Tommy Conwell's Guitar Heroes

         Tommy Conwell allows only a select few to take a knife to his guitar (a 1969 Guild X500). He started the practice a few years ago when he and his Philly-based band, the Young Rumblers, began opening for big names. "Whenever we opened up for someone who meant a lot to me, I'd ask them for their autograph," he says. His collections includes engravings from Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, Dickey Betts, John Lee Hooker, Steve Jones, Johnny Ramone, Chubby Checker and Chrissie Hynde.
          These days Conwell is signing a few guitars himself: his fans bring theirs to his shows. He and the Rumblers have just started touring to support their debut album, Rumble. Meanwhile, Tommy, the Rumblers and the guitar are on display in the video for the catchy "I'm Not Your Man."
          The largest signature on his Guild is Hynde's. "She had to make hers bigger than the other guys," Conwell says. "And when she was finally done carving it in with her own knife, she still wasn't satisfied. She said 'How about if I put my eye liner in there?' Her famous eye liner."