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Bob Dylan's Newport guitar sells for nearly $1M

Sale sets record for guitar sold at auction, beating another Dylan guitar.

By Evan Bleier
President Barack Obama awards the the Presidential Medal of Freedom to singer/songwriter Bob Dylan during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington on May 29, 2012. The Medal of Freedom is our NationÕs highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. (File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch)
President Barack Obama awards the the Presidential Medal of Freedom to singer/songwriter Bob Dylan during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House in Washington on May 29, 2012. The Medal of Freedom is our NationÕs highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. (File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch) | License Photo

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Dec. 6 (UPI) -- The electric guitar that made news almost 50 years ago when Bob Dylan used it at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is back in the spotlight again after it was sold for a record $965,000 at Christie’s on Friday.

When Dylan played the Fender Stratocaster at the previously all-acoustic folk festival, many viewed the move as the mercurial musician turning his nose up at the established music scene.

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Christie’s announced that the guitar, which was expected to sell for $300,000 to $500,000, was sold to an unnamed, absentee buyer.

“An auction estimate is always just that: It’s an estimate. It’s not cut in stone,” said Tom Lecky of Christie’s. “Obviously the marketplace realized its importance and competed for it. It’s a great result for a legendary guitar.”

The infamous instrument had been in the possession of a New Jersey family who got the piece of music history after Dylan accidentally left it on a private plane. After some legal wrangling about ownership of the guitar with Dylan himself, the family opted to put it on the block. It’s unclear whether he will get a cut of the profits from the sale.

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In addition to the guitar, a set of handwritten lyrics for a Dylan song called “I Wanna Be Your Lover” that were found in its case sold for $20,000.

In 2004, Eric Clapton’s Strat “Blackie” set the previous record for a guitar sold at auction when it was unloaded for $959,000.

Had Dylan never busted out the famous guitar at Newport, it’s possible that he never would have “opened up” President Obama’s world:

[New York Post]

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