In early 1966 Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker formed what was arguably the first "supergroup"--Cream. I became aware of them when their debut album was released in the summer of that year. I was so taken by the group that I determined to see the band's U.S. debut, a Murray the K Revue at the Paramount Theater in New York in which about a dozen bands performed two songs apiece.
When Cream came out to perform, Clapton was wearing a guitar I had never seen before--a Gibson Les Paul SG model with a psychedelic paint job. Shortly thereafter the group recorded their second album at Atlantic Studios in New York, a collection that included their breakthrough hit "Sunshine of Your Love." The song inspired my future name for the guitar, "Sunny," and its sound was so signature that Clapton dubbed it "woman tone." The band toured behind the hit album, and the guitar was featured throughout, making it one of the most recognizable looking and sounding instruments of all time.
The guitar eventually found its way to George Harrison (perhaps around the period of Clapton's guest spot on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" from the Beatles' White Album). It eventually wound up in the hands of Jackie Lomax, who collaborated with Harrison while signed to Apple Records. The guitar was not seen publicly thereafter for several years.
Around 1971 I was in Woodstock, New York, working on a recording and was introduced to Jackie Lomax. To my surprise he had in his possession the guitar that I was so familiar with, although in a horribly disheveled condition. He noted my interest and offered it to me for $500 (indicating he might buy it back within a reasonable time). I made some minor repairs on it and it became my principal instrument. After a year or so and no word from Mr. Lomax, I had the guitar body fully restored, replacing the rotted headstock, retouching the paint job, and sealing it to prevent deterioration. The "woman tone" pickups and electronics remained untouched. Just before retiring the guitar in the late '70s, I had the paint job once again restored, having added some years to the wear and tear myself. It has been in my storage with the rest of my gear since then.
In 1997 the Rock & Roll Museum requested and was granted a loan of the instrument for a psychedelic music retrospective, where it was rejoined by a "matching" Fender six-string bass and bass drum head (neither of which had ever been used in a performance). In late 1998 the guitar was returned to me and is now in secure storage in Sacramento, California.
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