Day two of the Maine Mosrite expedition with my friend Adam Tober and his incredible collection.
Adam is by far “the guy” when it comes to the 1970s era of Mosrites, and especially the Brass Rail models. His knowledge of the 1970s and 1980s Mosrites far eclipses my own knowledge of that era, so it’s been great to spend time with him and listen to all the various design features and evolution of these models over the years. Adam has a dozen Brass Rail Mosrites, by far the largest collection of these models anywhere.
Probably my favorite of all the guitars we looked at today was an acoustic guitar that Semie Moseley made for Dolly Parton around 1977–78 (pictured up top). Dolly had a syndicated television show at the time, simply called Dolly, and after the first season ended, Dolly’s manager put out the word to various guitar companies that Dolly was looking for a pink guitar with a butterfly theme (the opening song in each episode of Dolly’s show was “Love Is Like a Butterfly”). Semie Moseley made this guitar on spec, hoping that Dolly would use it on her show.
Even though the Dolly show got good ratings, Dolly never did a second season, feeling uncomfortable with the songs they made her sing, as well as the eighteen-hour days required for TV production.
Semie made this beautiful instrument for Dolly, but it’s unknown if she ever saw it or held it in her hands. The guitar originally had a beautiful translucent pink finish, which has faded over the years, although if you hold the guitar in a certain light, you can see traces of the pink. The headstock and bridge are custom designs carved to look like a butterfly. The neck is an aluminum rail neck, one of only a couple that were Brass Nail necks fitted with aluminum instead. The serial number is “D1,” and stamped inside the body on the neck block: “DOLLY.” It’s another instrument you can really tell Semie poured his heart into making. It’s a great guitar. It’s a shame that Dolly never used it.
It’s really cold up here. Tonight we’re going out to Moody’s Diner in Waldoboro. I never thought I’d be in Maine in December when I started the Mosrite book, yet here I am! Thanks again to Adam Tober and his wife Gwendolyn for hosting me.
See a bazillion more guitar photos at Deke’s original Facebook post!
