From RR Auction:
A 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar personally-owned and -used by Johnny Ramone (John Cummings) for nearly two decades as the guitarist for punk rock legends the Ramones, with the back of the guitar signed in black felt tip, "Johnny Ramone, My Main Guitar, 1977-1996." Cummings played this guitar at every Ramones performance until his retirement: from November 1977 through August 1996, for a total of approximately 1,985 shows. Additionally, this guitar was used by Cummings for the recording of all 15 Ramones albums (studio and live) from this time period, and can be heard on any live Ramones bootleg from late 1977-1996, of which there are many. It was later displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland for a number of years. Accompanied by a detailed letter of authenticity from Chris Lamy, a close friend and historian of the Ramones.
It's a pretty iconic part of rock and roll history!…even if it's not that great of a guitar. But that was part of the charm. According to the auction post (which has lots of details on modifications and whatnot), this guitar cost Johnny Ramone $500 in 1977 — which pissed him off, because his original 1965 Mosrite only cost a little over $50 before it was stolen.
Perhaps most importantly, this is the guitar that Johnny Ramone played on "The KKK Took My Baby Away," a song written about Johnny by his own bandmate — a rock & roll factoid that I find endlessly hilarious.
Johnny Ramone's Stage-Used and Owned Mosrite Ventures II Guitar [RR Auction]
Image: masao nakagami / Flickr (CC-BY-SA 2.0)
