JEFF BECK's Guitar Sells For Over $1.3 Million
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A guitar owned by legendary rock musician Jeff Beck has been sold for £1,068,500 (approximately $1,317,111) at auction.
Beck's Oxblood Les Paul, which came into his hands in 1972 and is immortalized on his "Blow By Blow" album cover, had a pre-auction estimate of £300,000 - £500,000.
Amelia Walker, head of private and iconic collections at Christie's auction house, said: "Originally it was not an Oxblood. It was a Gold Top. Fans will know it from the cover of his debut solo album 'Blow By Blow', released in 1975, recorded with George Martin. He used it for the encore at the end of David Bowie's final performance as Ziggy Stardust in July 1973."
The Christie's auction, "Jeff Beck: The Guitar Collection", comprises over 130 guitars, amps, pedals and "tools of the trade." These are the instruments which the late, great guitar legend Jeff Beck (1944–2023) played through his almost six-decade-long career, from joining THE YARDBIRDS in March 1965 to his last tour in 2022.
Other highlights include the original "Yardburst" — the 1958 Gibson Les Paul bought in London in 1966 while in THE YARDBIRDS, and several Fender Stratocasters, the guitar with which Jeff Beck's playing became synonymous and which he described thus: "My Strat is another arm. It's part of me. It doesn't feel like a guitar at all. It's an implement which is my voice."
A multi-Grammy Award-winning artist — twice inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame — his inimitable sound led to collaborations with countless internationally renowned musicians and friends, including Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Ronnie Wood, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Billy Gibbons, Jan Hammer, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Tina Turner, Nile Rodgers, Mick Jagger, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Carlos Santana, Imelda May and Johnny Depp, amongst many others.
From the outset, Jeff Beck was a sonic innovator; a maverick and mercurial virtuoso who blazed the trail for musical genres as diverse as psychedelia, heavy metal and jazz-rock fusion, and who embraced a wide range of influences from the blues, rockabilly and rock 'n' roll to Indian sitar music, Bulgarian folk, techno and opera. A maestro of his trade, Jeff could make just about any sound possible with a guitar and an amp. His playing style could not be defined and part of his magic lay in the balance between the fluidity and aggression of his playing and his technical brilliance, which could swing from furious attack one moment to sheer ethereal beauty in the next.
The ultimate guitarist's guitarist, Jeff Beck was a rock pioneer whose influence on his peers was unmatched. Now Christie's presents his instruments to the world — the guitars through which he shared his emotion and voice — paying tribute to his enduring legacy.
For more information, visit www.christies.com.
Beck died "suddenly" in January 2023 after contracting bacterial meningitis, his representative said.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
