Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So why did Lennon refinish his 1958 Model 325 Rickenbacker from a natural to a black finish? This has been a question that I have chased for the past 35 years or so and have not yet had it answered to my satisfaction. My findings to date are at Baby's In Black and I welcome your comments or suggestions for other avenues to pursue in answering this question.

I'll have to guess that is was to make the guitar look 'TOUGH' .John and the guys were into the biker leather 1950's tough guy look and natural wood grain was too furniture like.

The black went with his leathers and boots.

And I'll bet that the finish was getting hammered from all those dive bars they played in.I don't imagine that he was too concerned about the original ,as there was no vintage market at that time.(oh for a time machine and 3 thousand dollars).

Anyway tough is my vote

Interesting point of view Mark. It is to be remembered though that Lennon had the instrument during his toughest of years and never touched it. It was only after Epstein's insistance on a professional look, which turned out to be a black focus as seen in suits, boots and so on, that John went with the black finish. Ironically, there were complaints from some fans initially that they could not see his black guitar too well and so if he was going for the tough image it was not easily seen by his fanatical observers.

While I still haven't answered why Lennon finished his Rickenbacker to black, I have after a couple of years of hunting discovered who did the work. The man would appear to be Derek Adams who was a subcontractor or Burns Company in London. The article is entitled Baby's In Black

Peter, I think there's an error in your text - under "When was the 325 refinished" you say firstly that the last sighting of the 325 in natural finish was on 21 September 1962, and then later that the first sighting in black was that date : I think the latter is correct.

I admire your research, but I'm still inclined to the likelihood that Lennon re-finished the guitar himself or had it done locally in Liverpool on or about 18 September 1962. Liverpool and London were a long way apart, and I doubt he'd have gone to the trouble and expense of sending it to London or getting Derek Adams to Liverpool, nor would Burns have pulled out the stops for a then unknown pop group. I don't think that Barry Gibson or any of the other folk at the new Burns London company have any direct connection with the Burns company of the 60's since Jim Burns died, and Barry may simply be perpetuating an urban myth by saying that Derek Adams did the job.

Tim: Thanks for your comments and I do very much appreciate your correction. I have amended the article accordingly. I hope to add additional information to this in the near future. I originally held your position that Lennon did the work but more recent information has changed that view, at least for now. Should I get new information, to the contrary, I will amend the article once again as it has been so many times before. I appreciate your interest and your points are well taken. This story is not over yet! I indeed want to separate fact from folklore or fiction and hope to do so in this lifetime.

Peter : Have you tried Paul Day to see if he knows the current whereabouts of Derek Adams ? If anyone would know, Paul would.

Yes Tim you can be sure of it. Rest assured that the Detective is on the case! I expect to be able to report on this soon.

I should have known you'd be way ahead of me ! "The Burns Book" says Derek was still in business in 1979, so there's a good chance he might still be around. If he remembers doing the job, that would clinch it for me.

Here is the refinished 1958 Model 325 approximately 17 months after the work was done.

Some pictures taken quite soon after the re-finish show it looking quite rough, and taking into account Ron Demarino's comments when he stripped off the black finish (looked as though it had been painted with a toothbrush) then I still favour the theory that John painted it himself. Any news on Derek Adams yet ?

Tim: I have not spoken with Derek Adams as yet. You can be sure that when I do, I will post his comments here. I believe that we can be reasonably sure that the refinishing process was done very quickly and likely within 24-48 hours. The work was done through Burns and Derek Admas did all of Burns' refinishing from about 1959-1979 or so. It is very likely that he did the work, but we shall see shortly I hope. Also, it is possible that the instrument left the plant tacky and this may explain the worn appearance, particularly on the edges of the headstock. Finally, it would not be too surprising that some minor touch ups were carried out subsequent to the refinish. At present, I am still inclined to think that Adams did the work.

Peter, I remain open-minded about it. A coat of Woolworths' best black enamel paint would have dried a lot quicker than 24-48 hours, ready to rock overnight, but they were spending more on instruments at that time (probably loaned by Mr. Epstein) and maybe John felt he could afford a professional job. Derek Adams' confirmation would be conclusive in my book.

One thing is for sure: the guitar was hammered.
Look at the classic color picture of summer 1962.
The upper bout under his arm shows signs of being worn through. The lower horn is completely brown and black where the finish has been cracked off.
The headstock in other pictures shows checking around it's entirity and the pick-guard is definitley cracked around the two bottom knobs.
You can bet that years of leather jackets also destroyed the back off the guitar. I have noticed on my own guitar(1989 325v59) some rust seeping onto the finish where the Bigsby and pick-ups(even with the rubber feet under them) touch the wood. I'm sure that John's guitar had more than its share of rust due to sweat and beer(they played hundreds of gigs between Hamburg and August 262). I have also seen a neck shot from the same '62 photos and the back of the neck appeared to be worn through. (Check out Gareth Pawkowski's 1991 book "How they became the Beatles" for good large shots of these pics.)
Coincidentally, I dropped my 325 Rick when the strap broke and my pickguard cracked in exactly the same spot, nearly the same length around the
lower tone pot. Talk about "relic".

Frank Trevino has a photo of the 325 Capri after it had been stripped back to a natural finish. The finish hardly looks like the original, and it has a white pickguard. Does anyone know when or why this was done?