MUSIC ICONS

Coming to auction is very guitar John Lennon used to record Help!, a 1964 Framus 5/024 “Hootenanny” 12-string which can be seen in his hands in The Beatles film of the same name. Julien’s has taken great care to verify and match the instrument to existing photographs based on specific wood grain patterns, dark portions of the rosette, a “stripe” found in the pickguard material, and the guitar’s Maton case, also photographed with The Beatles during recording sessions.

After months of painstaking research and authentication, Julien’s is pleased to offer another of Prince’s Cloud guitars, having sold Cloud 2 just a few years ago for over $700,000. Cloud 3 returns to the auction podium after nearly twenty years, having been sold previously with little information and fanfare. We now have a body of research to back up the importance of this guitar, including CT Scans, photo matching, and the seal of approval from luthier Dave Rusan, who built this very guitar in early 1985.

Julien’s re-discovery of the Cloud 3 guitar marks a pivotal moment in its remarkable history and reinstates its rightful status as an iconic symbol of the seven-time, GRAMMY-Award winning music artist’s titanic career and rock 'n' roll heritage itself.

Few guitars are as iconic in punk circles as the white Les Paul Custom Steve Jones slung around his shoulder during the short lifespan of one of the most infamous and influential bands the genre has ever produced. It’s the guitar most associated with Jones and the one on which his 2008 Gibson Signature models were based.

We have gone to great lengths to inspect, verify, and match this Les Paul to photographs and performance footage from the late 1970s, which included the unique patters found in its mother of pearl block inlays, play wear found on the guitar’s finish, belt buckle “rash” on the back, notable repairs, and a spot on the top where duct tape was affixed to secure the strap button which left a recognizable discoloration to the finish when removed.

When Dylan went electric, this Telecaster was there. Initially ordered for Dylan by Robbie Robertson of The Hawks (the band which would eventually become The Band) this is the very guitar Dylan wields at the 1966 Manchester show where the now-infamous heckling incident took place. Dylan was called “Judas” by a concertgoer, and Dylan’s response was to turn to the band and yell, “Play it f*cking loud!” as the troupe launched into “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Robertson continued to use this instrument in a number of configurations throughout his career. In the early ‘70s, Robertson stripped the guitar’s black finish down to bare wood and added a humbucker in the neck position. In 2000, he had the guitar routed to accommodate a Bigsby B-16 vibrato system, which replaces the stock bridge.

In the 1984 music video for "Hot for Teacher,” a child actor named Brian Hitchcock was cast as a young Eddie Van Halen. For that role, Brian and Eddie were dressed in matching outfits, and to complete the look Brian was given a matching short-scale guitar. To anyone who’s seen the video, the effect is perfect for the video, and after the shoot Eddie signed the guitar himself as a gift for Brian. The auction includes the white cotton “No Bozos” T-shirt, a pair of Sergio Valente torn jeans, an Oleg Cassini denim vest, and more.

This solid body electric guitar, signed by Mars and adorned with custom "Girls GirlsGirls" paint by Kline, served as a staple on Motley Crüe's world tour from 1987 to 1988 and was featured prominently in the music video for "You're All I Need." With its distinctive design, including disembodied large breasts on the back, this guitar represents the pinnacle of 80s’ glam rock excess.

The white 1976 Travis Bean TB500 solid body electric guitar numbered 11 owned and extensively played by The Grateful Dead legend is paired with the Slavedriver 360 guitar synthesizer, the first-ever guitar synth played in-studio. Both were used at numerous Grateful Dead concerts including The Dead's three-night stint at the Winterland Ballroom in 1977. This Travis Bean TB500 is one of two such instruments Garcia used from ’76-’77 and is said to be the second TB500 produced.

One of the Metallica legend’s personal guitars, the 1968 Fender Telecaster was sold for him by Sean Cummings in 2015 and wears a heavily aged blond finish with lots of weather checking and areas of missing finish from use. The body remains in original condition including pickups, bridge, and hardware; the Fender-branded Bigsby B5 vibrato is original to the guitar. Includes mid-to-late 1960s black Fender hardshell case with orange interior, a Beatles Yellow Submarine strap, and a size large Boy Scouts of America hat.

This Les Paul, serial #9 0319, is the very guitar on which the main riff of The Guess Who’s hit song “American Woman” was written during a fateful performance where he stumbled upon the iconic riff after breaking a string. He re-strung the guitar and tuned to a nearby piano, checking note after note in succession until it all coalesced into the classic chord progression we all know to this day. Randy went on to record the guitar tracks for that song on that same guitar, including the fuzzed-out lead guitar line that gets stuck in our heads so easily.

This white Stratocaster was the back-up to Randy’s main stage instrument during the B.T.O years, a white hardtail 1971 Stratocaster. Both guitars have been photographed in Randy’s hands during live performances and even featured in B.T.O.’s music videos. The ’55 is great-sounding instrument that wears its scars proudly, bearing the hallmarks of a well-used touring guitar. It also has a singing, loud bridge pickup which made it a favored tool in the studio.

In addition to his road-worn USA-made guitars, Randy also has a stunning collection of archtop guitars from the 1940s through the 1960s, the bulk of which were made by skilled luthiers in East and West Germany. This collection features the work of highly-respected builders including Todt, Lang, Huttl, Glassl, Seifert, and Hoyer. Take this 1960 Special SL, for example: it’s a stunning representation of the intricate craftsmanship present on many of these guitars, with its alternating ebony and pearloid fretboard, mother of pearl position marker inlays, and rope binding throughout.

Instruments of this type are extremely rare in the United States, which makes this portion of the Bachman Collection so impressive, not to mention sought after.