LOS ANGELES: The guitar that grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain played during his legendary 1993 MTV Unplugged performance sold Saturday for a record $6 million, the auction house said.
The retro acoustic-electric 1959 Martin D-18E that Cobain strummed for Nirvana’s career-defining performance in New York — just five months before his suicide at age 27 — sold after a bidding war to Peter Freedman, founder of RODE Microphones, Julien’s Auctions said.
At $6.01 million after fees and commission, the instrument was the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, among other records.
The starting estimate was $1 million.
Freedman said he plans to display the guitar in a worldwide tour, with proceeds going to benefit performing arts.
“When I heard that this iconic guitar was up for auction I immediately knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to secure it and use it as a vehicle to spotlight the struggles that those in the performing arts are facing and have always faced,” the Australian was quoted as saying by Julien’s Auctions.
The guitar was sold with its case, which Cobain had decorated with a flyer from punk rock band Poison Idea’s 1990 album “Feel the Darkness.”
Until now, the most expensive guitar in history was a Fender Stratocaster, dubbed “Black Strat,” used by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour.
It had been sold by the musician for nearly $4 million during a charity sale in June 2019.
Nirvana’s acoustic performance during the taping for the popular MTV Unplugged series on November 18, 1993 became what is considered one of history’s greatest live albums.
It included renditions of Nirvana’s hits “About A Girl” and “Come As You Are” along with covers including David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World.”
In October 2019 Cobain’s cigarette-singed cardigan worn during the “Unplugged” performance sold for $334,000.
Kurt Cobain’s ‘Unplugged’ guitar sells for record $6 million at auction
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Kurt Cobain’s ‘Unplugged’ guitar sells for record $6 million at auction
- Instrument the most expensive guitar ever sold at auction, among other records.
- Nirvana’s acoustic performance for the popular MTV Unplugged considered one of history’s greatest live albums
Kennedy Center Christmas Eve jazz concert canceled after Trump name added to building
- According to the White House, the president’s handpicked board approved the decision, which scholars have said violates the law
- Numerous artists have called off Kennedy Center performances since Trump returned to office, including Issa Rae and Peter Wolf
NEW YORK: A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center, a holiday tradition dating back more than 20 years, has been canceled. The show’s host, musician Chuck Redd, says that he called off the performance in the wake of the White House announcing last week that President Donald Trump’s name would be added to the facility.
As of last Friday, the building’s facade reads The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. According to the White House, the president’s handpicked board approved the decision, which scholars have said violates the law. Trump had been suggesting for months he was open to changing the center’s name.
“When I saw the name change on the Kennedy Center website and then hours later on the building, I chose to cancel our concert,” Redd told The Associated Press in an email Wednesday. Redd, a drummer and vibraphone player who has toured with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Ray Brown, has been presiding over holiday “Jazz Jams” at the Kennedy Center since 2006, succeeding bassist William “Keter” Betts.
The Kennedy Center did not immediately respond to email seeking comment. The center’s website lists the show as canceled.
President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, and Congress passed a law the following year naming the center as a living memorial to him. Kennedy niece Kerry Kennedy has vowed to remove Trump’s name from the building once he leaves office and former House historian Ray Smock is among those who say any changes would have to be approved by Congress.
The law explicitly prohibits the board of trustees from making the center into a memorial to anyone else, and from putting another person’s name on the building’s exterior.
Trump, a Republican, has been deeply involved with the center named for an iconic Democrat after mostly ignoring it during his first term. He has forced out its leadership, overhauled the board while arranging for himself to head it, and personally hosted this year’s Kennedy Center honors, breaking a long tradition of presidents mostly serving as spectators. The changes at the Kennedy Center are part of the president’s larger mission to fight “woke” culture at federal cultural institutions.
Numerous artists have called off Kennedy Center performances since Trump returned to office, including Issa Rae and Peter Wolf. Lin-Manuel Miranda canceled a planned production of “Hamilton.”
