Waylon Jennings' stylish leather-bound guitar is one of the most iconic guitars in history. However, it has since been passed on to two other musicians, and now is in the hands of Keith Urban. And how he got it is quite the story.
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Keith Urban recently chatted with Premier Guitar for their November issue, where the story behind the leather-bound telecaster was told. It turns out that his wife was the mastermind behind his acquisition of the legendary piece of kit.
Before we get into how Keith Urban got the guitar, let's go over its history.
Waylon Jennings had the incredible Telecaster in the 70s. But sometime in the decade after, he handed it to Reggie Young. Apparently, "Waylon came into his hotel room one day with his case, and just said, 'I want you to have that.'"
"The only reason he said he gave it to him was [because it was] too f--king heavy."
I mean, he had the guitar for ten years. As he grew older, he likely struggled to keep operating it on stage.
It remained in Reggie Young's possession for 25 years, until he gave it up for auction. That's where Keith Urban's wife came into play.
Nicole Kidman Surprised Keith Urban With Waylon Jennings' Guitar
"Unbeknownst to me, my wife wanted to get it for me as a gift," Keith Urban continued.
Nicole Kidman knew that Keith Urban knew about the auction, however. So, scheming with his finance team, she made sure he would never be able to place a bid on the guitar. If he got it himself, it wouldn't be much of a gift, would it?
And they were successful. "They kept stalling me and stalling me, and I missed it," he said. "I was heartbroken."
But all was not lost.
"My wife walks in, and she goes, 'I just got you Waylon Jennings' guitar,'" he recalled. "It was insane."
Keith Urban didn't want the guitar for the sake of it, however. He further elaborated to the outlet that he didn't want the guitar to be stuffed somewhere.
" I just wanted it because I'm a massive Waylon fan, and I couldn't bear the thought of that guitar disappearing overseas under somebody's bed, when it should be played." And true to his word, he does loan out the guitar precisely for that reason, so it can be played as much as possible.
