The first Paul McCartney signature Texan, a replica of the 1964 Epiphone guitar that McCartney used to write and perform “Yesterday,” will be auctioned to benefit Adopt-A-Minefield, the landmine clearance and survivor assistance campaign supported by Paul and his wife Heather Mills McCartney. Texan #001 will be signed by McCartney and offered to bidders around the globe exclusively at www.charityfolks.com and beginning at 8 am EST on Wednesday, October 6 and concluding at 2 pm EST on Wednesday, October 14.  

The online auction will coincide with the Adopt-A-Minefield Los Angeles Gala hosted by Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills McCartney on Friday, October 15 at the Century City Plaza Hotel. The event will feature a live auction of  #002 from the initial run of 40 McCartney Signature 1964 Epiphone Texans. Late-night TV host Jay Leno will host the event, which will feature a performance by McCartney with singer/songwriter Neil Young.   

“It’s exciting to have my old guitar reproduced by Gibson,” said McCartney. “It’s exact and what’s more it sounds great.”

“We are proud and privileged to have worked with Paul McCartney in creating his 1964 Epiphone Texan," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “The chance to make #001 and #002 available for the Adopt-A-Minefield auction, and the opportunity to work with Paul and Heather to raise funds for such a worthy and humane cause, is especially gratifying." 

“It is going to be interesting to see how a priceless item gets priced,” said Nahela Hadi, Executive Director of Adopt-A-Minefield. “We’re prepared to accommodate the response that this guitar is sure to get and we cannot thank Paul and Gibson enough for their generous contribution.”

The guitars being auctioned are the first of a limited run of 40 hand-built Epiphones, which will be produced in the United States by Gibson under the supervision and direction of Sir Paul McCartney himself. Epiphone has been a part of the Gibson family of brands since 1957, and McCartney’s original guitar was made in the Gibson factory in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in 1964. He played it in the recording studio and on his famous performance of the Beatles hit “Yesterday” on the Ed Sullivan TV show on August 14, 1965. The first 40 of the new Texans are hand-aged to replicate the playing wear on McCartney’s Texan.

The second run of Texans will be limited to 250 guitars, which will be mirror-images of McCartney’s guitar. His is a right-handed instrument that he plays left-handed, reversing the strings; the new guitars will be lefty guitars set up for right-handed players. A third run of 1,964 Texans will be hand-crafted in Japan.

The Adopt-A-Minefield Gala is hosted by Paul and Heather to raise awareness of the landmine problem, a crisis that affects over one-third of the world’s nations. During the first three years, this event has raised over $2.3 million and has attracted the support of celebrities and citizens worldwide.

For tickets and table packages, please contact Levy, Pazanti & Associates at 310-201-5033. For celebrity and press invitations please contact Evelyn Karamanos at 310-205-0618.

Adopt-A-Minefield^® is a program of the United Nations Association of the USA in partnership with the United Nations, Ted Turner’s Better World Fund, and the U.S. Department of Statement.  The Campaign engages individuals, community groups, and businesses in the international effort to resolve the global landmine crisis. Since its launch in 1999, the Campaign has raised over $12 million for mine action, clearing over 18 million square meters of land and helping thousands of landmine survivors. Visit www.landmines.org to learn more.