A guitar that John Lennon played on the recording of The Beatles' 'Paperback Writer' is expected to fetch as much as $1 million at auction. Lennon gave his Gretsch 6120 to his cousin, David Birch, in November 1967 – a year after the hit single was produced in April 1966 at London's Abbey Road studios as part of the sessions for the band's Revolver album.
Birch told The Telegraph that was visiting Lennon at his home and asked him if he had a guitar that he no longer wanted as he was trying to form his own band with friends. "I was just cheeky enough to ask John for one of his spare guitars. I had my eye on a blue Fender Stratocaster that was lying in the studio but John suggested the Gretsch and gave it to me as we were talking."
Online bidding for the guitar, with an estimated sale price of between £400,000 and £600,000, begins on November 14 and concludes with a live auction at Le Meridien Hotel, Piccadilly, London, on November 23. The auction contains more than 100 lots of Beatles memorabilia including a copy of the Sgt. Pepper album signed by all four members of the band. Get more details at TracksAuction.com.
In other John Lennon news, his studio releases from 1970-1984 are now available for streaming at Spotify. Alongside the likes of Plastic Ono Band, Imagine and Sometime In NewYork City are three different Lennon compilation albums Power to the People, Gimme Some Truth and the John Lennon Signature Box. Lennon’s solo work is the last of the Beatles to join the streaming service.
-Spencer