Jess McEntire, a musician and the man behind the Mother Road Music project, is selling charity raffle tickets for a chance to win a custom-made Route 66 electric guitar.
The guitar’s body is fashioned so it looks like the Route 66 shield sign that once graced the Mother Road decades ago. It’s a limited-edition model made by Forrest Custom Guitars in Waverly, Tenn.
Making the guitar even more special is it’s autographed front and back by country-music legend Loretta Lynn. She and McEntire collaborated on the song “Ole Route 66” a few years ago. (The song can be downloaded for 99 cents here.)
Tickets for a chance to win the guitar are $25 apiece, and can be ordered here. Proceeds from the raffle will be given to the nonprofit Project Route 66.Com Inc. so it can fund a billboard in Nashville promoting Route 66 tourism. The group already has funded a billboard in Hurricane Mills, Tenn., in September.
Here are two close-ups of the body of the guitar, so you can see the handiwork and Loretta’s signature.
I have to admit, I’ve never seen a guitar quite like it.
One of McEntire’s prominent projects is the “Man on a Mission” double CD, which contains a lot of songs about Route 66 and also raises money for the cause.