All language subtitles for V2-Normans Rare Guitars Documentary (2024)_en

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[Jeff] I first heard
about Norm's store,

it was like this famous place
that you have to go to,

but it was
in Tarzana, California.
Is that how you say it?

Which I always thought
was east of LA, you know,

like towards
halfway to Phoenix.

And so I'm going, "Well,
I'll never go out to where--"

And then you find,
oh, no, it's right...

It's just over on the 405,
just over. Oh.

Then the problem becomes
that you're gonna go to Norm's

and he's gonna have
these incredible guitars,

and oh, maybe you'll see
Tom Petty,

you know that myth and true,

but this like Shangri-La,
this oasis

for guitar players.

♪ As I felt would never end ♪

♪ I see shadows
Cast over my eyes ♪

♪ Not much longer... ♪

And it's like making
a pilgrimage
to a place you should go

if you are serious about
the guitar.

You should all go
to Norm's Rare Guitars

if you're at all serious
about playing the guitar.

It's one of those places.

♪ The creator
Built a home inside ♪

♪ Won't be trouble when
I rest my head tonight ♪

♪ 'Cause the only loser
Is the one that begs to hide ♪

♪ I've seen hard times ♪

♪ I've seen days ♪

♪ Days I've felt would
Never end ♪

♪ I've seen shadows
Cast over my eyes ♪

♪ But not much longer will
The shadows haunt my mind ♪

♪ Mm-hmm ♪

[rock music playing]

Throughout the store's history,

we've had some of
the most iconic guitar players

in the world come through.

Welcome to Norm's Guitars.

[Norman] From George Harrison
to Bob Dylan to Tom Petty.

[announcer] Eddie Van Halen
bought his
first guitars from Norm

when both of them
had more hair.

I bought a bunch
of guitars from Norm's.

[announcer] See,
the instruments at Norman's
are, well, unique.

This guitar here is
probably a $35,000 guitar.

[announcer] Norm Harris has
been collecting and selling
vintage guitars, lots of them.

This is Norm. This guy
has sold guitars
to every single person

that's ever walked
into Hollywood
for the last 25 years.

So you're gonna have
a million stories.

[Norman] There's some stories,
there's some good ones,

-there's a couple involving
you too, my man.
-Oh, no.

I just stumbled into Norm's,

and it's been a revolving door
in my life for 35 years.

[Norman] A lot of
the international acclaim

basically came from
the Japanese I would say.

I mean, there are those
of us who are just waiting

for the right piece to show up.

Pretty much a place of legend.

For a small ma and pa shop,
Norman's Rare Guitars
is world famous.

[announcer]
The real celebrities, though,
are the guitars.

Musicians claim the ones
made in the '50s

just sound better.

The pickups, the design,

the woods that they chose,
the finish they put on,

it's really cool stuff.

The independent store
will always be the place

that you go for connection.

[Taylor] 'Cause, I mean,
half the people

that you see here
when you walk into Norm's,

they're just fucking
hanging out.

I'm not talking about
the people working here,

I'm talking about the people
that just,

half the time,
they're coming in
just to shoot the shit,

and, like, maybe think about
buying that guitar eventually.

I've spent
too much money there,
but I want to spend more.

There's nothing like
this store. Nothing.

Got into town, like,
three days ago.

I'm like,
"I gotta go to Norm's."

Everybody knows about
Norman's Rare Guitars.

It's just like, you go to LA,
you go there.

This is an experience
being in Norman's. Norman's
has a warmth to its walls.

I'm sure it's got
a lot of stories too.

[rock music playing]

[Frank] I actually always learn
something when I come to Norm's

or smaller places,

'cause you have people...

I mean some of
the greatest guitar players
in the world played here.

Don McLean. I mean,
you know, Colin Hay.

I mean, a lot of heavy people
come here.

[Slash] When you go into
a music store,

it's probably the optimum place
you want to go into,

because it's just filled
with instruments,

and it's sort of orgasmic
in that sense.

Norman's is probably
at the very, very top

of the orgasmic, one to ten.

[laughs]

Are you
an average collector? [laughs]

I'd like to think
a little better than average.

I learned about
the shop from a shirt.

Like, even the shirt
was interesting.

[Melissa] Every guitar,
every amp,

everything that's
in this store,

is understood, taken care of,

is the finest
you're going to get.

[Kiefer] This is as organic
a place as I have ever been

with respect to
someone trying to put

the right guitar
in the right person's hand

to create something great.

[Jeff]
I think one of the things
that makes Norm's special

is that the people that
have been there before you.

I got thrown out of here
last time

for taking down a Stratocaster,

but I thought
it was okay. I'm sorry.

If Joe Bonamassa
thinks Norm knows

what a good guitar is
versus a bad one,

or the difference
between a great guitar

and an excellent guitar...

If Joe thinks Norm knows that,
that's good enough for me.

The collector in me
loves the stuff like you

that's really well-preserved
and mint,

because they don't
make this anymore.

So that gives Norm
some real street cred,

if guys like that are,

you know, going to Norm, going,
"What do you think?"

He's completely knowledgeable,

like has the biggest mind
about guitars,

and he's got the biggest heart.

And he loves music.

[Kiefer] And he loves playing
and he likes people,

and he's so encouraging
to musicians,

and wanting them to do well.

I know that sounds
really simple, but it's not.

He cares.

And he couldn't be nicer.

He's this big
personality, friendly.

He's out there, and he
makes you feel welcome.

He is applying for
a job over here.

He's not working enough
as an actor.

[Jeff] And I thought,
well, maybe that's just 'cause,

you know, I'm famous
or I'm an actor or something.

And then I saw him do it
to somebody else that wasn't.

And then somebody else
who wasn't.

Treats everybody the same.

Except, he did immediately,

immediately take me
back into the back room

and showed me a Martin
from the '40s or something.

"Isn't that beautiful?
Isn't Jeff, isn't that,

"and it's only $50,000.

I mean, wow, is this you
or is this you?"

I mean, he--
And you just realize,

you're going,

"You know, I got some per diem
from the movie I'm shooting,

but it ain't that much."

-What's up?
-Maroon 5...

[Kiefer] You know,
you can't do all of this

without being little eccentric.

And he is.

I, personally, have always
loved eccentric people.

But when someone's
eccentricities
are all absolutely focused

into one thing,
and that is guitars.

-Can you tell us about this?
-[Norman] Yeah, this is 64...

[Kiefer] And understanding

where the Maplewood was taken
from this guitar in this era,

or you know, I think Norm was
the one who explained to me
what a banner guitar was

during World War II
when they had no steel
to make truss rods,

Gibson with all the L guitars
would just glue the neck

straight onto the body,

which is why the necks
were always fatter

and that the banner meant that
it was made by a woman.

How cool is that?

It's not just
the actual stories

of acquiring instruments,

it's who they've been sold to.

You're talking everyone from
Bob Dylan to George Harrison,

Tom Petty, Robbie Robertson...

The list goes on and on and on.

And I love the fact
that a rockstar,

or someone
that plays music goes,

"Hey listen,
I need a D'Angelico."

They call him first,
because they know.

Quality, his reputation
precedes him.

The instruments that he's sold
to these A-list type of people

have been... used to make music

that's changed the landscape
of rock and roll.

Selling guitars to Slash,
selling guitars to Tom Petty.

And, you know, these songs
that they come up with

on these instruments
live forever.

And he's absolutely
linked to that.

For over 50 years,
Norman Harris has been in the

business of
selling rare guitars.

-[woman] Ready one, two, and...
-Hey guys, Norm over here.

And uh, you know, I know
you guys are like family to us,

and sometimes I got to tell you
the good with the bad.

I was ill,
I was kind of feeling like

a little something
over by my side here,

but my doctor said,
"Go get a CAT scan."

And what we found out was

that I have a very rare
cancer of the appendix.

It's called
appendiceal carcinoma.

[Norman] So I just want to say,
I just want to be truthful.

If anybody goes,
"Well, where's Norm
and what's going on?"

I just want you guys to know
that I love you all,

love all the guys that work
for me, love the family,

love vintage guitars.

So thank you guys.

I love you, and I hope that
I'm still around to be
doing this years from now.

But if not, sayonara.

See Norm and I have had
this conversation a lot,

about, you know...
about his legacy,
about his transition.

You know, he goes,
"I can't do this forever."

And, you know,
when he turned 70,

I think it really hit him
in a way.

Problem is,
if Norm's not there to run it,

then it's just...
it's a namesake.

It's just, it's just a brand.

And when you take the heart
and soul of the brand away,

it doesn't...
it's not the same.

I'm sorry,
it just isn't the same.

There's only one Norm Harris.

[Norman] I was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

but my dad had a company,

and we would move
from town to town,

'cause they would set up
a manufacturing plant

in different cities.

So, we lived in Philadelphia,
then we moved to Miami

and then, eventually, my dad
sold his company and retired.

And that's where we ended up

and that's where I grew up,
was in Miami, Florida.

Unfortunately,
when I was 16 years old,
my dad had passed away.

It was a very traumatic time
for me.

When I was a teenager in Miami,

of course this was
during the '60s,

and The Beatles had exploded,

and music was becoming
so popular.

It was just an amazing time
to grow up.

I met Marlene
in junior high school.

Hi, I am Marlene Harris,
Norman's wife,

and we've been married
for 51 years.

Quite an accomplishment.

We met in junior high school,
sort of.

And I walked around
the whole school,
trying to avoid him.

[Norman chuckles]
When we first met,

I think Marlene
couldn't stand me.

I was kind of a punk,

and I don't know,
maybe that's why
she ended up liking me.

[laughs]

But, anyway, I ended up
being friendly with him.

[Norman] And we started dating
in high school.

Actually, our first date,
I had a car.

I would drive some people home
from school.

[Marlene] And, one day,
I needed a ride home
from school,

and he was looking for
a drummer for one of his bands

at the Florida
State Mental Hospital.

And, um...

-[man] For real?
-Yeah.

A friend of mine
recommended this guy,

and it was
at this mental institution
in South Florida.

And I said, I'm gonna
take you guys home,

but we've got to stop
at this place first.

And Marlene and I,
our first date was probably
in a mental institution,

which says a lot.

We saw a lot of crazy people,

but he never found the guy
who was supposed to be
a good drummer.

After that, we started dating,
and we've been together
ever since.

We got married in 1969.
I was 18, he was 20.

I woke up the next day saying,

"What the fuck did I do?"
[chuckles]

But here I am.

People said that
I looked like I was in shock

at the wedding the whole time,

because I think it was, uh...

Uh, well, I'm sure
I was probably...

I used to smoke
a lot of pot, you know,

so I was probably
a little bit out there,

but I looked like I was
dazed the entire time.

And I probably was,
but I didn't know
what I was getting into.

But it was probably
the best thing
that ever happened to me.

[Norman] One, two, three, four.

[playing blues music]

[Joe] You know,
what a lot of people
don't know about Norm

is he is
a world-class musician,

and he chose
a different path in life.

He chose to be on
the retail side of musicianship

versus getting out there
and touring,
and stuff like that.

He always downplays
his musicianship a lot,

but, you know, the legacy
started there in Miami.

[Norman] So,
back in the old days,

the first band that I had

was a band called
The Amazing Aztecs.

We were kids
and we were pretty pathetic.

The band that I played in
after the Amazing Aztecs

was the Glass Menagerie.

After that, I played in a band
called The Bangles,

which was
two seminal Indian brothers,
Steve and Lee Tiger.

And we played at a place
called Thee Image.

And we were one of
the house bands
that played there.

And every week, they would
bring in a major act

that was either
international or national.

And we opened for
Jimi Hendrix,
we opened for Cream,

we opened for The Amboy Dukes,

which was
Ted Nugent's first band.

We opened for
The Chambers Brothers.

We opened for The Mothers.

And, you know, there was one
dressing room in the place.

So all the bands
kind of got together,

and I did meet Hendrix,

and you know, everybody
was pretty, pretty high
at the time.

The band after The Bangles
was a band called Katmandu.

And we were doing
a lot of original material,

and we were recording
at Criteria Studios.

We got a a record deal
with Mainstream Records...

[rock music playing]

...which was the same
record company

that Big Brother
& the Holding Company
were on.

Unfortunately, we found out
about three days
after we signed

and did our record

that they were being sued
by Big Brother
& the Holding Company

for not giving them
any of their royalties.

So that didn't work out
all that well.

One of the first instruments
that I ever bought

that I realized I may be...
I was onto something is

in Katmandu,

there were two guys,
a guy named Bobby Caldwell
and Bobby Jabo.

They both played
guitar and bass,

but neither one of them
had a bass.

So, I volunteered
to get a bass.

So he happened to find
a bass in the newspaper.

[Norman] I saw
an ad for a jazz bass
in the Miami Herald,

and I went out and bought
this older jazz bass.

It was, like, a 1961. It was
a very early 3-knob bass.

I bought it for $125.

When I brought the bass back

and the guys
started playing it,

people around town,
including Jaco Pastorius
and a number of other people

saw this bass,
and everybody wanted it.

And I went, "Wow, you know,
maybe I could actually

make a buck buying and selling

some of these used instruments
around town.

And that was kind of
the thing that kind of...

The light bulb flashed,
and I realized this could
be something

where I could pick up
some extra money.

Being a musician, I wasn't
making a whole lot.

Once I realized I could
make money off that jazz bass,

I saw an ad in the newspaper,
and I called and I said,

"What kind of guitar is it
that you have?"

She goes,
"Well, it's a Gibson."

And I said, "How much do you
want for it?" She says, "$25."

I said, "I'll tell you what,
I have $20 on me.

I'll give you $20 for it,
sight unseen."

And I walk into the house,

and I see
this beautiful brown case
sitting in the back.

I went to myself,
"Well, that couldn't possibly
be it

'cause the case
was so beautiful.

She said, "No,
that's it over there."

And I open up the case,

and it's this beautiful
late-'30s L-5 blonde cutaway.

I know nothing about guitars
at this time,

but you don't
have to be a genius
to look at this thing

and realize this is
a valuable guitar.

So I gave her the $20,
bought it, got out of there,

and I went and showed it to
this friend of mine, Ed Oleck,

who, kind of, was
dealing with old guitars,

and everybody was kind of,
you know, "ooh-ahh,"
over this guitar.

The next day, I actually
took Marlene's car

and I had the L-5 in the car,

and we're driving back,

and all of a sudden,
I hear a car going...

[mimics tires squealing,
crashing]

...and just smashes
into the back of the car

and it cracked this L-5 up.

Just so happened that
I took it to my friend,
Ed Oleck, the day before

and showed him the guitar.

And when I tried
to claim it on insurance,

they actually contacted
Ed Oleck to ask him

what the guitar is worth.

And Ed said, "Oh, that guitar
is worth a fortune.

"You better give 'em,
like, 1,200 bucks,
and get 'em outta your hair

'cause you'll never
be able to replace it."

That 1,200 bucks gave me
a lot of money to go out

and buy guitars, which were
very inexpensive at that time.

That really got me started.

Little Richard and his brother
managed our band Katmandu.

Little Richard was very
instrumental in our move,

because, I mean, he
wanted us to go to LA,

and meet Mo Ostin from
Warner Bros. Records.

It was just kind of really
stated to me very intensely,

if you really wanna make it
in the music business,
you have to go to California.

That's where
it's all happening.

[people chattering]

[Norman] For whatever reason,
as bands do, our band broke up.

I went with a band called
the Angel City Rhythm Band.

[man] All right,
the Angel City Rhythm Band.

[Marlene] While the band
was sleeping,

we were out up early
in the morning,

and then buying
and wholesaling guitars

to the music stores.

So, we were busy all the time,
and we used to
go to the Musicians' Union.

We saw that they had had
a musician's handbook.

So, I said, "Well this is great

because you can call
all the people in the handbook

and find things.

And he did that.

And then I said,
"Let's call people
that have horses for sale,

'cause cowboys play guitar."

I mean, I came up with a lot
of ideas, but he ran with it.

[motorbike engine revs]

[rock music plays]

[Norman] When I came
to Los Angeles,

it was a mecca,

and I had the opportunity
to buy things that
I never would see in Miami.

And I had also the opportunity
to sell a lot of things,

because all these big bands
were out there.

I was kind of getting known
amongst other bands
just by word of mouth.

I would kind of buy
and sell guitars in LA,

and I would buy them privately,

and then I would sell 'em
through some stores
on consignment,

and sometimes to these stores.

And there was a store
that I used to do
a lot of business with

in West LA,
called University Music.

And there was a friend
of mine, Dale Rossman,

who used to run the place.

One day, he gives me a call,

about maybe 9:00, 9:30
in the morning, and he goes...

[Dale over phone] Norm,
I need you to come over here
right away.

I've got
a very important customer
who wants a guitar.

[static buzzes]

[funky music plays]

I get to his store
and I walk in,

and it's just my friend, Dale,
sitting there,

and I go,
"Dale, what's the deal?

"Dale, I just drove
all the way over here.

You told me it was
somebody real important."

He said, "All right,
I'm gonna tell you.
It's George Harrison."

And I just kind of was
looking at him like...

You know? I mean,
I was kind of in shock.

And all of a sudden,
George walks through the door

with Mal Evans, who was
The Beatles' road manager.

He said he had
a guitar stolen from him.

It was a Les Paul that
Eric Clapton gave him,

and he needs to replace it.

They found the store where
the guitar was sold to,

the guy who bought it
at that store,
bought it in good faith.

And the guy said he'd be
willing to give George back
his guitar

if he could
get a similar guitar,

a late-'50s Les Paul Standard
in exchange.

So I told him, "Well, I happen
to have three of 'em.

He jumped in my car and we
drove back to Sherman Oaks.

I had a three-bedroom apartment
at the time,

but I had two bedrooms

that were just filled
with guitars, everywhere.

I opened the door,
and Marlene is still
in her bathrobe,

and I go, "Marlene, uh, I'm
bringing in George Harrison."

I said, "Yeah, right."
And I stayed in my bathrobe...

[chuckles]
...and I didn't even change.

And then, two seconds later,
George and Mal walked
through the door,

and Marlene was, like,
looking at me, like,
"Why didn't you tell me?"

[chuckling] You know?
You know, and she's in shock.

And anyhow, we sat there
for a couple hours,

played some guitars,

and George ended up buying

two late-'50s
Les Paul Standard sunbursts,

one to send
to replace the guitar
and get his guitar back,

and another one that
he fell in love with,
which was a 60,

that was very clean,
that he wanted for himself.

And he also bought
a 1956 Stratocaster,

which I charged him 750 bucks.

Nowadays, this would probably
be a $50,000 or 60,000 guitar.

It was super clean.

But I liked him very much,

and I was so stoked that I
was actually even dealing
with George Harrison

that I didn't really care.

I would've given him
the guitar probably,

just to be able to say that.

Although, I didn't think
anybody would believe me.

I would run these ads
in the L.A. Times

for instruments for sale.

And I get a call,

and the guy says, "You know,
I'd like to come see these."

And I said,
"Yeah, come on over."

And I said, "What's your name?"
And he goes, "Robbie."

And Robbie comes in,
and I didn't recognize him,

but it was Robbie Robertson
from The Band.

So he came in and he buys
several instruments from me.

And then, I got a call, like,
the next maybe Wednesday
or Thursday,

and he said, "You know,

this Saturday, I'd like
to bring a friend of mine in,
if you wouldn't mind."

I said, "No, no."

He brings in Bob Dylan.

And that was the first time
that I ever dealt
with Bob Dylan.

And Bob ended up buying
some instruments from me.

And then Robbie also brought
Joni Mitchell and Robben Ford.

And it seemed like, you know,
word of mouth around town

amongst the musicians,

'cause there were no
vintage stores,

nobody had any vintage stuff.

And I had
a three-bedroom apartment
with guitars everywhere.

And so, I had kind of monopoly

on the vintage market
at the time in LA,

and it really...

Robbie was very instrumental
in building my business up.

And it was really a plan B.

I mean, I really started out,
coming out to California
to be a musician.

You know, my intention was
to just be able to provide
a living for my family.

[Sarah] So if I put this
for instance, right up here.

[Norman] Yeah, just so that
you can read

what the thing is
on the bottom.

Make sure
that there's something--

-So, yeah.
-I see that.

Yeah. And just all this stuff
is just kind of...

[Sarah] You know how they say
you grow into your parents,

like you don't even realize it?

But I'm starting to see,
like, I can't shut off.

Like, I couldn't sleep
last night, because I was
thinking about clients

and emails and all this crap.

And that's the same shit
that I come down on him for.

[Norman] I mean,
if it wasn't for my family,

I probably wouldn't
go to the doctor
to be honest with you.

-I'm like, you know, I'm...
-I know.

I figure I'm here
till I'm not, you know?

But, you know, I did
and I checked it out

and unfortunately
or fortunately,

that's the news I got.

I mean,
nobody's taking it great.
My daughter is...

you know, and it's tough
for her. So...

I think my dad taught me,
like, an insane work ethic.

I grew up, and he
wasn't around that much.

And sometimes,
it does bother me.

I tell my dad, like,
"I want you to retire.

You're getting older, you
need to just relax and chill."

But he's not him
without that store.

Like, he doesn't have
an identity without that store.

It's like his life,
day and night.

[blues music playing]

When we had our firstborn,
Jordan, I was, you know...

And I'm still kind of
a reluctant father.

[Marlene] Norman, you know,
was more of a big kid than,

you know, a hands-on parent.

I mean, he was off
playing softball

or playing in the band
at night.

And I would have to say,
I was the responsible parent.

He was a good father,
but he wasn't there a lot.

Jordan was my first,

and Sarah wasn't born
until six years later.

And, of course, I was crazy
about her

just like I was with Jordan.

[Marlene] I had my hands full
with both of them.

And, you know,
when he was there,
we had a good time.

[Norman] I always felt
kind of, you know,
out there as a father.

I would see
these television shows
like Father Knows Best

and Leave It to Beaver.

And these families
seemed so normal,

and I felt so abnormal

that I just couldn't really
see myself as being a father.

But I did the best
that I could.

But there were
a lot of long-haired musicians
hanging around,

and, you know, that was just
the way it was back then.

And I always kind of
felt like The Munsters

or The Addams Family
or something,

I was just felt totally off
to the, uh, to the left.

Norman worked really hard,
and he was always stoned.

So... [laughing]
...it was amazing
that he could do what he did,

and smoke as much as he did.

I never really thought about
opening a store in my life.

But at the end of 1974,

we were paid a visit
by the State Board
of Equalization.

Somebody had said, I guess,

that we were doing business
out of the house.

So, we ended up having
to look for a location,

and my mom and I went out,
found the first store,

which was
about 500 square feet.

It was on Vanowen and Tampa.

Norman's Rare Guitars,
Vanowen and Tampa.

[Norman] I didn't know if
I was gonna have a business
or not, you know?

So, we wanted
a really small store
with very low rent,

and I didn't know if I'd be
in business for five years

or two years or six months.

Hi, I'm Scott Borden.

I was Norman's
original partner.

We opened the store,
I believe on Valentine's Day
in 1975.

And I was there
virtually every day
for the next ten years.

I didn't even get vacations.
He wouldn't let me go.

Back in those days,

I was one of the few people
that had never smoked a joint.

I didn't get high
and I didn't drink.

And he had already seen
that I was pretty good
at selling guitars.

And he felt like, well,
since he smoked a lot

and I didn't smoke any,
I would be a good person
to be in that store.

I mean, he woke up
in the morning

and he reached over
on his nightstand,
and grabbed a joint.

And to this day,
I've still never smoked pot.

I sold a lot of it,
but I never smoked it.

We just developed
a mutual trust for each other.

And when we opened the store,
he could leave.

He trusted me.

To this day,
he's one of my favorite people.

And I've been out of the store
since say, 1985,

which is how long?

The first store on Tampa,
it was 6753 Tampa Avenue.

And it had this big funky
put-together wooden sign
up in front

that was built by Dan,

and the logo designed
by John Juke Logan.

They were your typical
music store

I was used to back East.

Uh, very cramped

and you'll see amps
piled on each other
just to make room.

Yeah, it was a piece of shit.
It was basically a closet.

[Scott] We just had guitars
all over the place.

[Tucci] He had things
that nobody else had.

When you went there,
it was like, "Oh,

this was different.
This was special."

[Rob] So, you walked in,
and it was emerald green
carpeting,

and, like, baby poo tan walls.

But it was packed with
museum piece guitars.

I mean, it was like
you'd see '50's Teles

and '60's Strats
and '50's Less Paul's.

I mean, they would just
be there like it was just
regular stock.

And in the back,
there was a pinball machine
and there was a couch,

and on the wall was...
They didn't have a phone book.

They wrote everybody's number
on the wall.

And there was another part
of the wall that they used

to tally up what people
owed them.

And a piece of furniture
named Scott,

who was always there eating
watermelon and watching TV.

And I still remember
the smell to this day.

When we first started,

the rent on the store
was $600 a month.

We used to say, you know,
if we can gross
a couple hundred bucks a day,

we'd be doing okay.

There was no such thing
as these $10,000 guitars

or even $5,000 guitars
back then.

It was just amazing, because
it was this little store,

but people were already
kind of talking about us.

It just started growing
on its own.

The first little store
was kind of like
a "hidden gem" type vibe

'cause it wasn't
that well known,

because there was no internet
and stuff like that.

So it was kind of like
the "in guys" went in there.

You'd never know who
you're gonna see in there.

[Nick] The biggest names
in rock and roll would
just come in

and hang out
for a couple hours.

First time I went to
Norman's old store,

I see these two
hairy-looking creatures,

like, through a drawer
of pickups, I think it was.

And as my eyes got
accustomed to light,

I realized it was Tom Petty
and Bob Dylan

looking for Rickenbacker
pickups or something.

I grew up in an environment
of hanging in coffee shops,

hanging in guitar shops.

To me, it was always like
a gathering place of...

of kind of like-minded people,
you know, that like guitars.

I've always liked guitars.

I mean, I had vintage guitars
in the '60's.

I didn't really know
they'd be worth $300,000 now.

I thought $150 was
a pretty good stretch
in those days.

Being the guitar nerd
that I was,
I went to all the shops.

I never could afford any
back then when I was 19.

But as the years rolled along,

I'd pick 'em up
from time to time.

But, that was always
a fun shop to go to

'cause Norm always
had just loads and loads
and loads of great stuff.

I have several instruments
in my collection that I bought
from Norman.

And been a friend for,
gosh, 43 years.

When I'd get back in
from working with John Mayall
on the road,

I'd go and hang,
and we'd play cards there
all day long,

and listen to music
and play music in the store.

Just goof off, you know.
We got close that way.

It was like coming to
somebody's living room

and being able to play
the best guitars in the world.

So, why wouldn't you
go hang out there?

I was starting
to write articles
for music periodicals,

and I thought, "Well, you know,
it would be great to try

"and write an article on Norm.

"I think this is
interesting stuff

and I'll submit it
to Guitar Player,"

'cause I knew the editor
at the time, and submitted it.

And sure enough, it got in
the December, 1976 issue

with Robbie Robertson.

That article,

it brought him
worldwide recognition

and people started coming in
from Japan, from Europe.

We really have to credit
the Guitar Player article.

And it was the first article
written about the business

of rare guitar investing
and collecting.

After that article came out,

everybody started talking
about vintage guitars.

His business was solid
at that point.

It put us on the map

and legitimized what
Norman's Rare Guitars was.

Eventually, we needed
some more space,

and the store on the corner,
which was 1,800 square feet
became available,

and we signed onto that store.

I figured I'll never be
able to fill this store up.

You know, within a few months,
we had more guitars in there.

You could hardly walk in there.

Hi, I'm Doug Fieger, The Knack
and I don't do commercials,

but I've been shopping
at Norm's Rare Guitars

for almost 20 years,

and some of my favorite guitars
come from here.

So do yourself a favor
and check it out.

I was 13, 14, 15 years old
at the time.

My excitement walking
from the parking lot

up the street, up Tampa
just to the corner,

was like, it was just awesome.

-And it's all original '63?
-Yep.

[John 5] I was very young
when I first started going
to Norm's.

I probably had to be, you know,
18 or something like that.

There was no internet,
there was no social media,
there was nothing.

So, it was just word of mouth.

If you wanted a great guitar,

you would go
to Norman's Rare Guitars.

There was tons of just
old guitars and dudes.

You would see, like, a group
of guys, all talking laughing,

shooting the shit,
whatever they do.

But in the middle of 'em
was always Norman, you know,

just kinda like the Godfather
just sitting there almost.

I mean, and he wasn't--
Maybe it wasn't like that,

but he was always super-cool,
like, super-friendly to us.

And for whatever reason,
I don't know,

I mean it was just because
he's compassionate.
I don't know.

When I would go into the store,
I would have this feeling

of, you know, euphoria.

Because you saw all these...
Not just guitars,

but they were amazing guitars.

They were like just
the cream of the crop,

and the best of the best.

Everybody was super-nice,
really cool.

And they were like,
play whatever you want to play.

And you could touch 'em
and you could play 'em,

and you could strum 'em.
It was a magic time for me.

And, you know,
you kind of felt special.

You kind of felt like
a part of this family.

[Norman]
But, you know, this place
is kind of like a hotel.

They come and they stay
for a short time,

and then they leave
and go all over the world.

[announcer] One of
Bruce Springsteen's guitars
checked in recently

for readjustment.

Kurt Cobain had come in,

and this is
right at the height.

He was very, very low key
and really nice.

Norman didn't know
him from Adam

because they had
just broken big--

And that was the good thing
about having me there,

because I watched MTV.

I knew... you know, I'd go,

"Norm, that's that guy
from this.
We gotta talk to him.

He's, you know, he's
a good guy to talk to."

I sold him that Epiphone guitar
that was on the stand

in the back of
the Unplugged sessions

that has
the "Nixon for President."

The great thing
about artists like him

and other...
the big name guys is,

we weren't trying
to sell 'em anything.

I mean we were obviously,

but we weren't...
it wasn't a hard-pressed sale.

It was like, "Look,

"I could show you this
super-duper expensive guitar.

"'Oh, it's an investment'

"But, no, you know what?
I think you'd really dig this.

"This has got a great vibe.

"I know what your playing
style is.

I think this is really cool.
I love it."

And he played it, and he goes,
"Yeah, this is really good.

And he goes,
"I wound up buying it."

And then he goes
in his whiny voice,

he goes... [imitates Cobain]
"...Yeah, I went to this
one guitar store in Hollywood

"and I asked if
I could play the guitar.

"And the guy goes,
'Well, that guitar's
really expensive.'

"And I left, and I just
wanted to look back

and go, 'I could buy this whole
guitar store if I wanted to.'

So I came here."

[rock music playing]

[Kiefer] I remember
just the amount of playing
in that store,

and it was so unlike
any other guitar store
I'd been in,

because on any given day,

Jackson Browne
could be in there,

this person could be in there.

And so, the playing
that was going on
was pretty extraordinary.

And every once in a while,
especially with
the professional musicians,

you could tell if someone
was working up a new song,

'cause that's what they
would immediately start
to play on the guitar.

And so, it was just
a fascinating thing to watch.

It very quickly just became
my favorite store.

There's an instrument that
I think will be coming up here

that was in Streets of Fire,

and we're now negotiating,
I think, right now

on doing a new
Steve Spielberg movie

called Back To The Future.

[playing rock 'n' roll riff]

The legacy that he's had
in TV and film,

everything from The Last Waltz

to Spinal Tap
and Back To The Future.

He even told them,
"You're in 1955.

"This gear that
I'm renting to you
wasn't made until 1958.

You truly must
have a time machine."

A lot of the times when
they needed instruments

from either
a certain time period,

and they wanted things
to be authentic,

they called on us.

I supplied the instruments
to The Last Waltz.

That was one of the things
I'm the most proud of.

I think it's the greatest
rock documentary of all time.

♪ When I get off of
This mountain ♪

♪ You know where
I want to go... ♪

This is little piece
of history.

So on that tour with The Band
and Bob Dylan in 1974,

I got from Norm
a red Stratocaster,

and it felt so good.

It felt like
the nicest Telecaster,

'cause some of them,
the early ones

can be a little bulky
in the neck,

or a little thin, whatever.

This one felt beautiful.

So I used it the whole tour.

In 1976, when we decided
to do The Last Waltz,

concert and movie,

this guitar, I thought, "Well,

"we're bringing things
to a conclusion here.

"I'm gonna have
this guitar bronzed.

"I'm gonna have it dipped,
like they do baby shoes,
and bronze them."

So they did. And it
changed the sound of it

in a good way.

It was great.

But what I didn't realize,

'cause The Last Waltz concert
went on for five hours,

and it also made it
twice as heavy.

I had another Stratocaster

that I got from Norm. Beauty.

And so with the bronze one,
when it would wear me out,

I would switch
to the other Strat.

And when Eric Clapton
plays in The Last Waltz

and its strap breaks,
I was playing that guitar.

And Martin Scorsese
had said to me,

"My God, that's
such a beautiful guitar,"

when they were editing
the movie.

And, but he kept saying,
"God, that's
a beautiful-looking guitar."

And then, in the fall of 1977,

I gave him the sunburst one

for his birthday.

[inhales deeply]

[sighs] I don't know if
I should have done that.

[rock music playing]

[Norman] I also supplied
Spinal Tap

with a whole bunch of guitars

that were, like, Les Pauls
and Stratocasters

and Fender Bass VIs.

It's quite unbelievable.

And I supplied them
with a Marshall Amp.

They said, "Well,

"one of our gags is we're gonna
say 'amps go from one to ten,

but this amp goes to 11.'"

[man] Eleven. Look,
right across the board.

-Eleven, eleven, eleven...
-[man 2] Oh, I see.

-And most of these amps
go up to ten.
-Exactly.

Does that mean it's louder?
Is it any louder?

Well, it's one louder,
isn't it?

[Norman] And that was
kind of one of their gags,

and it's part of the vernacular
of musical instrument culture

where people go,
"Yeah, it goes to 11,

and people know
what that means.

It's a Spinal Tap reference.

[rock music playing]

[Norman] When I see
these things in videos,

and I see 'em in movies

and I see them on TV
and all that,

and I know that I actually
supplied that instrument,

I mean, you know, it's like
supplying them with a...
a weapon.

I feel like I have a history
with the artist

and with the item.

I have a memory a lot of times
with the guitar itself,

and it's just real satisfying.

It's just something
that's a good feeling to know
that I was a part of it.

[Marlene] The store
on Tampa and Vanowen

felt like the walls
were coming in,

and he needed
to get a bigger store.

The store that
I'm presently in,

that we moved in the year 2000,

is 6,000 square feet.

Same thing. I figured we'd
never be able to fill it up.

But we've filled it up,
and more.

♪ It's so good to be ♪

♪ Home ♪

♪ Home, yeah
It's so good to be home ♪

♪ Yes, it is ♪

♪ Oh, baby ♪

-[upbeat rock music playing
over speakers]
-[Norman speaking indistinctly]

You guys have
put up with a lot,

and I want to thank my kids,

and I want to thank
the person who I love the most
in the world

and who has put up with me
for 25 some-odd years.

And I hope it goes for
a lot longer. My wife Marlene.

-Thank you very much.
-[crowd cheering]

[man] So, Marlene, do you have
anything special you want

to say to Norman
on your 25th anniversary?

Yeah, that I really
love him a lot,

and I'm really glad that we
had everybody come tonight

and I'm having
a really good time.

Twenty-five years is quite
an accomplishment.

Congratulations, and hopefully
another 25 years to come.

[Rick] I've known Norm
for a long time,

and I really cherish
the relationship with him.

Good friend, and kind of
like a brother in a way.

You know, everybody's got to
have a brother like that.

I love this man.

I've been coming into the store
actually for 28 years.

I usually come in
Friday afternoons.

There's a certain kind of
Epiphone guitars that I like,

acoustic flat tops,
early '60's, short headstock.

So I come in,
and he had just got one in

and he goes. "Hey, you know,
I know you got a lot of these.

Here's one, take a look at it."

Now, it hadn't been set up yet,
it didn't have fresh strings.

So I said, "All right, Norm,
let's do this.

"Set it up in the morning.
You open at 11:00,

"set it up,
I'll come down at 12.

"I just gotta play it,

"and as long as it plays right
and it sounds
the way I want it,

then we'll work out
a deal." Great.

So, the next morning,
I walk in,

and there's a guy standing
at the counter,

holding the guitar
in his hands,

basically just about
to take his credit card out
and buy the guitar.

And so I walk in
and I walk up, and I go,

"That's the guitar that you're
supposed to be holding for me."

And he goes, "Well,
you didn't commit to it,
you know,

so, you know,
it's still available."

I said, "You're supposed
to be setting it up for me,

and I'm here to check
the guitar out."

You know,
so I start getting fumed,
I start getting angry here.

Now, it's not
this guy who's trying
to buy the guitar's fault.

He doesn't even know
he's caught in the middle
of anything right now.

This guy starts negotiating
a little bit,

and going, "You know, the price
is a little bit high, Norm,

because
the price guide says this
and you're charging this."

And then Norm
looks at me and goes,

"Rick, tell him
how good my prices are."

He goes, "You know, tell him

that this guitar is worth
what I'm asking for."

And I said, "You're asking me
to help you sell this guitar?"

And he goes, "Rick, you've
got five of these already.

You don't need another one.
This guy needs it."

And now, I just lose it,

because he's asking me to
help him sell this guitar,

my guitar that
I was supposed to buy
to this other guy.

And I looked at him, I went,
"You're an asshole."

And I walked out of the store
and I didn't come in
for six months.

I was so upset with him.

Then Norm and I had
a conversation about it,

and I just told him,
"Moving forward,

"that, you know what,
we have to kind of
change this dynamic.

"It's not a race
to the finish line.

"And if I want something,
I need you to hold it for me.

"And I need that respect.

"We've done a lot of business
for 28 years,

and I'm not gonna play
that game anymore."

And since then,
we haven't had that situation.

If I ask him to hold it,
he will hold it,

like he does for his other
cherished customers.

But, for me, he likes to try
to, you know, teach me a lesson

and piss me off.

Uh, but I love him regardless.

[Norman] Just to
roll back the tape.

-[laughing]
-[Norman] No, no, no.
I just gotta say something.

What you said to me is,
"I'll come in tomorrow

and we'll negotiate on it."

-That's not like,
"I'll take it."
-You know what?

That's like, "Now we'll start
talking about prices...

You're right. I just said
I'll come in, and if I like it,

-we'll try to work out a deal.
-[Norman] I got a guy here
buying the fucking guitar.

-This is my interview.
Fuck you. [laughs]
-[Norman] You douchebag.

-You can say whatever you want.
-[crew laughing]

You can do your... you know,
you can address it
towards the end.

[Norman] Make me look like,
you know, like I promised you,

-you committed to the price.
-You are a scumbag,
but I love you regardless.

[Norman] Thank you.
You made me look like
you committed to the...

that you committed
to the price.

-No, it was holding a guitar--
-You said, "Hold it tomorrow

-and I'll come
and we'll negotiate--
-It's holding a guitar

for one of your best customers.

[Norman] Thank you,
that's not a sale.

You know what, it's not a sale.
But, you know, that's how
you treat your best customers.

If I was Richie Sambora
you wouldn't fuck with that.

-All right, keep going.
Blah, blah blah, blah, blah.
-[Norman chattering]

As much as sometimes
he pisses me off

and we go at it, you know what,

he's like my brother
in a lot of ways.

So, I love him.

Hate to admit it,
but I love him.

[rock music playing]

[Joe] These guitars,
like these, every single guitar
in here,

unless it's brand new,
has some type of a story.

You know, it's been in
the hands of somebody else.

It's been in somebody
else's house,

it's been on stage
with somebody else.

It's Tom Petty and Norm
hanging out in the store,

trying to chisel down
those prices.

[man] Norm's one of the few
mom and pop stores left.

The very definition
of a mom and pop store
is what Norm's is.

You know that Norm is the one

who goes to these places
that I wish I could go to,
you know,

and find these rare guitars
and brings them here.

So, those of us who live
and work here, can play them,

and buy them
and have them and use them.

You walk in here, and there's
a spell that comes over you.

I mean, what other store
has got a couch

and you just sit here
and you talk, and,
"How you doing? What's up?"

And oh, it's just...
It's a hometown.

Musicians, aspiring musicians,
professional musicians,

whatever your status is,

you love to be in a place

where you can just
sort of feel at ease

and relaxed around instruments,

and being able to
try one out and hear it.

And it's just that kind
of environment
where they welcome you

to come and pick up a guitar
and try it out.

Going right back
to 16 years old,
12 years old, whatever,

how we started this thing.

And that's the vibe
in this guitar store.

It's right back to why
we play guitar.

And I get inspiration
from that place,

just walking into the place
and seeing around the room.

There's music. Every time
you pick up a guitar,

it should inspire you
to play something
or sing something different.

This is one of the stores
you go in and you're just
overwhelmed.

[Taylor] At first,
I was terrified.

At first, I was like,
"Oh, gosh, like,

everyone's so intimidating.

Like I would kind of like
try to not be seen,

and not not try to talk
with too many people.

The first time I heard
about Norman's Rare Guitars

was actually on set
of this TV show

I was doing called Roadies,

where a friend of mine who's
on the show was wearing

a Norman's Rare Guitars
t-shirt.

So, I was like,
"What's that place
with that address,

"like, right next to my house?"

We made plans
to go to Norman's.

I think this was the week
that, like, Prince died
and I saw this guitar...

which is a Parker.

It just felt like Prince,
you know?

And I was like, "Holy shit,
I gotta buy it."

And so that was
my first trip there.

I got this guy.

You walk in as a novice player,
you're just like, "Hey.

Well, these are really,
these are really cool--"

And you're afraid
to touch anything

and you don't know like what...
like what the rules are.

And then, all of a sudden, you
start to have a conversation

with anyone who works here,

and you realize,
they seem pretty cool.

Not only does
he know everything,

but the amazing people
that work with him

know everything
about guitars, and are--

I used to be embarrassed
to play in front of them.

[chuckles] They're so good.
You know, they play such great,
amazing guitar.

Everybody was just so nice.
I always felt welcome here.

Like, I can just kind of hang.

There's been a few times where
I would come by and say hi,

because I was
in the neighborhood.

It's a hang suite, man.

When you get to know Norm

and the guys in here,
it's a family thing.

It's really home.

[harmonizing] ♪ Hello ♪

-♪ Hello ♪
-♪ Hello ♪

♪ Hello ♪

It's like your favorite
local restaurant, you know,

where the owner's always there
and that's why
it's a good restaurant,

'cause the owner's
always there, making sure

everyone's doing it
the way he wants it done.

You're allowed to be
who you are
at whatever level you are.

It's chill. I've come
in here, looked around,

and I think maybe once,
I didn't buy something,

I never leave the store
without getting a guitar,
which is crazy. It's crazy.

Sometimes,
you look at the price tags
of some of these guitars,

you'll be like, "Holy shit."

There are several
different kinds
of collecting that people do.

There are certain collectors
that only want instruments

that have no issues,
no refinishing,
no parts swapped out.

You know, they want
the most original
conditioned type instruments,

and a lot of them
don't even play, you know,

a lot of collectors are
looking at it strictly as a...

as a financial investment.

[Mike]
But these vintage instruments,

they're like Stradivarius,
or Picasso, pieces of art,

and they just go up in value.

It's a win-win. You get to play
your guitar on records,

write songs with it,
hang it on the wall.

It's beautiful to look at,
and it's a great investment.

Norm was right there
at the right time.

[Vince] Buying and selling
and knocking around
instruments,

they do it because they
really are crazy about it.
Aand they are crazy.

[laughs]

Basically, Norm is
selling me real estate,

and that real estate
is going... skyrocketing.

So, Norman supplies
that passion

for those who have it.

And the ones
that don't have it,
he sells back to me.

Being a guitar player

and understanding
what these scratches
and dents mean,

you know, to quote Eric Clapton

and how I like
to buy my guitars too,

is that I like to buy the ones
that were highly favored.

Where, you know, you can tell
somebody loved this guitar,

and for some reason
had to give it away.

Right now, I'm on the cusp
of too big to unwind.

I have 400 guitars,
400-plus guitars, 400 amps.

And you're like... [sighs]
You know, there's a point where

the saturation point becomes...
I'm very aware of that.

And how much...
how much do you need?

Yeah, you get spun up,
and then you start making sets,

and you make, you know, like,

"I want to get every color
and stuff like that."

And yeah, the addict
and the collector comes out.

When you're
in acquisition mode,
you're rolling like this.

Here's common sense.
Here's fiscal responsibility.

And you close,
and you just go, "I'm in here,

I'm this, I want that."

And then, all of a sudden,
it just stops

and you go, "Okay, probably
should just sit back

and enjoy what you have."

Because, on several occasions
I'll pull out cases,

and I'm like, "Oh, my God,
I forgot I had this," you know?

Dumbbell, you've had it
for ten years,

you know,
you forgot you bought it.

There was
a very prolific period for me

when I was here
and in the other store a lot.

I had almost 100 guitars.

And then I got really cross
with myself,

because there was no way
you could play 100 guitars.

And so, I sold almost
three quarters of them.

Now I have a rule...
to buy a new guitar

is to sell an old guitar.

So, it becomes a lot harder
to make those decisions.

[Joe] One of the things
about collecting

and this whole thing,
this whole room that we're in,

is the fact that
we are purveyors of cool.

You know,
and you only buy stuff
that you think is cool.

That's the... that's
the only litmus test
that you got to have.

"Do you really like this stuff?

Do you think it's cool?
Do you want to display it?"

Or in my case,
make a theme park
out of it. Sure.

You know, and that's
really where...

It's the long and short of it.

Nobody knew back then that
you could take a $300 guitar

and then people would pay
50,000 or 60,000 bucks for it
40 years later.

You know, certain guitars
are desirable,

and a lot of times, it's
because of who plays them.

There's a lot of things
that are old, buy doesn't mean
they're great.

I actually remember
the first time I went
into Norm's store.

I got in an argument with him,

because my first vintage guitar
was a Stratocaster,

1964 Stratocaster
I got in Florida,

which I actually borrowed
the money, 'cause I couldn't
afford it for $200.

And so, I went into
his store one day,

and he had one,
I wanted a backup.

He had one similar. And I said,
"Well, how about that one?"

He said, "That's $20,000."

And I wanted to slug him.
Like, that's immoral.

I got mine for 200 bucks.
What's going on?

But Norm had
the vision that he saw

that the market
was gonna explode.

And I didn't,
I was stuck in the...

in the dark ages
for a long time.

I just couldn't bring myself
to spend that kind of money
on an instrument.

And, of course, now,
it's way past that.

And I've become a collector
by default over the years.

I just buy them to play them,

and they've started to
pile up in my house now.

As I look around this room

and I see all of
these guitars in here,
it's kind of overwhelming.

But if you zero in
on one, right,

and you pick up that guitar
and you start to play it,

it will talk to you.

And it tells you,
"I'm gonna teach you how
to play different."

And it's absolutely true.

The way I'll pick up
a Strat or a Tele,
compared to a Les Paul.

I'll hold it different,

my fingering is still
structurally the same,

but I'll hold it tighter
or looser, or you know,

or grab onto it for dear life.

They all speak
to you differently.

Going to a shop like Norm's,
the whole idea was that you...

you would discover something.

Are you gonna find
that magic instrument,

that magic guitar
that speaks to you?

Sometimes, I'd have
a general idea
what I was looking for,

or maybe I wasn't looking
for anything,

and kind of finding
that perfect surprise.

But, you know,
go around the wall
and just grab the necks.

You know, for me it's all...
it's a feel thing.

You know, I grab the neck,
I don't even have to
take it off the wall.

If I feel it and it feels
kind of like,

"Hey, this is in
the ball game."

You know, then I take it
to another level.

I think that
even young people...
My boys are 20 and 24,

so I look to them a lot.

How do your friends react?

And, yeah, a lot of kids
buy things online,

but I also know customers here
that are young people

that give a shit
about the exchange,

that give a shit
about picking it up
and plugging it in,

that give a shit about
being amongst this.

One of the things I would say
that why the guitars
still sell online too,

a lot of the reason is you're
not gonna find another one.

Buying online is great if
you know exactly what you want

and you have an idea of
what it's gonna sound like.

But it has to be
something generic.

If you're shopping
for vintage stuff,

you have to come
and listen to it.

You gotta sit
with it in your hands.

It's a tactile experience.

Two perfectly great
guitar players can sit down
with the same guitar,

and one of them will love it
and one of them will be "meh."

You know, it's... it's very,
very personal, the decision.

A professional musician,
you're going be spending
a lot of time.

This thing's helping you
make your living,

so you got to make
the right choice, you know.

[Joe] People hanging out
on the couch
and playing together

and talking and laughing,

and, you know, obviously,
when that's happening,

it helps drive sales,

but it also just fosters
the community.

And I think Norman's
just has a community

that most other music stores
don't have.

[all cheering]

The vibe of the store is
the reason why guitar stores
should exist.

It wasn't even about
the guitars sometimes.

There was always
just an element of the family,

not just of the people
who work there,

but of the people
who shop there.

We've had a lot of really
kind of touching moments
in the store as well,

and a lot of stuff that,
you know, is, you know,

a little on the sad side,

and you know, it's just
an experience that,

you know,
you kind of had to be here.

But we had a young man
who came into the store,

his name was Kyle Grady
and his mom, June,

and they were
really sweet folks,
and they came in.

And Kyle had some type
of really rare cancer
in his face.

And his eye was removed,
he had, like, a patch
over his eye.

He looked like he was probably
a really good-looking kid.

He had been through it
with these surgeries.

And he came in and he said,

"You know, I know you're
friends with Richie Sambora.

He said, "You know, I've
been going through a lot
of these surgeries

"and, you know,
they've been really,

you know, hard on me.

He said, you know,
"One of the things

"that really kept me
going was, I'm a big fan
of Richie Sambora,

"and I have this little
cassette tape of me playing

"some of Richie's tunes,
the Bon Jovi tunes.

And he said,
"Would you do me a favor?

Could you give this
to Richie for me?"

And it was, really,
a moving moment.

His mom really wanted...
they weren't sure...

He, you know, he said
one of his friends had said,

"You know,
you shouldn't go in the store.

You know, the way you look,
you know, they might
start making fun of you."

That was the opposite
really, of what happened.

It was really, you know,
we were really moved
for the kid.

And I called Richie,
who happened
to be in town at the time,

and I said, "You know, Richie,
there's this kid in the store

"and he's gone through some
really bad bouts with cancer,

"and he's had part of
his face removed,
and this and that,"

you know, and that he
seems like a really nice kid.

"And he was really inspired
by your guitar playing.

"He gave me a cassette tape
that he wants me to give
to you/

"You know, I just thought
maybe I'd put you
on the phone with him,

to just give him a couple words
of encouragement."

And Richie said, "Is he
in the store right now?

And I said, "Yeah,
he's over here now."

He said, "Keep him there.
I'll be right over."

And he jumped in his car...

he came over...

[breathes heavily]

[voice breaking]
Sorry for being emotional.
Excuse me.

It meant so much
to him and his family.

You have no idea.

And Richie is one of
the all-time biggest hearts,

one of the greatest guys I've
ever known, for him to do that.

They... they stayed in touch.

And, uh...

they would kind of
text each other
and email each other

and talk from time to time.

And they were
giving Richie an award
for The Midnight Mission.

And I flew Kyle and his mom out

to be with him that day.

It was one of the great moments
of his life.

And his mom
was so appreciative.

A few months later,
Kyle passed away. [sobs]

And it was something, you know,

that I know brought happiness
to this kid who...
[breathes heavily]

...had been through so much.

I'm sorry, I should really...
I should cut this, you know.

Some people are dealt
a really tough hand in life,

and it was one of the moments
that meant the most to me.

I've done so many things
like that,

visiting children's hospitals
where these kids are dying.

It is a very, very, very,
very hard thing to do.

You just bring hope
and you talk to them

almost in
an existential manner.

So it's like,

how you doing?

It's more like being a friend.

You have to have
a conversation with them

from past, present, and future.

Fucking sad.
Sorry, I'm a bit choked up.

That's what you do.

By the way, even if
you don't like guitars,

and you've already seen
Norm's good looks...

So those things happen
upon entering the store,

but to look around, oh, my God,

even if you're not
a guitar person,

it's just so warm
and welcoming.

But here's also
the exciting thing.

When I was first
brought into the back,

oh, delightful.

[curious music plays]

[Jeff] There's the stuff
out there,
which is all great stuff

and there's lots of it.

But there's a back room

and that's... that's where
the gold is.

There's vaults that
go back that way.

He's like,
"What are you looking for?"

And you'd be
looking around, going,

"Well, I was looking, like...

"like anything mid '60's,
I'm looking for a Dove.

But yeah, I'll come back
when you got--"

"Hold on, don't move." [laughs]

You'd be there. And then
he'd go behind the door,

or someone would
go behind the door,

and then five minutes later,

three 1966, '67 Doves were
standing right there.

And then he had
the Hummingbirds in case
you wanted to change your mind.

I just thought, "Wow,

"like, how big is whatever room
that is behind there,

and why aren't we allowed
to go in there?"

The guitars in the back
kind of have to stay
how they are.

A guitar up front, you jnow,

someone knocks off
a switch tip from a Telecaster
and it's no big deal.

We throw another one on there.

But you knock off
the switch tip
from a '52 Telecaster,

and now it's not
all original anymore.
[chuckles]

And that's actually
kind of a big deal.

If Norm doesn't want
to bring someone
to the back,

it's like, "What,
I'm not good enough,"
or something like that.

But really, it can just be
these guitars aren't supposed

to be put in the hands
of everybody who
wants to see them.

I've noticed that Norm
is more protective

of historically
significant guitars,

maybe than even guitars

that technically would
make him more money.

That's what he cares about,
preserving the history of
the instruments that he loves.

But also on the flip side,
I've seen him take out
Tom Petty's guitar

and show it to
a bunch of people,

just because someone could
walk in and say, "My mom and I
are huge Tom Petty fans."

And he'll just say, "You wanna
see something cool?"

[Joe] There's the stuff
you see in the store.

And then there's
the "secret stash."

[Tim] I had heard about
the warehouse forever.

Get into Norm's car
one day, and we drive,

and I'm talking to Norm
and I kind of don't know

where it is, which is
what he wants.

[Joe] And it was
the scene out of that
Indiana Jones movie

where they find the holy grail,

and it goes into
this secret warehouse
where all these crates

and there's forklifts...

I just remember popping
these things open
with a crowbar,

and it's just floor to ceiling,
guitars, guitars.

And you're like, "What?"

He's like, "Yeah, I have 12
of these."

I'm like, "What?"

There's the great stuff
that people want in the store,

but there's also
the cut above stuff
that you never see again.

The once in a lifetime guitars,
the mint stuff,

the stuff that is so preserved
that it looks like
it was made yesterday,

and it's 70 years old
in some cases
with the acoustics.

It's 60 years old,
70 years old,

in the case
of the solid bodies.

I did pick up a guitar there
and I touched the tuning key

and it basically turned to sand
in my hand.

[laughing]

So there is... I think
they... I think it's time

for these guitars to...
to be put into people's hands.

I mean, it was an amazing...
I mean, I was like,
"Norm, I'm sorry." [chuckles]

Ah, he goes,
"Oh, happens all the time."

And some of these guitars
have barely been played,

and some of them don't have
a scratch on them.

And you realize
he's spent his entire life

actually archiving
and collecting

the best examples
of the best guitars.

It's... it's jaw dropping.

[Joe] And he has
all this stuff.

It's a lifetime worth
of collecting.

It's a lifetime worth
of passion.

And that's what makes
Norm's Rare Guitars special.
It's him.

I saw Norm's store
on YouTube first.

I think one of the first videos
I saw was when

Richie Sambora
was here with Orianthi.

And I used to play
that video over

and over and over
and over again.

Like, I just... they just
looked like they were just
having so much fun.

Today, at Norm's Rare Guitars,

I got my really great buddy
over here, Richie Sambora.

-What's happening, man?
-And the great Orianthi.

And both of them were
just kind of killing it.

Every guitar they
would give to him...
[babbling]

This chick plays
like she means it.

[playing guitar riff]

Yeah, I mean there's
ten million views
on that video, you know.

And I didn't know
he was filming,
which is a funny thing.

"Here's a guitar, try it."

And then Richie's
grabbing a guitar,
and I was grabbing one,

and then, you know,
he was throwing, like,

shiny things
and really cool things at me.

I'm like completely
engrossed with that.

It was pretty insane
when people, like...

You got that many views
on that... on that video.

But I guess because
we didn't know that it was
being filmed, you know?

So, it was really natural
and just obnoxious. [laughs]

When social media got big,

people actually had

this look into the store,
this inside look.

It was like, all of a sudden,
a window had been opened,

and everybody could
see the inner workings

and the people jamming
out on the couch.

And, "You wanna know
what's going on
on Tuesday at four o'clock?

Like, check social media."

'Cause they're pretty routine
about it.

[playing upbeat music]

[playing harmonica]

I noticed Norm's
social media taking off

before Norm noticed Norm's,
social media taking off.

At first, he was like,
he didn't know,

he needed a minute
to get his sea legs,

but he's become
a really great presenter.

Norm over here
at Norm's Rare Guitars.

[Marlene] I mean,
after a while, Norm loved
the YouTube channel,

like YouTube videos,
like every day.

Hey, everybody, Norm over here.

And I once again have
my buddy Frank Stallone.

They let him out for the week.

His nurse said he's okay.

You know, I'm not sure
about that, you know, but--

Neither am I, actually.

Well, anyhow, Stan,
I would like my $20
at this point.

-Well, you weren't there.
-Oh! Well, how do you
remember stuff like that?

-I mean...
-Hey, LSD, it's mind expanding.

I remember,
I remember everything.

[Jen] He's definitely
a celebrity on YouTube.

Every time somebody
comes in, it's like,
"Oh, I love your show."

And he'll be like, "What show?"

And I was like,
"Norm, the YouTube channel."

I was like, "That's where
they see you at."

And he's just like,
"Oh, that thing."

I mean, we get viewers
from everywhere.

Hey guys, welcome back
to another episode
of "Guitar of the Day."

I'm your host, Michael Lemmo.

"Guitar of the Day" is a show

where we pick basically
our favorite guitar of the day
and we showcase it.

First we start off in the back
and we open the case.

It's a 1960 Gibson ES-330.

Once we take it out front,
we demo it.

We go through every pickup
for the world to see.

So let's check it out.

[Oates] Each one
of these guitars,

kind of makes you play
something different.

It leads you down
a musical path
in some way or another.

[Lenny] Norm's social media
is dangerous.

You know, you watch
those videos,
"Guitar of the Day,"

you look at the pictures
on Instagram,

and you end up wanting
so many things you see.

So, uh, you know,
you gotta be careful.

The way he helps
struggling artists

that come through the store.

"Hey, play a song. We'll put it
on our YouTube channel."

And you can sit on that couch
and you can play

and they'll put it out.

And so,
it's such an important place,

I think, for a young musician

to go and just get
a little bit of exposure.

He's very, very supportive.

I remember when
he first played for Norm
and started to sing,

I suddenly...
I saw him go very quiet.

♪ Hello, my sweet Maria ♪

♪ Always really nice
To see ya ♪

He nurtures really, you know.

♪ Oh, nothing's changed... ♪

I've been in the store
over the years, and walked in,

and there's these people
that nobody has ever heard of

that just grab a guitar
and start noodling around.

Like a dog is, they're hanging,
and all of the sudden, whoop,
the ear goes up,

and it's like,
"What's going on over there?"

And then you start
to talk to the person.

And then I've watched
those videos that...

that we all see on online.
I've watched them happen.

[playing blues music]

It's cool to see hundreds
of thousands of people

watch you and watch your video,

and when you're there,
you're playing all these
amazing guitars.

That's the great thing
about Norman's.

It's only something
you can do there.
You can't do it anywhere else.

[Rogo] Norm's platform
definitely helped elevate
my platforms a lot,

because especially with
the YouTube algorithm

and people are searching
some unique guitar, right?

So they'll punch in
the name of that guitar

and Norman's Rare Guitars,

that's the first thing that
pops up for a lot of people.

And then they'll see me
and they'll see me play
the guitar.

And I think even Billy Gibbons,
he called the store one day.

He's like, "Who's that girl
that plays those
resonator guitars?"

So, it's certainly...
certainly not a bad thing.

And it's really cool being
exposed to people

all around the world through...
through his platform.

[Joe] That's one of
the coolest things
about the social media stuff

that... that I dig,

is just, it really exposing me
to the other musicians.

[Kiefer] He's finding musicians
and bands that he thinks
are worth breaking,

and then sets them up in here
and makes them play.

So the customers
hear about them,

and then, obviously, it goes
out to the social media space

and he's actually
making a difference.

That translates.

Marcus King, I remember
when he came in the store.

So, we start to do a video
and they start rolling it

and he starts playing,
and then...

he opened his mouth
and started singing.

♪ I've been driftin'
And a-driftin', baby ♪

♪ Just like a ship
Out on the sea ♪

♪ Said I've been driftin'
A-driftin', Mama ♪

♪ Just like a ship
Out on the sea ♪

[Mark] The voice that came
out of this kid was like,

it was... it stopped you
dead in your tracks.

And it was like, "Oh, my God,
this is... I am watching

"the real deal right now.

"Like, this kid is gonna have
a serious career

in this industry."

♪ See my baby one morning ♪

♪ She was walking home
Down the street ♪

[Mark] It was, uh...
That was a pretty magic moment

to watch live in person.

We met for the first time
at my last job

at Norman's Rare Guitars.

You walked in,
I'll never forget it,

you were playing in the corner
and we're like, "He's good.
We should do a video."

And so we turned on the camera
and then you started singing,

and we were all like,
"Oh, my God!"

And then the video got,
like, two million views
or something like that.

It was crazy. I'd never
been a part of anything
quite like that.

Yeah, that was the first
viral video I think that...

that was ever on that channel.

And then, I've been
kind of watching the rise
of Marcus King ever since.

Man, I got to tell you,
it's... it seems like
it's all happening.

Man I'll tell you that...
that video really kind of

launched a career, really.

Something that I was already
on my way to do,

but that video helped a lot.

I remember talking to
Joe Bonamassa about you,

and he said, Marcus King,
he said, I'll never forget it,

he said, "It's not if..."

It's when."

And the when is right now.

[woman whooping]

When people come in here
and they sound really good,

I'll tell Norm
or Norm will tell me

like, "Oh, let's get a video
with them,

because they just
sound amazing.

And so, we get to
highlight unknown artists

and it's... it's a great way
to show new artists
to our audience.

A lot of people have come in
before they were ever known
by anybody.

Post Malone,
coming into the store,

no tattoos, long hair,
looking like a kid.

[over phone] Hey, everybody,
Norm over here
at Norman's Rare Guitars.

Look at this little chunker.

The young men that just
came in,

Jason Probst
and Austin and Douglas.

And they had
a funny thing happen

to 'em in the parking lot
at Topanga Plaza.

Not really funny,
but it's funny

that they ended up
at Norm's Rare Guitars.

Well, we drive like a Suburban

and someone broke into the back

and stole the back seats
without us knowing.

-And a guitar.
-And... and his guitar.

So we actually had to
come here and get a guitar.

-And...
-We knew right where to go.

They stole my Martin 000-15.

And so, we went looking around,

and went to Norm's
to check it out,

and we bought another one.

So that was pretty awesome.

But it is funny
that they ended up here,

because you were planning on
possibly going someplace else.

-And then, somebody suggested
Norm's Rare Guitars.
-That was me.

-What a guy.
-Yes, sir.

All right. So he knows
where to get good guitars.

-Thank you, Austin. So, uh...
-Play something
for him, Austin.

Yeah, play
a little something here.

This is an Eric Clapton
reissue, you know?

Yeah. This is a pretty guitar.
I don't know,

I can't really play very well.
Let me just play a little...

And then I played
the same thing
that I always play.

All right, Jason Probst,
thank you so much, buddy.

-Nice meeting you.
-Austin.

-Nice to meet you.
-Norman, pleasure.

-Thank you.
-Norman's rocks.

Here we go.
Norm's Rare Guitars.

Yeah, that's beautiful.
I fucking forgot about that
wholeheartedly.

But it's really awesome to see.

I'm super different now.
Way cuter.

At the end of the day,
I think the success
of the social media

runs tangentially with
how authentic he is

as a person in his store.

And that's why he's successful.

If you are as advertised,

people want to follow that.

[Norman] Well, you know,
one can only hope

that they've done
something good for the industry
that they're part of.

I hope that we are doing,

and that people appreciate
is that,

we do try to introduce
young talent
to a lot of people,

and also, you know,
vintage players

that maybe are not well-known,
as well-known
as they should be.

Giving back is very important.

And like
the city of Los Angeles
has been so good to me

that I kind of feel like I have
to do something to give back
to the city,

because it's really done things
for me in my life

that I never would've imagined
could've possibly happened.

[rock music playing]

[Melissa] I don't know
if people know
how much money he raised,

how much he gave back
to the... the community.

He gives to charities,
and he's big on
The Midnight Mission.

[Joe] We live in
one of the richest cities
in the world,

yet there's 70,000 people
that don't have
a roof over their head.

We did a charity event
in Malibu for him,

and it was a big success, and
he's done more of those since.

♪ Here she comes for me... ♪

He's a workaholic,

and he has, you know,
so much every day.

His daily schedule,
I would not wish that
upon anyone,

but he's like
the Energizer Bunny,

and work is, like,
what fuels him.

Old man works the hardest.

[Jen] It's 'cause you're
the strongest, Norm.

I am. I must be. I'm
the most determined.

But on top of it, he's like,
"I'm gonna see who I can get

"to play these
Midnight Mission shows

"because I have this
big opportunity to help

"and I have
all these celebrities
coming into the store.

What's the worst
they can say, is no."

The Heartbreakers got involved
with the Midnight Mission
a few times,

because we like Norm
and he asked us to do it.

We wanted to help.

You know, I always feel like
I could have done more

and we will continue
to do more.

And I thank Norm Harris,
especially for, uh,

getting me involved and Dana,
for being so enthusiastic,

and The Midnight Mission

is a good way
to spend your money,

because they're...
they're honest people

and the money actually
has immediate effect

on people that
need it very badly.

Through Norm and his many

connections and friends,
and family,

he's brought in,
I would say millions

to The Midnight Mission.

If you took all the people
who donate to us

because they learned
about us through Norm,

I mean you could...
that number probably
would even go higher.

The Midnight Mission,
it's a great cause.

We need you guys to step up.

It's my favorite cause,

and we're gonna feed
over 250,000 meals

to homeless people just from
these two nights and more.

We just got some of our toys
and we just got 60 guitars

that we are gonna give
to the homeless kids.

[Georgia] He is truly humble.
It's not false humility.

And that may be one of
the outstanding qualities
about Norm,

is that he doesn't even know
how magnificent he is

and it's part of his charm.

It's like, "Do you even know?"
He doesn't know.

And I'm like, "It's Norm!"
Like, I adore Norm.

And I think that anyone who
meets him feels that way.

You know, in the years that
he's participated
in our toy drive

and our Christmas event,

I've come to see what a gift

giving somebody
a musical instrument
versus a toy.

He's giving
these children gifts
that will last a lifetime,

and maybe even
become something for them

to process their emotions.

Maybe even a future career.

[woman] Where...
where are we, Norm?

We're down at
The Midnight Mission,

and we're trying to give
some kids a merry Christmas.

The ripple of Norm Harris
has been life saving
and life changing,

to the people in Skid Row.

His legacy is, uh, is immense.

[Joe] One of the things about
my friendship over the years
with Norm,

is the fact that I see

how much good
he does for people.

He's the type of person

that my family always tried
to make me,

is he'd rather give
than receive.

Hey, guys, Norm over here.

I'm in my hospital bed
with Marlene,

and I just want
to let you guys know that

we're making some improvements.
It's little by little.

I'm in, actually,
a rehab center right now.

They took me
out of the hospital,
which is a good sign.

So we're hoping that I kind of
get back to my old self,

or close to it.

And all the love
that I've received

and so many messages...

I love all of you, and I am
overwhelmed with it,

and it gets me teared up
when I read a lot of the stuff.

But, I love you guys.

I don't know who deserves
as much love as I'm getting,

but I'm overwhelmed by it.

And thank you guys
for everything.

[indistinct chatter]

-[Joe] Still buying.
-[laughter]

This is no,
this is the first...
this is the first guitar

I've ever bought
from this store

that Norm didn't personally
make the deal on.

-Yeah. Yeah.
-And it's like...

That's why
I always tell people, it's like

if you buy a guitar
from Norm's Rare Guitars,
you'll...

Norm gives the final say,
you know, on all the deals,

which is so good
to be here today

because you know,
you knocked off, like,
7,000 or 8,000 grand off it.

[laughing]

Yes, this is a business,

and you have to sell guitars
in order to buy new guitars

to sell more guitars.

But there's a real passion
behind it.

And it's driven on
a real personal level

that the music is what matters.

And that this is the...
this is the foundation.

You can make your music,

but you can't make guitar music
without one of these.

And we're gonna
help you find one.

And it's got every sense
from the much smaller store
in the beginning to now,

that it is not a corporation.

[Sarah] This is like
the Cheers spot,
this is the hangout.

You don't get that anymore.

Like, companies try
and create that artificially,

like when you sit
at the Starbucks

and they want
everybody to sit there

and how can we market
to the kids to entice them

to, like, hang out here.

This is organic.

[Kiefer] Every instrument
that's come through this door

that makes it to the wall
for sale,

has gone through Norm.

No one's gonna dispute
the authenticity of this place,

of Norm, of his passion
for the instrument,

and his passion
for the players.

[Rob] He still loves this.

At a time where he could really
phone it in, he doesn't.

That's why
Norman's Rare Guitars

is as successful as it is,
is because he did the work.

That's what
Norman's Rare Guitars is today.

It's the work, it's the passion
and it's the love of guitars.

Thomas Edison,
he invented the light bulb.

You have inventors
and creators.

Norm should be on that list

'cause he basically created
the vintage guitar
market and store.

I believe he should be
credited with that.

These guitars are all Norm's,
and they will all find homes.

And you know,
there's something really cool
about saying like,

"I got this at Norm's."

[in Spanish]
It's easy to be successful
when everything comes

from the heart.

I think that
Norman's Rare Guitars is that.

[in English]
Norm has put the time in.

I think Norm will probably,
in some sense,

always be connected
with vintage guitars.

You know, it's in his blood.

[woman] Welcome back, Norm!

[man] There he is.

[woman] We're so excited
to see you in the shop.

Whoo!

Yes.

-Partially.
-[all laugh]

[woman] Yes, Norm.
[clapping] So happy.

-Thank you, boys.
-[man] We should put you
right to work.

[woman laughs]
Put you right to work.

[indistinct chatter]

[interviewer]
How do we keep that
Norman's Rare Guitars trust

when Norman is gone?

[Nick] When he is gone?
You mean...

[interviewer] Retired or...
It's inevitable he'll not
be here one day.

[Nick splutters] You know what,

I haven't really given that
much thought.

I don't...
I don't know whether, uh...

That's a... that's a very
saddening thought for me.

Norman doesn't have
an exit strategy.

You know, we just take
one day at a time,

and we hope that if anybody
would take over the store,

that they keep
the same employees.

He's built up a reputation
of honesty and fairness, trust,

and, um, people rely on him.

One of the people that
I would have to say is

as crazy about guitars
as Norman

is Joe Bonamassa.

And he loves everything
about guitars.

And I would say
he's got the same outlook

that Norman does. And, uh...

But he... You know, he's young

and he's got his career
to think of.

But Norman would love
to see him in the store also.

I think that he's gonna
have a long career

and he's fabulous, so...

But that's who
we think of sometimes.

I can't think of the, you know,
the store without Norm.

I know Norm since I was a kid
and I wanted to work with him,

and I'm doing that right now.

I just cannot imagine,
you know?

My life without Norm,
it's unthinkable.

Well, Norm is not replaceable,
and he never will be.

I'm so glad that
there's all this media,

and this... all of these films

and all the work
he's done for charity

that is a record permanently
of who he is
and what he has done,

because it'll make it easier

for us to talk about him
in 50 years.

It really will.

[Joe] Everybody who's
working here
just has to do their job

the best they know how,
and it'll work.

And people are doing that.

People are making
an extra effort.
I think that's the key.

We know what Norm wants,
so it's up to us to do it.

[Nick] We will have
to keep Norman's standards
if he's not here.

We have to use his eyes
to buy stuff,

and his way of working,

and his love
of really cool stuff.

You know, for the rest
of the Harris family,
if nothing else.

[Lenny] I'm sure that
he's got people that will
look after the business.

I'm sure he's trained people as
to how he likes to do things,

and the specimens that
he likes to purchase.

And, you know, I'm sure he's
got a huge warehouse of things

that still haven't been seen.

So, I hope that
the business will continue on
into the future

for young players to discover.

[Rob] Maybe the storefront
will close,

but the name, the brand,

the memory will live on
for as long as everyone

who can remember it.

Norman's, it's... I mean,
it sounds so cliche
and so funny,

but it really is...

I mean, Norman's Rare Guitars,
it is an institution as...

You know, most people
who aren't musicians

or guitar players are going,
"Yeah, please." No.

But those of us who
have been around here

and who have that passion
of vintage guitars

and have that passion
for music,

it's going to live on.

The storefront might be gone,
but it's still gonna be here.

[Taylor] I'd be sad as
the selfish customer
that loves his guitars,

but for this to be
the turning point
for Norm to...

to pivot into his next chapter,

I'd be thrilled for him,
because then he'd be able
to look at this...

this thing that he built
as just an overwhelming
victory,

a stunning success.

Something that matters
to anyone that...

that gives a shit about guitars
frankly, across the world.

That sounds dramatic,
but it's true.

[Robbie] All those guitars
that are out in the world,

that come from Norm,
you know, they all got a story.

They all go back
to the source on this.

And of course,
you know, we're...

we're all living in these times
and things change,

and we don't have much control
over a lot of these things.

But I think that so much,

it's been spread out there,
so much already,

what Norm has given
to the guitar world
and everything.

You know, it's been a...
a tremendous gift.

And so, I think that
lives on forever.

[Joe] And I'm lucky,
we're all lucky,

to have lived in the time
when there was a Norm Harris.

And to see it flourish and grow
and be what it is.

And he's accomplished
everything that I think
he set out to do

when he started off in Miami.

I think he's become
an icon, a legend,

and just on a personal note,
a friend, a family member,

and the kind of person,
regardless of what he did
for a living,

that you look up to
and respect,

and know that there's
still people out there
that operate that way.

I feel like this obligation
to take over the store,

and I can't get there.

Like, if it's not for you,
you can't make yourself

love something and be
passionate about something.

I mean, I love it
because it's my dad's,

but that's his love.
It's not mine.

And I want, you know,
my son or daughter...

[crying] ...I want them
to see the store.

I want them to know what
their grandfather built.

I don't want to just tell them.

I want them to actually see it,
to understand,

because, sure,
it's just a guitar store,

but it's not just
a guitar store.

To me, it's so much more
than that.

And to so many people,
it's so much more than that.

So I hope they get to see that.

[mellow music plays]

[Norman] In my mind,
I'm still the young man

that started
Norm's Rare Guitars.

But when I look in the mirror,
I realize time has flown by,

and, you know,
I'm kind of old school,

and I always thought that
the thing to do is to just try
to provide,

you know, as well as I could
for my family.

But I do have regrets.

I kind of wish I would've
coached more ball games

and spent a little more time
with my kids and my wife.

But I thought the, you know,
my work was the main thing

that I was supposed to do.

Now looking back, I can see
that I wish I would've done
some other things.

Can't go back in time,
so I regret spending

not as much time with my family
as I probably should.

But I'm fortunate to be able

to have turned a hobby
into a business,

and I love what I do.

And, you know,
it's a small business,

and small businesses
have a lot of challenges,

and this cancer thing has
really kind of brought that
to the forefront.

And, you know, when they first
talked about the cancer,

I thought this could be it.

I thought the family
and the business,
that could be over.

But my kids got me
into social media
and the Internet,

and selling guitars
on the Internet.

And I'm very thankful
that they did,

because it's brought us
a worldwide audience,

and, you know, the store future
is up for grabs.

I mean, we still don't know
what's going on,

but we're doing
the best we can.

You know, when I'm gone,
I hope these guitars go on

to make beautiful music
with a lot of people.

And, you know, I hope
the business wasn't
for nothing.

And, you know,
neither of my kids
really are interested in,

you know,
making the business go on.

So, I'm gonna have to
find somebody that,

you know, loves the business
and will treat it like I did.

My dad gave me some good advice
when I was younger,

and he said,
"When you're in business,

"try to be
as truthful as you can.

"Tell people everything
you know about your product

"so you don't wake up
in the middle of the night

with people yelling at you."

And, you know, I think that was
a good piece of advice.

So, you know, I've met
so many great people,

you know, doing what I do
in the business,

and, you know,
it's just amazing.

And, you know, hopefully,
we treated everybody

from the people who were,
you know,

busboys in a restaurant

to presidents, and, you know,
congressmen

and movie stars
and big-time musicians,

I hope we treated them
all equally and right.

I'm humbled by all that
the store has done for us,

and I love the store

and I love
the worldwide audience

that we've gotten
since we've been able

to do all this Internet
and social media,

and it's all for the music.

So I hope that, you know,
when time goes by, people will,

you know,
continue to play these guitars

and make good music on them.

And I love the family
that we've made
through the Internet,

and I hope that it goes on.

Love you all.

What does the guitar
mean to me?

First word that comes
to mind is "freedom."

It's freedom.
It's escapism at its finest.

To me, I always say
it's six strings
in the universe.

Oh, the guitar is,
it's the most familiar thing
in my life.

I pretty much live
and breathe guitar,

and it's my main sort of
instrument for communicating.

I definitely communicate
better on the guitar
than I do verbally.

I'll be more
comfortable sitting
with a guitar in my lap,

watching TV and not play,

than I would be without it.

There's something
very comforting,

the way it fits on my body,
the way I've gotten used to
holding onto it.

The fact that it's there.
Oh, my gosh, if you have an
idea that falls from the sky,

it's been everything
from a best friend
to a life raft,

where it's just...
it's filled the time,

where otherwise, I certainly
know myself,

I could become destructive...

[chuckles]
...and the guitar has
saved me more than once.

The guitar is the biggest thing
in the world to me,
next to my family.

It's my favorite thing to do.

It is my favorite thing
to talk about.

It is my favorite thing
to look at.

It's my favorite thing
to listen to.

It's... it's completely
all encompassing

my whole entire life.

It's been an extension
of my personality.

It's sort of, it's enabled me
to travel all over the world.

It's enabled me
to make a living.

It's enabled me to...

to work in a venue where
I met my wife of 37 years,

and I will never get tired

of even looking at
the simple shape of a guitar,

or the finish or the colors
or the variations of them,

let alone the sound
and what you can get out of it.

The guitar means everything
to me.

It's, uh... It's the nucleus

of the art that I make,
the music that I make,
you know?

It was the power...

within the music.

As, Santana says,
"It's a weapon of peace,"
you know.

It's a part of me.

It's just a...
a part of my...
my DNA, and it's me.

It's my world, and it's...

there's no one that
can touch it.

It's just my life.
It's just my everything.