Clapton auctions Yardbirds guitar

An authorized, limited-edition replica of one of Eric Clapton's all-time favorite guitars goes on sale today (Saturday, July 30th). Clapton's red Gibson ES-335, which he bought in 1964 and played on Cream's live version of "Crossroads" from their Wheels Of Fire album, has been recreated by the Gibson Custom Shop in a run of 250 instruments, 175 of which will be sold in the US through the Guitar Center chain of stores. The "Crossroads 335" guitars come with a hard case with "CREAM" stenciled on it, just like the original instrument. Pricing hasn't been announced, so the usual rule applies - if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

The guitarist auctioned off several of his guitars in June 2004 to benefit his Crossroads Centre Antigua drug- and alcohol-treatment facility. Before the auction - which also included "Blackie," the Fender Stratocaster he's most associated with - he told us he thought the ES-335 was the best guitar in the bunch:
[ click here to listen if you have a Backstage Pass] "In my opinion, the star of the auction is a, an ES-335 which I've had from day one - I bought that when I was in the Yardbirds. I had a Kay, a Telecaster, and this ES-335. I don't know what happened to the Telecaster and the Kay, but the Gibson has been on, on nearly every record. And it's got this old, dilapidated case with 'CREAM' stenciled on it, so that I think that's the one that will do well."

The Guitar Center retail chain bought the ES-335 for $847,500, even though it was listed at between $60,000 and $80,000 at the auction. They're the sole US distributor for the Crossroads 335, and they'll donate "a significant portion of the proceeds" from the sale of the guitars to the Crossroads Centre.

Clapton is expected to team up with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker for some Cream shows in the US this autumn, though no official announcement has been made yet. A DVD from their concerts at the Royal Albert Hall in London back in May will be released in October.

A new solo album called Back Home is due August 30th. The first single is "Revolution."