Duane Allman's Gold Top Les Paul Sells For $1.25 Million Dollars - A Look At The Guitar's History

Duane Alman with '57 Gold Top

The famed Duane Allman guitar played on “Layla” was sold for a record-breaking $1.25 million at a July auction.

The Big House -
Allman Brothers Museum

Allman's 1957 Les Paul, had been on display at The Big House, The Allman Brothers Band museum in Macon, Georgia.

The guitar was purchased by an anonymous out-of-town collector.


Richard Brent, of the museum said,  “It was the first time that a refinished guitar has ever sold for that much money.  I don’t think anybody expected that."

The Allman Brothers Museum

He went on to say that the guitar's history is what sold it, ”The buyer has promised to still share the gold-topped guitar with the museum every other six months.  It will return to The Big House in November".


Duane Allman played this guitar for one of the last times on the recording of “Layla” - with Derek and the Dominoes. Allman traded it in a week later for a cherry-burst Les Paul. Allman had acquired this guitar from a member of The Hour Glass Band. He 'just wanted to borrow it', but never returned the guitar. When the band member finally called Duane on it, he offered to give the guy a keyboard for the Les Paul. Apparently the Hour Glass member reluctantly accepted the trade.

Allman playing
 the Gold Top

The story goes that Duane had just finished recording ‘Layla’  and was playing his ’57 Goldtop on the recording.  At the next gig, the Allman Brother's opening act was a local band called The Stone Balloon. Their guitarist, Rick Stine, was playing a 1959 cherry sunburst Les Paul and Allman had his eye on this guitar.

Clapton with Les Paul

While making ‘Layla’ Duane had fallen in love with Clapton’s cherry sunburst. So he offered to swap Les Pauls with Rick. When Rick hesitated, Duane upped the stakes, throwing in $200 and one of his regular Marshall 50 heads. Rick agreed and the deal was finalized. The caveat was Allman wanted the gold top's pickups. So Rick agreed to buy the gold top Les Paul and have the pickups in his cherry sunburst swapped out.

Allman with '57 Les Paul Gold Top

Following Allman’s death in October 1971, the guitar was owned by Rob Anderson until 1977. By then, the 1957 gold top was in poor condition.

In 1977 a buyer named Randy Roberts purchases the Goldtop from Anderson.

 Anderson puts it on consignment at Coastal Music to Jim Omby, who ends up with a 1957 Les Paul, serial number 7-3312, with a stripped and refinished top.

Scot Lamar with
the Gold Top

Guitarist Billy Bowers, from Jacksonville recognizes the guitar, and alerts his friends Peter Young and Scot Lamar. Jim mentions that the guitar once belonged to Duane Allman, but it's not a big selling point. Vintage collector Lamar buys the guitar, paying about what Les Pauls were worth at that time, $475.00. He holds on to it for 20 plus years.

Mike Boulware, a writer for Vintage Guitar Magazine spoke with Scot Lamar, who mentioned that he has Duane Allman's 1957 Les Paul Gold Top at his home in Arizona. Mike flew out for a visit and immediately recognized the instrument from the inlay on the 15th fret.

The Big House Museum - Greg Allman

The Big House was the large home where members of the Allman Brother's Band communally lived from 1970 to 1973. This mansion had fallen into disrepair.

In 1993 the building  was sold to a couple that had planned to make it into a bed and breakfast. However the cost of repairs were beyond their budget. They donated it to an organization that would eventually turn The Big House into a museum.

The Big House officially opened in the Spring of 2010. Allman Brother's memorabilia was housed there, and the museum had the loan of Duane Allman's 1957 Les Paul Gold Top guitar.

Allman's Gold Top
as it looks today

He had the gold top Les Paul repaired and restored it over the ensuing decades. It eventually wound up in the Allman Brothers museum.

Allman's Gold Top

According to the auction house, Gotta Have Rock and Roll, musicians that visited Georgia often tested out the guitar. Some of these included Metallica’s Kirk Hammett and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. The Rolling Stones had planned to borrow the guitar for a July 27th Georgia gig, but this agreement  was cancelled due to the auction. Since the buyer has agreed to frequently put the guitar back on display, museum director Richard Brent stated, “We couldn’t ask for more than that".