Ownership of Bob Dylan’s ’65 Newport Folk festival guitar in dispute


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The whereabouts of the guitar which Bob Dylan famously, and controversially, used to ‘go electric’ at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is under dispute after a resident of New Jersey claimed ownership of the iconic instrument which, if proved correct, could sell for more than $1m at auction according to experts.

Dylan’s aides have insisted Dawn Peterson must be mistaken, as Dylan himself owns the guitar, but the US TV show History Detectives aren’t so sure.

Peterson claims to have been unaware of the potential money spinner being in her possession until the programme’s experts got in touch, and says her father – a private pilot for Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman – discovered it on his plane.

“My father saw there were three guitars left on the plane,” she has told Rolling Stone. “He contacted the company a few times about picking the guitars up, but nobody ever got back to him.”

However, Dylan’s lawyer Orin Snyder disagrees: “Bob has possession of the electric guitar he played at the Newport Folk Festival. He did own several other Stratocaster guitars that were stolen from him around that time, as were some handwritten lyrics.”


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