Great Acoustics—Gordon Lightfoot’s 1967 Gibson B-45-12: The Guitar Behind “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
Open up a copy of ‘Sundown,’ his 1974 best-selling record, and you’ll see this prized guitar by Lightfoot’s side.
Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, who passed away in 2023, left a legacy of great songs—and a remarkable collection of instruments. Among them, one stood apart: his Gibson B-45-12. Late last fall, this 12-string guitar was the top-selling item in a Heritage Auctions estate sale, going for $350,000 to a group of Canadian collectors.
Over a career spanning more than 60 years, Lightfoot amassed dozens of fine acoustic guitars. While he didn’t favor a single brand—the auction also included a 1959 Martin 0-18 tenor, 1979 custom Manzer, early 1980s Guild F-412, and others—the Gibson was in a class of its own.
Some of Lightfoot’s best-loved songs—“Sundown,” “If You Could Read My Mind,” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” (transcribed in the September/October 2023 issue)—were composed on the B-45-12. Open up a copy of Sundown, his 1974 best-selling record, and you’ll see this prized guitar by his side.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Gordon always returned to that 12-string,” says Rick Haynes, his bassist of 55 years. Fellow bandmate and drummer Barry Keane adds, “On commercial flights, Gordon always bought a first-class ticket—for the guitar.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Gibson introduced the B-45-12 in 1961, quickly earning favor among 12-string players like Reverend Gary Davis and Leo Kottke. The model was made with both pinned bridge and trapeze tailpiece variations; Lightfoot’s guitar features the former. Its worn top, shaped by years of steady play, speaks to a songwriter who rarely set it aside.
The only modification to Lightfoot’s B-45-12 came in the 1980s when, at the suggestion of a road crew member, he installed a pickup under the bridge. The addition proved purely cosmetic—Lightfoot tried it once in sound check but never used it again, preferring a single directional stage microphone. As Haynes recalls, “Gordon was really a purist that way.”
Learn to play the Lightfoot classic “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” in the September/October 2023 issue.
This article originally appeared in the July/August 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.
Fun article, one clarification for you, however. This guitar is a ‘68 or ‘69 and originally was fitted with the trapeze tailpiece. Gord had it modified with the more desirable pin bridge when he acquired it (he told me so himself and it was a common mod).
His second B-45-12 was a 1963, which he also toured with.
Thanks for reading! The instrument is listed as 1967 through the Heritage Auctions website: https://entertainment.ha.com/itm/musical-instruments/acoustic-guitars/gordon-lightfoot-s-1967-gibson-b45-12-sunburst-acoustic-guitar-serial-045053/a/7391-89017.s
A ’67 would have similar features to a ’68 or ’69. A fantastic and iconic instrument!
I saw him in concert in Hamilton, ON 01/71. He mentioned at that show that he had just gotten his 12 back after it had a “facelift”
One additional correction – “If You Could Read My Mind” was not composed on nor played on the Gibson B45-12. It was played on Gordon’s Martin D-18 (or whichever 6-string he happened to be touring with at the time). He owned 2 Martin D-18’s, a McGlincy 6-string and several other 6-string guitars.
Gordon and Red Shea recorded If You Could Read My Mind on Martin D28s. They were both stolen on the road in the 70s and he started playing D18s then. Here they are performing shortly after the release of that song.
https://youtu.be/bAedY3NucEs?is=dDAbgS9aof-VXT1q
Correction to your claim: if You could Read My mind was recorded with a 6 string, not a 12 string. Footage of the BBC concert in 1971 where he and Red play that song almost note for note with the Record reveal both he and Red playing Martin D28 guitars
https://youtu.be/bAedY3NucEs?is=N0_SjhEHE6oEEuKV