ISLAMABAD - Artists have been rummaging through their closets to find items to donate to MusiCares for their charity auctions. MusiCares Charity Relief Auction, the other day, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the charity’s philanthropic work. It took place live at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills and online at juliensauctions.com.
Julien’s Auctions reports that the item that drew the largest bid ($51,200) was Bill Wyman’s custom Mesa/Boogie bass amplifier rig used during The Rolling Stones’ 1989-90 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle World Tour. The winning bid, while impressive, was less than the auction house’s original estimate of $80,000.
A fellow English artist (a couple of generations removed), Harry Styles, donated the runner-up item in terms of its winning auction bid. Styles’ cherry red Gibson Memphis ES 335 guitar, signed on the body in silver marker “[heart] Treat people with kindness Harry Styles,” sold for $28,125, more than nine times its original estimate of $3,000.
Bono’s handwritten and signed lyrics to U2’s 2017 song “Love Is Bigger Than Anything in Its Way” sold for $22,400 -- 11 times the original estimate of $2,000. The song appeared on the band’s most recent studio album, Songs of Experience, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1.
Several items associated with classic rock stars drew heavy bids. A Gibson SG Standard ’61 guitar in vintage cherry signed by Robert Plant and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) sold for $19,200, nearly five times its original estimate of $4,000. Ozzy Osbourne’s stage ensemble of a black Gene Meyer New York shirt with red crystal cross and matching pants and his Oliver Peoples round silver metal glasses fetched a combined 16,460, significantly above the combined estimate of $9,000.
A Paul Reed Smith Dragon Series guitar, Series 1, signed by Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, sold for $12,800, above its estimate of $10,000. Proceeds from designated lots were split between MusiCares and the Grand Ole Opry Trust Fund. MusiCares also announced its next online auction with Julien’s, which will take place during Grammy Week next January, in the run-up to the 63rd annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 31.
