Musician left guitar-less

Burglars steal 10 from local artist

Fans of Memphis musician Rob Jungklas are encouraging local residents to look for the singer-songwriter’s 10 guitars at area pawn shops after the instruments were stolen from his home Friday morning.

Jungklas, 62, who has been performing in Memphis since the 1970s, said Saturday that “ten pieces of my heart have now been kidnapped.” He began collecting the guitars when he was 20 years old.

“I’ve been writing for 40 years and I’ve shared very intimate moments with these guitars . . . These are pieces of me,” he said.

Jungklas said he received a phone call from Memphis police at about 11:30 a.m. on Friday while he was at St. George’s Independent School, where he is a seventhgrade science teacher. The door of his home in the 500 block of Ellsworth had been kicked down, and his guitars — valued at more than $15,000 — had been stolen along with several amplifiers, a laptop computer and guitar pedals.

Police reported searching the area for a green Pontiac Grand Am in connection with the burglary, but did not locate it . Investigators processed his home for fingerprints, but did not find any of value, according to a police incident report.

Among the stolen guitars that Jungklas prizes most are three copper- colored Harmony Stratotones from the 1950s.

Other local musicians have offered to loan Jungklas their guitars since the burglary, gestures he said have been appreciated.

An investigation into the burglary is ongoing, police said. — Scott Carroll: (901) 529-2322