Prized guitar stolen - Action News 5 - Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis police are searching for thief with an expensive taste in music.

At Strings and Things on Madison Avenue, Charlie Lawing is playing a little Rock 'N Roll right now. But inside he's singing the blues. "They could have taken many other guitars." Around 3:30 Friday morning someone smashed a window at the store and stole a prized reproduction of the guitar Jimi Hendrix used during his first U-S concert. "Right before the concert, he took his Fender behind the stage, laid it down on the ground and painted a floral design on it. He played that concert with the Grateful Dead and the Who and that blew the crowd away." Years later, fans are still so fascinated by the performance and the guitar one decided to take it.

Now police are on the hunt, taking finger prints from the scene and taking a closer look at footprints found around the shop. Lawing says the crook left behind a trail of glass. "When we came out here we found out where they had cut this fence to get out. But when you come through the fence...there you see a bunch of the glass we actually matched it to the glass in the window." The store is offering a reward for information about the break-in. Meanwhile at the shop, Hendrix fans are finding things don't look the same without the prized reproduction hanging around.

Strings and Things is offering a 500 dollar reward for information that leads to the return of the guitar. If you have information about the break-in, call police or call the store at 278-0500.