ELVIS PRESLEY 1969 Gibson Ebony Dove Guitar

The story of Elvis Presley’s 1969 Gibson Dove acoustic guitar, probably his most iconic and sought after instrument, begins and ends with generosity.

In 1969, Vernon Presley went to Guitar City, near Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, to purchase a guitar as a gift for his son. Vernon requested several custom adjustments to personalize the guitar for Elvis, including changing the finish of the guitar to ebony, reported to be chosen to represent Elvis’ recently earned black belt in karate, and the stunning acanthus script inlay of “Elvis Presley” on the fingerboard. The inlay was created by Randy Wood at Gruhn Guitars of Nashville, and the ebony finish was applied at Guitar City. Crowning the guitar and recognizing Elvis’ achievement was the application of the Kenpo Karate decal on the body of the guitar.

The guitar appears to have been completed and gifted to Elvis in 1971. Presley began using the guitar that year and is photographed performing with it often between 1971 and 1973, including, most famously, during Presley’s televised and broadcasted Aloha From Hawaii concert, noted as the first televised program to be beamed around the world by satellite.

The story ends in generosity when, in 1975, at a concert in Asheville, North Carolina, Presley gave the guitar to audience member Mike Harris. It was Presley’s last show of a three-night tour. Presley was in the middle of the song “See See Rider” when Presley gave the guitar to a shocked Harris. Accounts vary as to what Presley said to Harris, from the prophetic “You keep the guitar. I gave it to you for a reason. Someday it will help you out.” To the humble, “Hold on to that. Hopefully, it’ll be valuable one day.” The 21-year-old Harris sat with the guitar for the rest of the concert and then received a police escort out of the building.

If the gift had been from anyone else, one would find the gesture unusual, an uncommon act of kindness. But Presley’s history of gift giving makes this one act in a field of many acts of generosity.