The acoustic guitar that John Lennon used when recorded hits songs such “Love Me Do, ” ”I Want to Hold Your Hand”, sold for $2.4 million at Julien’s Auctions.
The instrument which fetched one of the highest prices ever for an item or rock’n roll memorabilia has an interesting story: how it was gone and found after 50 years.
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In September of 1962 The Beatles’ John Lennon and George Harrison each purchase jumbo J-160E Gibson acoustic guitars from Rushworth’s Music House in Liverpool for £161. Never would one imagine that the guitars would become so significantly important to the history of the Beatles nor engage such an undeniably intriguing story of its future whereabouts.
When purchased by two of the members of the Fab Four the guitars were the only ones of their type in the country which were said to have been flown to England by jet from America after being specially ordered.
The two guitars were identical apart from the serial numbers.
The Beatles traveled from Liverpool to London’s EMI Studios on September 11, 1962, the day after receiving the guitars.
The first song recorded that day was “P.S. I Love You, ” followed by “Love Me Do.” It was Lennon who used this guitar on many of the recordings they did in 1962 and 1963 that required an acoustic guitar.
John so loved this particular guitar that he would take it home and wrote songs on it with Paul McCartney. Beatles hits like “She Loves You, ” “I Want to Hold Your Hand, ” “Please, Please, Me, ” “All My Loving, ” “From Me to You, ” “This Boy” and more were written with this guitar.
Historians and Beatles fans can also find this particular guitar on the UK singles “Please Please Me/Ask Me Why” and “From Me to You/Thank You Girl.”
The photograph (seen left) which shows John Lennon playing the guitar had sold for $6, 875 separately.
Half of the proceeds from the sale of the guitar, which was stolen from Lennon at a December 1963 Christmas concert, will go toward the Spirit Foundation, a charitable organization that he and his widow, Yoko Ono, created, Julien said.
