BOB BIRCH 1985 YAMAHA BB5000 BASS GUITAR •

A Yamaha BB5000 five-string bass guitar with black finish. Serial number L01P004. Comes with photos of Bob Birch playing the guitar and a gig bag. Legendary bass player Bob Birch provided his rhythmic bass lines for superstar Elton John’s incredible music for the last twenty years, the longest run of any of Elton’s bass players. Birch also lent his talent to the music of other iconic artists such as Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, Sting, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner, to name a few. In 1995, Birch was badly injured when he was hit by a pickup truck while walking the streets of Montreal with his fellow band members. He was thrown over twenty feet before landing on the asphalt, breaking both his legs and severely damaging his back and spine. The doctors initially told him that he would never walk again, but within three months he was back on tour with Elton John, and continued to do so for the next seventeen years. Throughout those years, Birch struggled with constant headaches, dizziness, vertigo, and severe pain throughout his body. During his final tour before his death, Birch was forced to perform while seated on a chair because of the pain he was enduring, which had been aggravated by a fall accident at the start of the tour. His talent and his friendship are deeply missed by those that were lucky enough to have been in his life, and he was loved and respected by all those who knew him. “I am devastated and shocked at the loss of my friend and fellow musician, Bob Birch.