David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' Sells for Record-Breaking $14.55 Million
David Gilmour's iconic 'Black Strat' guitar has shattered records, selling for $14.55 million at auction and surpassing Kurt Cobain's previous record. The guitar was central to Pink Floyd's most influential albums.
The guitar, famously played by David Gilmour on iconic tracks like “Money,” “Shine On You Crazy Diamond,” and his unforgettable “Comfortably Numb” solo, has eclipsed Kurt Cobain’s previous sales record.
Gilmour’s “Black Strat” fetched a staggering $14.55 million on Thursday at Christie’s auction in New York, part of the Jim Irsay collection. This sale marks the most expensive guitar ever sold, surpassing the $6 million paid in 2020 for the 1959 Martin D-18E acoustic guitar Cobain played during Nirvana’s legendary MTV Unplugged performance.
David Gilmour Black Strat
This guitar was instrumental in the recording of seminal Pink Floyd albums such as The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), and The Wall (1979). He used the guitar when recording the songs “Money,” “Shine on You Crazy Diamond,” and for his solo on “Comfortably Numb.” Prior to the auction, it was estimated to sell for between $2 and $4 million.
Jim Irsay initially acquired the Black Strat at a Christie’s auction in June 2019 for a reported $5.245 million, then setting a record for guitar sales. Gilmour spoke with Rolling Stone about auctioning off the “Black Strat,” one of 120 guitars he put up for charity. "These guitars have been very good to me," he said. "They’re my friends. They have given me lots of music. I just think it’s time that they went off and served someone else."
Regarding parting with his “Black Strat,” Gilmour noted, “For me, I can let go of it. It’s going to bring a lot of people to have a look at this sale, and it’s going to do that job. It’s a lovely guitar. It has been on pretty much all the Pink Floyd albums through the Seventies… it’s on so much stuff, but Fender have made replica ones that they sell, and I have two or three of those that are absolutely perfect. One of those might be my future guitar of choice or even, horror of horror, maybe I’ll even change the color.”
Jerry Garcia Guitar
Jerry Garcia’s guitar “Tiger,” custom-made by Luthier Doug Irwin, also fetched a significant $11.56 million. Garcia played this guitar extensively from 1979 to 1989, including his final performance with the Grateful Dead at Chicago’s Soldier Field on July 9, 1995. It was initially expected to sell for $1 to $2 million.
The Jim Irsay Collection at Christie’s runs from March 3 to March 17. The guitar sales occurred during “The Jim Irsay Collection: Icons of Popular Culture” live auction. The sales series is promoted as showcasing “One of the greatest troves of memorabilia ever assembled, meticulously compiled over decades by the late philanthropist, passionate music lover, and owner and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. A portion of the proceeds of these sales will be donated to philanthropic causes supported by Jim Irsay during his lifetime.”
Related Articles
- David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' Sells for Record-Breaking $14.5 Million at Auction
- David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' Smashes Records, Fetches $14.5 Million at Auction
- Oasis Live Recording from Wembley Stadium to Feature on 'Help(2)' Album for War Child
Related Articles
Listen to David Gilmour on Foxsoundi. Click here to listen!
Comments (0)
Login to comment