Rock And Roll Music Tv

One mark of showbiz success is when people begin paying good money – seven digits of it, in this case – for memorabilia. Lyrics for the song A Day in the Life penned by rhythm guitarist Beatle John Lennon fetched a $1.2 million winning bid at a June 18 auction.

High Value, Higher Price

The winning bidder wasn’t even in the room at Sotheby’s auction house, where the event was being held; the lyrics to the last track on the Beatles’ 1967 record Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band were bought via phone by a party that declined to be named.

Even Sotheby’s, which does brisk trade in high-value items, wasn’t expecting the sheet of paper to fetch so high a price. Valuations of the item made before the auction estimated a value of up to $800,000 only.

Friday’s winning bid for Rolling Stone magazine’s #26 song on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time compilation very nearly set the record for Beatles lyrics prices. It almost beat the $1.25 million paid by an unnamed bidder for the lyrics to All You Need is Love in 2005.

A Ballpoint Legacy

The physical item is unassuming: a stained and yellowed sheet of paper. The first side has a first draft of the song lyrics in Lennon’s hurried cursive. On the reverse side is a revised version almost completely in capitals and with a few added lines.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and, indeed, A Day in the Life, were not without their own controversies at the time.

•    The BBC banned airplay of the song because it featured the line “I’d love to turn you on”. It was interpreted as encouraging drug use.

•    A Day in the Life was edited out of many Asian releases for similar reasons.

•    The line “he blew his mind out in a car” appeared to refer to the death of close Beatle friend and Guinness heir Tara Browne. He is credited as an inspiration for the song.

•    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds on the album allegedly promoted hallucinogens, particularly LSD. The Beatles deny the claim.

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