Jim Irsay . 'Trust me, you and I won't be here, but 400 years from now, they'll be able to have a hologram connected to this, and it will tell all the stories of the places [the instrument] was. The Jim Irsay Collection of guitars.Photos by Tony Valainis. I LOVE WHAT I DO. American History. I dont really have a job. In the interests of making the collection more accessible to the public, a series of pop-up exhibits and concerts in the USA and Europe are set to be the precursor to the opening of a museum akin to Seattles MoPOP, which was founded by Microsofts Paul Allen. He described caressing Cobain's 53-year-old Fender, saying: 'With your fingertips, you try to sense its energy.'. Irsay said he had initially approached cities including Nashville and Austin about doing a public-private partnership in which he would provide all of the exhibits at no cost while the cities committed to providing the space and upkeep. Martin & Co. Perhaps as a nod to Irsays own well-publicised battle with addiction, theres also the working manuscript for The Big Book aka Alcoholics Anonymous. At one point in an interview with The Post last week, Irsay referred to the collections value as being $100 million. Nearly 500 bidders from around the world took part in the sale, including NFL owner Jim Irsay, who added one of Schon's most famous instruments to his own world-renowned collection: the 1977 black Gibson Les Paul played on 1981's chart-topping 10-million-selling . He purchased a 1966 Vox guitar , played by Lennon and George Harrison, for $408,000 at auction in 2013. 'These things will come alive some day,' Irsay said. In 2002, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay paid $957,000 for the late Jerry Garcia's famed "Tiger" guitar at auction. This time, Irsay wisely declined. Then (because it was the middle of the night in Hawaii, where he was at the time) he went to bed. Ultimately the guitar was auctioned off for a record $6 million to Australian entrepreneur Peter Freedman. 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. Then theres Bob Dylans Newport Stratocaster. He now calls Las Vegas home, but has journeyed from the sunshine of California and the rain in Seattle, to the humidity of Arkansas and the snow of Minnesota. "Over the years, some remarkable guitar collections have featured in the pages of this magazine. And regardless of your area of interest, there will be something there that will blow your mind." PARKING: There are several parking options that can be found around the venue. . Image: David Redfern / Redferns. Colts Owner Jim Irsay Shows Off Unique Collection Worth Millions, Please review our privacy policy here: https://heavy.com/privacy-policy/, Copyright 2023 Heavy, Inc. All rights reserved. Over the years, he's assembled a massive collection of historic artifacts, memorabilia, and instruments from music history, including guitars played by Prince, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and more. One guy dropped out and then the [other] guy was at [$3.25 million] and then he went to [$3.5 million], and then we went to [$3.75 million] and then silence silence silence'''. , Irsay dealt with addiction using prescription drugs after his college football career at SMU was ravaged by injury. 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. Irsay also has been open about his struggles with addiction. You cant keep track, its impossible. It's also an excuse for Irsay to immerse himself in the lives of his heroes, like the evening he spent with Lennon's dear cousin in London. In spite of that vow, he almost let Kurt Cobains guitar slip through his fingers. Martin & Co. D-35 guitar (Pink Floyd's David Gilmour - 'Wish You Were Here'), 1969 Fender Stratocaster guitar (Gilmour - 'The Black Strat'), 1939 C.F. The Nirvana frontman played the blue-and-white 1969 Fender Mustang guitar to record the band's seminal 1991 grunge anthem, The guitar, case and strap sold for seven times its $642,0000 estimate with Julien's Auctions in California. Thats a cool groove. I have things I dont even know I have. To Irsay, his collection is more than just a hobby. Powered by. He paid $965,000 for the Newport Stratocaster Bob Dylan played at the 1965 Newport Festival, when he and his band went electric for the first time; dropped $4.4 million for Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobains Fender Mustang; and $4 million for Pink Floyd guitarist David Gimours black Fender Stratocaster. , estimated to be worth over $100 million. However, one item in particular means a lot to Irsay: that lists the 12-step program with handwritten notes. Irsay had the winning bid on a guitar that was previously owned by Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. At a Christie's auction for guitars and other memorabilia owned by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, Irsay spent over $5. Irsay joined Cheddar News to talk about why he's bringing artifacts from the Beatles to Jerry Garcia to light now." . We touch down in Indiana to pay him a visit. We did some fun things with it but we were always careful. Its to allow people to see it and share these things., Irsays exhibit has a little bit for everybody, but the heart of the experience is a guitar collection described last year by Guitar Magazine as The Greatest Guitars on Earth.. And the best part is that its free. Irsays lineup of famous guitars has been called the greatest on earth. Its hard to argue with this assessment. And these will become not inanimate objects. But I can be a curator. READARTICLE, "To call Irsays collection breathtaking would not do it justice. Click HERE for more information. It was in his place, in his flat. An 1823 William J. In November of the following year, the Gretsch was gifted to his cousin David Birch. (From left to right) Grammy-nominated Kenny Wayne Shepherd on blues guitar, John Mellencamp guitarist Mike Wanchic, Tom Bukovac, and REM bassist Mike Mills, Irsay outbid late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen for Ringo Starr's drum kit, which will be in display in New York on Friday. 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. Among the artists featured in the 20 guitars are Jerry Garcia, David Gilmour, Eric Clapton, Les Paul, Jimmy Page, the . If Irsays fondest wish comes true, his wildly eclectic collection will one day reside in its own wildly eclectic museum. Buzz Aldrins space suit recently sold at auction for nearly $3 million, but Irsay is holding out for Armstrongs. READ ARTICLE, Smells like team spirit: Billionaire Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay shares his collection of rare guitars at a free exhibition after splurging $4.4 million on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's Fender Mustang READ ARTICLE, "Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is displaying his world-renowned collection of historic memorabilia to the public for the first time in the Big Apple. Get the latest news, reviews and features to your inbox. 'I got this long text: ''Oh my God, it was crazy,''' Irsay told DailyMail.com, repeating the message he received from a conduit after the final gavel. He owns instruments from all four members, Irsay's interests extend to American history as well, which is why he's included items like Abraham Lincoln's pocket knife, Pictured next to the exhibit of the original scroll that Jack Kerouac wrote On The Road on are Jim Sampas, left, the Literary Executor, Jack Kerouac Estate, and a nephew of Kerouacs and Jim Canary, (right) the conservator at the Lilly Library at Indiana University, at the Boott Cotton Mills Museum at The Lowell National Historic Park in Lowell MA on March 17, 2022. Sign Up For Our Newsletters Irsay, 62, who is worth an estimated $3.5billion, is a major guitar collector, having bought instruments previously owned by Elvis Presley, George Harrison, Prince, Bob Dylan and David Gilmour, among others. I see the seekers in my mind walking across the old, beautiful lands of this country 300 years ago, not with muskets, but with guitars slung over their backs. But, in terms of owning historic instruments with rock n roll credentials and sheer spending power, nobody can top Jim Irsay." He wrote Sgt. 'Lovely guy, and his wife came and it was cool,' Irsay said. 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. Its way bigger than just saying, Oh, thats a nice song. Irsays collection also includes Jack Kerouacs original 36-metre typewritten manuscript for On The Road ($2.4m), Hunter S Thompsons Red Shark convertible, Abraham Lincolns walking cane and an original Apple II manual signed by Steve Jobs in 1980. Copyright 2023 Indianapolis Monthly, All Rights Reserved. Thanks for contacting us. The band, which features names like Mike Wanchicon guitar (John Mellencamp), Mike Millson bass (founding member of R.E.M),and Kenny Wayne Shepherdon guitar, will be joined by special guest Ann Wilson of Heart. Admission is free and, as of this writing, a limited number of tickets remain available. The exhibit will remain open during the concert. I think when people gather, for instance, for a three-hour football game or for seeing these artifacts in concert, youre released from the sort of that worry and angst that can follow you around, Irsay said to Duthiers. He typically sets a ceiling on how much he wants to spend and leaves the actual in-person bidding to an intermediary. He also draws parallels between trailblazers in music and creatives in business watching James Brown work is no different than Steve Jobs and over the years has found kindred spirits in the many musicians he counts as friends. There was an event at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City earlier this year; a date is set for Indianapolis next month. 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. Kurt married Courtney Love of Hole fame in 1992; together they had daughter Frances Bean who is now 27-years-old. In 2014, Irsay was suspended by the NFL for six games and fined $500,000 for driving while intoxicated. READ ARTICLE, "The list of items [in The Jim Irsay Collection], spanning centuries, is extraordinary. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. And then we have access to other resources to help us with preservation, control and security factors. 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. Jim Irsay's collection includes guitars used by Prince and Bob Dylan, a piano used by John Lennon and a Ringo Starr drum set, as well as the 120-foot-long scroll on which Jack Kerouac wrote the . Irsay joined Cheddar News to talk about why he's bringing artifacts from the Beatles to Jerry Garcia to light now." linktr.ee/thejimirsaycollection Posts Reels Videos Tagged Jim will literally rock in concert with legends John Fogerty, Buddy Guy, and Ann Wilson, while showcasing over 75 pieces of history that will likely be housed in his own museum some day. The scroll is on loan from Jim Irsay, the owner of the Indianapolis Colts of the NFL. Renowned American author Jack Kerouacs original 119-foot. READ ARTICLE, Smells like team spirit: Billionaire Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay shares his collection of rare guitars at a free exhibition after splurging $4.4 million on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's Fender Mustang READ ARTICLE, "Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay is displaying his world-renowned collection of historic memorabilia to the public for the first time in the Big Apple. Irsay hopes that life experiences, ranging from outreach or a Jim Irsay Collection concert, can ultimately benefit those who are in need. Because to me, thats really what its about.. I have to look after the Horseshoe thats my job. I began this collection to preserve, protect 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, said Jim Irsay. Though many of the pieces in the collection have been present during seismic moments in popular music history, its interesting to compare guitars that spent a long time in the service of one artist to those instruments whose spell in the limelight was more fleeting. 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, the eccentric owner of the Indianapolis Colts, had assembled an all-star band, including blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, R.E.M. Larry Hall, the chairman of the Jim Irsay Collection, who is also the VP of Special Projects and Historical Affairs with the Colts, described part of the intricate process in transporting all of the valuable artifacts. The band had more than a dozen members, including instrumentalists and background vocalists. Former Colts players, including the uber-popular Pat McAfee, speak very highly of him. I get letters all the time, Please can I come on a pilgrimage, I just want to see Tiger, it means so much to me. There was, of course, a learning curve for Irsay, who was a little too flippant with the bidding paddle at his first Christie's auction in New York years earlier. Yet the 1964 Stratocaster Dylan played that day was soon left behind on a private aeroplane and he never looked back. $957,500. John Lennon's 1962 Gibson J-160E - $2,400,000. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Hes still adding to the collection and keeping it topical. 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. Smells like team spirit: Billionaire Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay shares his collection of rare guitars at a free exhibition after splurging $4.4 million on Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's Fender Mustang READ ARTICLE. We have a lot of high-end shippers that are in specific fields, Hall said. Muhammad Alis championship belt from his 1974 fight with George Foreman and boxing shoes from his 1975 fight with Joe Frazier. When you have a gene, thats a very difficult thing. According to Irsay, at the heart of the collection is a David Gilmour Stratocaster in which 66 countries have contacted him about purchasing. Nevermind, the band's second album, has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. 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). have each advocated for the initiative, among others. ADA SECTION: We will have a designated ADA/Handicap area. Despite their extraordinary value, Irsay is relaxed when handling these historic instruments. As of January 25, Kicking the Stigma has raised. Coming to the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in March, NFL owner Jim Irsay's memorabilia collection will surely blow you away.

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