The Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan has been reunited with his long-lost Fender Stratocaster from the band’s Gish era, Rolling Stone reports. The guitar, which Corgan purchased from his bandmate Jimmy Chamberlain around 1989 or 1990, was stolen after a show at Detroit’s Saint Andrew’s Hall in 1992.
After decades of waiting for it to resurface, Corgan was reunited with the instrument in Flushing, Michigan on Tuesday. Beth James bought the Strat 10 or 12 years ago at a yard sale for $200—she kept it as a decorative piece for her basement. One of her friends eventually recognized it as Corgan’s guitar, and this week, Corgan reacquired his instrument.
“I always felt the guitar would come back when it was time,” Corgan told Rolling Stone’s Kory Grow. “And I know that sounds strange, but today didn’t surprise me. I always felt the guitar would come back when it was time.”
Read Rolling Stone’s full feature.
