The Poorboys ’65 (Vintage Silvertone 4 pickup electric guitar)
Approximately 4 yrs ago I had a brainstorm. I thought I would try to find a guitar that was similar to the one I had in Junior High (1963). That would be a four pickup Silvertone solid body guitar. When I was 12 and the Beatles came out, I had decided that I wanted to play guitar. My sister bought me a Stella to learn on, and I saved up enough to buy my own Silvertone guitar and the Twin 12 amp.
Shortly after I bought the guitar I was approached by some guys in my class, and they asked me if I would lead sing for them. Of course I jumped at it. When they heard I played guitar that was a plus.
Our band, the Poorboys, stayed together for about 4 yrs. We then split up. I lost interest in the guitar and sold it to my cousin in 1969. From this point on I never heard anything about the guitar.
Fast forward to 2009. I decided to try to find a guitar that matched to one I had. If the paint didn’t match, that would be okay, as I would refinish it to hang on the wall. I went on eBay and searched for a Silvertone 4 pickup solid body guitar. That particular day there was only one. It was a sunburst paint job. Everything worked. I contacted the guy and asked him about the guitar. He was being quite the butthead, as he acted like I was putting him out. Anyway, he had a ‘Buy It Now’ price of $550. I asked him if he was high or something, as I thought his price was totally out of place . He hung up on me.
Well I bidded on the guitar and won it for $325.00.
Shortly after I bought it, I checked it out and everything worked. It was just ugly with the sunburst paint. I stripped it down and tried to make the paint work but was struggling. I put it up on the shelf.
In September of 2012 I decided to just paint it and hang it up as it was just a memory and that’s it. As I was putting it together I noticed the chrome was perfect on the whammy bar cover. When I looked underneath I found the initials (gB) The day after i bought the guitar in 1963 I took the cover off and scratched my initials on it. When I saw this I just about died. I started thinking about the rest of the guitar. I remember putting a small chip in the volume control knob when I was taking it off. I also remember that one screw that held the tuning knobs on was different as one was stripped. I checked and both were there.
This guitar is the one that I bought in 1963 and played for several years and was a very important part of my rock and roll life. This guitar is home to stay.
Written by: Gary Berdinski
Gary,
Great story!. Must be an ‘old guy’ issue, wanting to find your original guitar. I had the same experience come to life about 7 years ago when I wanted to find a look-a-like Mosrite Mark IV from 1964. I found one! Talk about bring back a feeling (reminds me of a song). Anyway, the best part of the story is not that it was my original sunburst Mosrite, but the fact that our band from 62-68 was called The Poorboys as well. I now play bass and provide vocals for a band called “Auld’sKool”. We’re still rockin’ after all these years! Two of the members of the band were around when the PoorBoys were playing Jackson Hole and Vegas as a baby (12-13 year old) boy band. Like Nilson said, “long ago, far away, life was clear, close your eyes……remember”
Rock on Brother
Doug
Great story thanks for sharing that Nothing worse then buying or selling something from a jerk But almost all people i have met in buying & selling gear are awesome people and always enjoy meeting them BS & ALWAYS learning something from any of the Hope you can get to play your baby !!
Great story!
Great story, what are the odds? Sears’ version of the TEISCO DEL REY 1437. Neat guitar. I still own my first ‘real’ guitar, a univox Hi Flyer Phase 4. Never could give it up, even though I didn’t play it much after I bought the Squire Strat. Now I’m glad I hung onto it. My heirs can sell it off if they want…
Great story! My first electric was a St. George, made by Teisco, that I got in ’64, got rid of it a few years later. A few years ago ago at a vintage guitar show I ran into an identical one that actually could have been my old one, as it had the same features. The dealer wanted $500 for it–I figured nostalgia wasn’t worth that much and walked away. If it had been $100-$150 I’d probably have bought it.