Lost, found, and sold!
John Lennon’s missing guitar featured in The Beatles’ 1965 film “Help!” sold at an auction at New York’s Hard Rock Cafe Wednesday for over $2.8 million.
Julien’s Auctions confirmed in a statement that the Framus Hootenanny 12-string acoustic guitar became the fifth most-expensive guitar ever sold.
The guitar was found in an attic after going missing 50 years ago.
According to Julien’s Auctions, Lennon gave the guitar to fellow musician Gordon Waller in 1965. Lennon and Paul McCartney had been writing songs for Waller at the time.
Waller later gave the guitar to his manager, who brought it home and put it in his attic.
The guitar remained in the attic for the next five decades.
Andy Babiuk, a musician, author, and Beatles gear expert, confirmed with Julien’s Auctions that the guitar is real.
The auction company said the guitar “has some distinctive markings which made it easily identifiable when compared to photos and stills from ‘Help!’ “
“With the Hootenanny, the real proof is in the sound,” Julien’s Auctions continued. “When strummed, it immediately identifies itself as ‘that’ guitar. If you know the chords, Beatles tunes fall out of the sound hole effortlessly. Like an audio time capsule from 1965, the Framus is a direct link to those records.”
The guitar’s original case was also found and is in good condition.
In a video on his website, Babiuk talked about authenticating the guitar.
“It’s so important — it’s the sound we hear on those great songs that we all love, and it’s so great to know that a piece of history has finally been found,” he said.
Lennon and George Harrison used the guitar prominently on their song “You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away,” which plays during The Beatles’ 1965 film named after their fifth studio album.
The guitar can also be heard on “It’s Only Love” and “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” songs from the group’s fifth album, and “Rubber Soul,” the group’s sixth album.
Musical instruments belonging to members of The Beatles have fetched a high price at previous auctions.
In 2015, a guitar stolen from Lennon in the 1960s sold for $2.4 million at an auction in California.
The Beatles formed in 1960 and released 12 albums until they broke up in 1970. They are still the highest selling band of all time.
Lennon died when he was shot outside of his NYC apartment Dec. 8, 1980, at 40.
Harrison passed away of numerous cancers Nov. 29, 2001, at 58.
