Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Billy, with his Rick.

...in a slightly different shade...

Dino, Desi and Billy got those cool guitars from B Sharp Music in Minneapolis, Minnesota. There was a letter signed by Lucille Ball on the wall of the store, thanking B Sharp for getting the equipment for them. I think B Sharp sold more double-bound Rickenbacker 12-strings than anybody back in the 60's. Sadly, the store burned to the ground about a year ago and all those great pictures and letters are gone.

So it looks like Dino had a sunburst and a Deluxe, too. Well, they had plenty of money to start with. I was just a college kit and had to settle for a no-name (but pretty good) Japanese copy for $89. I think the Hofners were around $300 at the time, maybe more for the Deluxe.

I paid for my excellent conditions 65 hofner violin bass only 70$ in 1983

Dave and Stan, thanks for the cool photo's. Brought back some old memories. I think I have one of their albums buried away. I'll have to find it as I believe there is a photo of Dino holding a Gibson EB3. I had forgotten that Billy used a Rickenbacker.

Anyone remember their hit song?

They had a couple. One was "I'm a Fool" and it had a Louie Louie type of hook: Dut dut dut dut dut dut dut dut dut dut .

That didn't turn out right. I put four spaces in between the "phrases" but the program eliminated them. Anyway, you all know the Louie Louie hook.

i paid $1200 for a '65 Hofner about 13 years ago. still have it and i love it. i think they're great basses.

"I'm a fool dut dut dut dut dut,
to be in love with you dut dut dut dut...
you treat me just like dirt...you go out every night, I sit at home and hurt...dut dut dut dut dut..."

(words might be slightly different, haven't heard it since it faded from the airways).

Actually wxxe in Syracuse played it on their "This Is Rock And Roll Radio" show a few weeks back, but I missed it.
I thought it was a cool song back in the day.
I was only ten.

I paid 1700 for a near cherry '67 hofner Beatle about 10 years ago. I loved that one.

If you Google DD&B you'll see Dino with an EB3 om some site. I had a picture of Danny "Partridge" with a Hofner, but I can no longer find it in Google. Maybe Hofner got wise ???

Dino, Desi and Billy's I'm A Fool has some real nice instrumentation behind hit. The lead solo rocks!
Rick Nelson's version of I'm A Fool on the album "Spotlight on Rick" is pretty sharp.
(Real snappy!!)

Ric haven't hiked their prices up unmercifully - like Hofner did with their violin bass - just because of their (probably stronger) Beatles association. Hofner tripled the price of the violin bass in the 80's if I remember correctly.

Pretty unforgivable.

I have a much cheaper Cort violin bass - solid bodied - that plays beautifully and fools people at 10 paces!!

What kind of reaction do you get from people at 9 paces?

Ian, I like the look of that baby. How old is she?

Solid body, heavy?

Is she a short scale?

Can I have her? (Sorry, 100 questions now done)