Before Gretsch could make it’s phoenix-like return to full-scale guitar production in the late 80s, they needed to raise some cash. A marketing tie-in with the Traveling Wilburys supergroup provided that opportunity.
The Wilburys — Jeff Lynne, George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison and Bob Dylan — would be photographed with their namesake guitars and provide their signatures (or to be more precise, their alias’s signature). Meanwhile Gretsch would build up some operating capital from the “collectibles”.
A few collectors hoarded them thinking they would eventually be a goldmine, but that looks unlikely. Gretsch made a ton of them, and they were always low-priced promotional guitars.
Instead, enjoy them for what they are: a fun, funky footnote in Gretsch history.
The Gretsch-GEAR database includes six different models
and two examples
in the Traveling Wilburys family, including
and
Traveling Willbury
models.
