Going once, going twice, gabba!

Johnny Ramone’s 1965 Mosrite Ventures V1

The thirst for rock and roll memorabilia continues to prove more unquenchable than Jack White’s desire to start a new band. This past Thursday, Jonnny Ramone’s Red Mosrite guitar was auctioned off for $71,875. A sum that would have kept Johnny in ripped jeans and Converse for a long, long time.

The 1965 Red Ventures V1 was apparently one of 9 Mosrite Guitars owned by Johnny. In 1980, he sold this axe to a friend who subsequently flipped it for profit before it ended up at Boston’s RR Auction. The story spun by the auction house was that the flash of the six string had Johnny favour it for Ramones‘ television appearances. Conspiracy theory: Johnny was an outspoken Republican. Whenever on TV and the eyes of the nation were upon him, he wanted to bleed red. Disclaimer: We have absolutely no evidence to back this up, but we’re sure that if Oliver Stone did the bio-pic instead of Scorsese, it would make the story line.

Thursday’s auctioned featured other Johnny Ramone memorabilia including hand written lyrics, a pair of glasses and black leather pants. Someone bought his pants for $7,100.

Let’s stick to the stuff we understand. Mosrite Guitars is an American based manufacturer that set up shop in the same year as Fender in 1952. Over the years Mosrites have been seen in the hands of rocks most capable including Hendrix, Page, Kurt Cobain and Brian Wilson. Quality instruments, in the 60s a Mosrite was double the price of a Fender. Still you may have never heard of Mosrite Guitars before even with the hall of fame endorsements. The short answer is that Semie Mosely, the company founder, was a great guitar builder, but not so much of a businessman.

Johnny’s Red Mosrite Ventures V1 attests to the former. The bounty it was able to raise attests to the significance of the band from Queens.