John Lennon's 1962 Gibson J-160E - $2,400,000. Five of the most expensive guitars ever sold - All Things Guitar Its easy to see why a literary loose cannon like Thompson would want Irsay to purchase the manuscript (which he did, for $2.4 million). The storied collection of Jim Irsay, Owner/CEO of the Indianapolis Colts. Inside Jim Irsay's tumultuous season as Colts owner Outside of music, the collection includes such historic items as: Subscribe to our newsletter for new stories, tips & events. Speaking between drags of his cigarette from a midtown-Manhattan hotel room, Irsay was preparing to exhibit his extensive collection of rare music memorabilia in New York on Friday. Jack Kerouac to Jackie Robinson. Irsay, the eccentric owner of the Indianapolis Colts, had assembled an all-star band, including blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, R.E.M. And speaking of drug-fueled missives, in 1998, Thompson sent Irsay an equally impassioned plea for the Colts to draft QB Ryan Leaf instead of Peyton Manning. Most of these artefacts currently reside either at Irsays home or in his office at the NFL teams headquarters and practice facility. Its not really as much as the intellect of the mind, he told, Irsay is still sore over not obtaining Wilson, the anthropomorphic volleyball from the Tom Hanks movie, Before the auction, Irsay placed his maximum bid at $3.75 million ($4.4 million with auction fees included). ADA SECTION: We will have a designated ADA/Handicap area. IndyStar, Indianapolis Star: Local Sat, 04/20/2019 - 12:59pm Page 1; Page 2; Page 3; Page 4; . $567,000. The half-day event at Manhattan's Hammerstein Ballroom is free to the public and features everything from John Lennon's piano, used to write 'A Day in the Life,' to Irsay's newly acquired Fender. It's life by the strings for Jim Irsay's guitar man As he sees it, the former owners are still connected to the pieces from beyond the grave, and his role is to preserve everything until humanity is ready to reveal the secrets within. Irsay's collection also includes Jerry Garcia's prized 1979 Doug Irwin 'Tiger' guitar (upper right), The Jim Irsay collection will be shown for free in New York on Friday after stops in Washington, LA, Austin and Nashville. 'I said, ''If you go to auction, I'm not gonna bid on it,''' Irsay said. linktr.ee/thejimirsaycollection Posts Reels Videos Tagged The Jim Irsay Collection - Facebook The Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at Newport Folk Festival in 1965? The Jim Irsay Collection features historical documents, sports collectibles, musical instruments, pop culture memorabilia, and more. Artifacts and signed documents from numerous U.S. Presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and others. Other notable artifacts include Kurt Cobains 1969 Fender Mustang, Ringo Starrs drum set used during The Beatles debut on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 and Bob Dylans electric guitar played at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Kurt married Courtney Love of Hole fame in 1992; together they had daughter Frances Bean who is now 27-years-old. Copyright 2023 Indianapolis Monthly, All Rights Reserved. READINTERVIEW, "The focus [of the collection] is on powerful people who changed the world. He talked about how much putting together a world-class collection costs and what it would take for him to part with it." All images: Eleanor Jane by Chris Vinnicombe # Acoustic Guitars # Electric Guitars Kurt Cobain's guitar from Nirvana's 1991 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' music video was up for auction in Las Vegas, where acolytes of the 62-year-old billionaire were ready spend as much as $3.75 million on the piece at Irsay's direction. As an added bonus, Chicago blues legend Buddy Guy, astonishingly spry and vibrant at 86 years old, joined onstage as a surprise guest, playing for an enthused crowd. Irsay owned four guitars, including a 1942 Martin D-18 originally owned by Elvis Presley, when he met McKinney. Im blessed. SEATING: This event will be standing room ONLY with LIMITED seating available on a first come, first served basis. The product of a quarter-century of feverish gathering, this massive cross section of musical, pop cultural, and political history includes everything from Abraham Lincoln's pocketknife to Jack Kerouac's manuscript for the novel On the Road. . Stone printing of the Declaration of Independence, one of the first exact facsimiles of the final signed document; Renowned American author Jack Kerouacs original 119-foot, The original manuscript for Alcoholics Anonymous Big Book, the organizations founding document, The original 1777 Continental Congress proclamation designating Thanksgiving as a national holiday, A Jackie Robinson game-used bat from 1953 (the founding year of the Colts), Muhammad Alis 1965 first walkout robe that bore his new name, and his boxing shoes from the 1975 Thrilla in Manilla vs. Joe Frazier, Handwritten documents and artifacts from womens suffrage pioneer Susan B. Anthony, Artifacts and signed documents from numerous U.S. Presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and others. READ ARTICLE, "The list of items [in The Jim Irsay Collection], spanning centuries, is extraordinary. Whether its David Gilmours Martin D-35 or the franchise his late father Robert purchased back in 1972, he is adamant that he sees himself more as a custodian than an owner. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay already has an impressive collection of music memorabilia, and it just got stronger this weekend. [1] They become alive when theyre playing.. Signed documents and artifacts from a number of U.S. presidents, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. And Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, has done just that. Many items, if not most of the Irsay Collection, were acquired at auction, but Irsay usually wasnt sitting in the crowd waving a tiny paddle with a number on it. Displaying historical items free of charge makes the collection worthwhile for the 63-year-old. It just changed the world. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has been steadily assembling one of the most interesting privately owned collections of artifacts in the U.S. Despite their extraordinary value, Irsay is relaxed when handling these historic instruments. , Irsay touted self-owned guitars, artifacts and historic memorabilia belonging to. He once offered to buy Cobain's acoustic guitar from the famed 'MTV: Unplugged' set, but when the seller instead opted to put it up for auction, Irsay backed away. The event takes place from 611 p.m. I began this collection to preserve and share historic artifacts with others in hopes of telling stories of our shared past and culture and inspiring people to dream big and strive for great things in life, Irsay said in a release. In May 2019, Julien's Auctions sold a used paper plate Cobain wrote a set list on for a 1990 Nirvana show at the 9:30 nightclub in Washington, D.C. . Almost alarmingly so. Nothing against Buzz Aldrin hes the only one who hit a six-iron on the moon but really if it was Neil Armstrongs suit, I probably wouldve been in on it, Irsay told reporters. Historians and philosophers that have looked at the 20th century said that the 12 steps, which has been used in many ways to fight mental health issues, thats really something that [without it] realistically, half the people in this place wouldnt be here and believe me, youd see a ghost from me up here. The Jim Irsay Collection (@thejimirsaycollection) Instagram photos The Cobain family will donate a portion of the proceeds of the sale to a mental health initiative run by the Irsays, Kicking The Stigma. Get the latest news, reviews and features to your inbox. Irsay's intuition admittedly fell short in 2019, when he paid a record $4 million for Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour's 'Black Strat' a Fender Stratocaster that was drawing bids from 61 different countries. If someone has a death in the family or a transformative time in their life, and a certain song came out at that time, they remember that moment. Irsay hadn't expected to top that, but Gilmour's guitar was suddenly garnering much higher bids. The Jim Irsay Collection: $100 Million Traveling Museum Worth the (Free) Price of Admission. Last May, Irsay purchased a baseball that was signed by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to New York City in 2019. It's amazing to have that piece of history because Lennon was so major', Much of Irsay's collection centers around his lifelong passion for the Beatles. The event was free for the public to attend, provided they signed up before RSVPs reached capacity. ''', Irsay's collection also includes the robe Muhammad Ali wore before his 1965 rematch with Sonny Liston inLewiston, Maine, Irsay told DailyMail.com that his favorite piece is John Lennon's piano: 'I'd say John Lennon's piano is probably my favorite thing that I have, musically. The guitar was featured in the music video for "Smells . Exclusive Events + Special Offers. In 2002, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay paid $957,000 for the late Jerry Garcia's famed "Tiger" guitar at auction. The Beatles. I want no money, Irsay told Reuters. The following are just a few of the guitars in Jim Irsay's collection: 'I said, ''Paul, hey man, thanks for not bidding on those drums, I appreciate it,''' Irsay said. The lineup features a cast of leading local session pros led by guitar tech and record producer Marc Johnson, plus Irsay on vocals and the guest of honour, Kenny Wayne Shepherd. That Irsay was actually sleeping in Hawaii when he received the text message, and now has Cobain's left-handed 1969 Fender Mustang resting on his lap, sums up his life as a wealthy collector. The guitars are the latest additions to Irsay's instrument collection, which already boasted an orange 1963 Gretsch guitar once owned by John Lennon (purchased for $530,000 in 2015) and the . When I first got the [On The Road] scroll, Rolling Stonesaid that I would destroy it! Irsay says, laughing. 'It's so eclectic because it's everything.'" Of course we did. There was an event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City earlier this year; a date is set for Indianapolis next month. I was a Lennon man.. nytimes.com N.F.L. Among the collection are instruments owned and used by The Beatles, Prince, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Johnny Cash, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Jerry Garcia, Les Paul, David Gilmour, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, John Coltrane, The Edge, and others. Jerry Garcias Tiger? Those registering for tickets can also contribute to Irsays Kick the Stigma campaign, an initiative to raise mental health awareness. But the great thing is that I love what I do, so its not work. I was bidding on it. To me, its really important that the museum is alive. Former Colts players, including the uber-popular Pat McAfee, speak very highly of him. I didn't anticipate that. While recording Revolver, The Beatles were reimagining the pop landscape from one studio day to the next, and that certainly gives this instrument a special allure even if John obviously preferred his Epiphone Casino. And for most of the time since, the nearly million-dollar axe one of. And regardless of your area of interest, there will be something there that will blow your mind." Irsay threw in a record winning bid of $3.975 million for Gilmour's 1969 black Fender Stratocaster known as "The Black Strat." To call Irsays collection breathtaking would not do it justice. Shepherd may prefer heavier strings and an action with a little more fight but it doesnt stop him from sounding pretty spectacular with David Gilmours longtime number one plugged into a vintage 5E3 Deluxe. In fact, Cobain's family donated a portion of the proceeds to the organization, which has already raised more than $16 million since 2020 to help fight the stigma of mental illness. Getty In 2014, he was arrested for DWI and possession of prescription medications. Were journeymen, were seekers. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has spent 25 years assembling the world's leading collection of rock 'n' roll, American history and pop culture artefacts. This time, Irsay wisely declined. Ill never let that happen again.. In 1977, the piano was used by Freddie Mercury for a 1977 Queen tour, and then by Paul McCartney during 1985s Live Aid concert. And a deeper feeling than just having words or sign language, or hunting and gathering systems. Jim Irsay Touts Musical Collection Worth Millions | Heavy.com Jim Irsays passion for rock music, American history and pop culture led him to assemble a robust collection of historic and culturally significant artifacts over several decades that together make up The Jim Irsay Collection. who just might ask Mr. Irsay for a test drive of Hunter S. Thompson's vintage 1973 Red Shark convertible, can be reached at 317-370-8447 or at bridgeshd@aol.com. Sometimes its not popular. Then (because it was the middle of the night in Hawaii, where he was at the time) he went to bed. While Irsay has collected items from across the spectrum of American history, there is a specific emphasis on the 20th century (We went from horse and buggies on the road to a man on the moon in 65 years, Irsay pointed out to The Post). . Kurt Cobain's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' guitar sells for a Australian microphone king buys Kurt Cobain's iconic 'MTV Kurt Cobain's iconic blue guitar from Nirvana's 1991 hit Alex Raskin Sports News Editor For Dailymail.com, Do not sell or share my personal information, 1964 Gibson SG guitar (Beatles' George Harrison/John Lennon), 1979 Doug Irwin 'Tiger' guitar (Grateful Dead's Jerry Garcia), 1969 C.F. 'It's not really as much as the intellect of the mind; it's more of the spirit and what comes to me,' said Irsay, who could easily be mistaken for a country music mogul in his black sunglasses and grey Stetson.