Robert Johnson has been a fixture in the vintage-guitar community for more than a half-century. As a player and music producer, he has collected an assortment of instruments and music memorabilia, particularly related to his home town of Memphis. One of his guitars recently became part of a recording project that began at the renowned Muscle Shoals Sound Studio more than 50 years ago.
In the spring of 1971, Albert King was recording at Muscle Shoals, backed by members of its legendary band, the Swampers – studio co-founder/producer Jimmy Johnson on guitar, bassist David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins, and keyboardist Barry Beckett. King was signed to Stax Records at the time, but the company was in trouble.
“Stax had money problems,” Robert Johnson noted. “And when Albert didn’t get his cash – in a shoebox, as promised by the label – he left and drove back to Memphis.”
The Swampers kept cutting tracks, thinking finances would be sorted and Albert would come back to finish. In all, they recorded eight songs, but King had done guitar and vocals for just four of them. The follow-up sessions never happened and the tapes languished in storage until Johnson bought them two decades later.
“Stax did not own the masters, as they never paid for the sessions, studio time, or musicians,” he said. “Jimmy kept them, and (singer/songwriter/producer) Don Nix had the safety copies.”
A month or so after obtaining an ’86 Tom Holmes Company (THC) left-handed V that Billy F Gibbons commissioned for King’s birthday in 1987, Johnson decided to “finish” the album, and called upon Gibbons to create the guitar and vocal parts for the incomplete songs.
Recorded at Brook Sutton’s The Studio Nashville, the sessions were enhanced musically and attitudinally by the Holmes V, which was used most of the time, though they also tried a ’59 Les Paul Standard dubbed “Early Gates” by Johnson and Gibbons.
“Billy played Early on one song, but the Holmes V actually sounded better, so we switched. That didn’t surprise me – Tom makes a superior guitar.”
“When I first started building, I made three small-bodied Vs that were three-quarter size with a full scale and arched tops,” Holmes told VG. “Then I built a full-size with an archtop. The one built for Albert was the fifth.”
Arched tops on angular, modernistic guitars might seem a contradiction, but Holmes made the concept work.
“I’ve always thought archtops were pretty cool and I like the looks of the Flying V, so I thought I could come with a new combination,” he chuckled.
When Gibbons ordered the V, Holmes referred to a ’58 Gibson that happened to be in his shop for repairs.
“I traced it and made everything exact, even the neck joint,” he said. “The only thing different was the top.”
Accordingly, the THC V has the same 24.75″ scale. It sports a mahogany body and neck, ebony fretboard with mother-of-pearl inlay, gold Grover tuners, and a brass tailpiece. The body is bound front and rear, the neck is bound, and the pickups are Holmes originals.
Other than installing the knobs and jack on the opposite side of the body, Holmes didn’t do any “reverse” work on the guitar due to the fact that it’s a left-handed instrument strung right-handed.
“It’s the most-decorative guitar I’ve made,” he summarized. “I was more into pickups and guitar styles, not really show guitars. I did it because Billy wanted it.”
The southpaw King played the V for the last six years of his life; it was seen and heard on an HBO special “B.B. King & Friends – Live in L.A.,” recorded in Los Angeles on April 15, 1987 – 10 days before Albert King’s birthday. Other players included Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton, and the concert was produced for sale on CD and DVD, though it was not initially sold in the U.S.
“It’s all there,” Johnson said appreciatively. “Incredible playing and singing on everybody’s part. Albert’s playing is stunning and his tone is the best it had been since the korina V sound on ‘Born Under A Bad Sign.’ The Holmes is strong and rich.”
Over the years, Johnson has researched King’s many V guitars, most of which he called “Lucy.”
“I came up with six bona fide Lucys, and there may even be seven or eight of them,” he said.
The list begins with the original ’59, followed by one made by VG contributor Dan Erlewine in ’72, one by Bradley Prokopow in 1980, an ’80 Gibson called Lucy Blue because of its aqua-burst finish, Pink Lucy, made by John Bolin in ’86 on commission from Gibbons with a magenta-sparkle finish, and the Holmes.
“Between 1967 and ’70, Albert played a ’67 Cherry Red Gibson, then in ’70 or ’71 he had a rare Walnut-finish ’68 that was bought for him by a promoter in Detroit,” Johnson notes. “I do not have any references to these guitars being named, but they might be the adopted stepchildren of Lucy,” he chuckled.
Johnson has also seen photos of King playing a ’69 sunburst Gibson in England, but believes it was a rental; to date, he hasn’t found a photo of King playing it in the U.S.
King died on December 21, 1992.
“One week before, he gave the Holmes guitar to his adopted cousin, Lee King, who was in Albert’s band and was Freddie King’s first cousin,” said Johnson, who acquired it in December of ’23, just before it inspired his decision to arrange the sessions with Gibbons. He also called upon some notable vocalists to assist.
“Ann Wilson and Tanya Tucker sang backup on ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” he said. “Tanya is also on ‘Green River,’ which is practically a duet.”
Johnson restored the tapes and mixed the album at the Sam Phillips Studio. Titled Chronicle 2, its name and inspiration were taken from the 1979 album Chronicle, by King and Little Milton.
“The whole thing is vintage Muscle Shoals sound,” Johnson summarized. “Sixteen-track/2″ tape, and if there is a Stradivarius of Vs, the Holmes is it. Its figured-maple top is as beautiful as a ’59 Les Paul!”
This article originally appeared in VG’s March 2025 issue. All copyrights are by the author and Vintage Guitar magazine. Unauthorized replication or use is strictly prohibited.
