Over the past 50 years, Willie Nelson’s guitar, Trigger, has made a name for itself. The Martin N-20 was bought by Nelson in 1969 as a replacement for an unsalvageable guitar stepped on and damaged by someone during a se in Nashville.
Purchased for $750 at the time by a struggling country singer, it is now considered one of the most valuable acoustic guitars in the world, estimated at roughly $850,000.
Over the years, Trigger has gained its iconic look of a gaping hole from wear and tear, and accumulated signatures from artists like Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, and Jamey Johnson.
Nelson and Trigger have a special relationship. Nelson saved Trigger from a house fire, where Trigger saved Nelson from crippling debt. In the ‘90s Nelson had to pay millions in taxes and fines after getting into legal trouble with the IRS. Nelson went into the recording studio and recorded an album of his songs using only Trigger. In the proceeds from the solo album paid off his debts.
Nelson says, that when Trigger is no longer playable, he will retire - showing the true bond between a man and his instrument.