Collectors will have to dig deep into their pockets if they want to get their hands on a valuable piece of rock ‘n’ roll history that’s currently up for auction.
The Beatles’ 1972 Grammy Trustee Award presented to John Lennon is expected to fetch up to $500,000, through the Gotta Have Rock And Roll auction house.
Each of the four members of The Beatles — which includes Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr — were given the statuettes in recognition for their ‘significant contributions to the field of recording’ two years after the band broke up, according to the auction’s website.
But, it turns out Lennon wanted no part of his award and told the president of the Grammys at the time: ‘I’m not a Beatle anymore, you can keep it,’ as reported by Gotta Have Rock And Roll to TMZ.
The legendary Revolution singer-songwriter ended up gifting the award directly to the head of Apple Records, who was also the President of Naras The Grammys.
A Grammy Trustee Award presented to John Lennon for his work with The Beatles is currently up for auction, and has been estimated to sell for up to $500,000
Lennon wanted no part of his Grammy and told the president of the Grammys at the time: ‘I’m not a Beatle anymore, you can keep it,’ as reported by Gotta Have Rock And Roll to TMZ
The golden gramophone award is mounted on a wood base with an inscribed plaque affixed to it reading, ‘National Academy Of Recording Artists And Sciences, National Trustees Awards 1972, To, The Beatles, John Lennon’.
Currently, the bid sits at $200,000, but with more than four days left the auction house closes on Friday estimates that the final price tag will shoot up to between $300,000 and $500,000.
Once the winning bid is determined the trophy, which is said to be museum quality, will receive a letter from the executive confirming the details, along with a Gotta Have Rock And Roll certificate of authenticity.
A Grammy given to The Beatles are considered to be virtually impossible to find and extremely hard to obtain.
The auction house has listed the Lennon Grammy to be on ‘good condition’.
Other Beatles lots currently up for auction with Gotta Have Rock And Roll include handwritten lyrics, a 1964 signed US tour contract, an autographed setlist from 1963, and Lennon’s sunglasses, fountain pen and a matchbook.
There’s also a guitar strap that the Imagine rocker used on stage during a performance in 1969, as well as a classic 1960 Hofner bass guitar that was owned, played and autographed by Paul McCartney.
Lennon was just 40 years-old when he was gunned down and killed by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980, while he and wife Yoko One were walking back into their New York City home late at night.
Each of the four members of The Beatles, which includes Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, were given the statuettes in recognition for their ‘significant contributions to the field of recording’ two years after the band broke up
The Beatles are not only considered the most influential musical artists of all time they are also the best-sellers of all time with more than 600 million units sold worldwide; they are seen during the height of their recording career in 1967
Harrison, long dubbed the Quiet Beatle, was 58 when he passed away from cancer in November 2001.
The Beatles were formed in Liverpool, England in 1960, and then the so-called Fab Four became huge stars after the release of their debut studio album in 1963.
Several of their studio albums are said to be the standard bearer for modern popular music and rock ‘n’ roll such Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), Abbey Road (1969), Let It Be (1970), Revolver (1966), Rubber Soul (1966) and The Beatles (known as White Album 1968).
Lennon was gunned down and killed by Mark David Chapman while walking back to his New York City home with wife Yoko One on December 8, 1980
With estimated sales to have topped 600 million units worldwide, The Beatles are considered the most successful musical artists in the history of the U.S. Billboard charts.
More than 50 years after their breakup, the band still hold the record for most number-one albums on the UK Albums Chart (15), most number-one hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart (20), and most singles sold in the UK (21.9 million).
The band have received many accolades and awards, including seven Grammys, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the 1970 documentary film Let It Be, and and 15 Ivor Novello Awards.
They were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1988, while each member has also been inducted individually as solo artists between 1994 and 2015.