The touching story behind Johnny Hallyday’s first guitar sold at auction

The Tourny auction house in Bordeaux held another successful auction on Sunday. Johnny Hallyday’s first guitar was sold for 11,500 euros. A good price, because it is almost three times more than the estimate (around 4,000 euros) generally put forward for the instruments of the idol of young people – who has used several of them over the course of his career. The said guitar had belonged since 1963 to Marcel D., who died three years ago. It was put up for sale by his descendants. Marcel D. was 16 years old when the guitar came into his possession. The young pied-noir had participated in a competition in a magazine to win the booming rocker’s guitar.

The teenager’s letter was touching: he explained that he had learned to play on his uncle’s guitar in Algeria, that he had missed music a lot since he arrived in France, but that he did not have the means to get one. So at the start of his career, Johnny Hallyday, aged 20, gave him his and accompanied his gift with a handwritten letter – in which he apologized for not giving him the instrument in person. “This guitar was missing three strings (when it was put on sale, Editor’s note)but it is very well preserved. I think that young Marcel lovingly preserved this guitar and that he played it little or with great care. Given her condition, he had to watch over her all her life”describes M^e Emmanuel Layan, the auctioneer of this sale. The object now brings joy to a young Norman woman, a fan of Johnny Hallyday.