The 1957 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop model was one of Allman’s main guitars throughout his early career with The Allman Brothers Band, and can be heard across the group’s first two records.
Duane Allman also used the Les Paul to perform his scorching elide passages on the Derek and the Domino’s track ‘Layla’, penned by Eric Clapton back in 1970 to try woo away George Harrison’s then-wife Patti Boyd.
After he finished tracking Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs with Clapton, Allman traded the 1957 Goldtop for a Cherry Sunburst Les Paul, from 1959. Since then, the 1957 ‘Layla’ Goldtop has been refinished twice and owned by three other players, with big name guitarists such as Billy Gibbons, Derek Trucks, Kirk Hammett and Vince Gill having played the instrument in recent years.
Although $1.85 million is a pretty neat haul, it’s definitely not the biggest price we’ve seen paid for a guitar this year – back in June, David Gilmour’s famous Black Strat sold for a huge $4.8 million (AUD) at his mammoth gear clear out.
Find out more about the auction of Duane Alman Les Paul at Gotta Have Rock ‘n Roll.
