jim irsay guitar collection list jim irsay guitar collection list

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay has been steadily assembling one of the most interesting privately owned collections of artifacts in the U.S. He talked about how much putting together a world-class collection costs and what it would take for him to part with it." Irsay established himself long ago as a connoisseur of cultural and rock & roll artifacts. If Irsays fondest wish comes true, his wildly eclectic collection will one day reside in its own wildly eclectic museum. However, the musical instrument with the most celebrity fingerprints is likely a piano. The Jim Irsay Collection In 2021, he implemented the Colts Kicking the Stigma campaign to encourage others to use mental health resources when needed. THE JIM IRSAY Collection is just as quirky as the man who created it, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. It changed and saved hundreds of millions of lives, Irsay said. To call Irsays collection breathtaking would not do it justice. This was the piano he toured with for 20 years; it was also played by Paul McCartney and Freddie Mercury. Get the latest news, reviews and features to your inbox. READARTICLE, "To call Irsays collection breathtaking would not do it justice. And Jim Irsay, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, has done just that. Because to me, thats really what its about.. Cobain said of it in his final interview with Guitar World: 'I'm left-handed, and it's not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars. 'I had drunk enough liquor to float a battleship around before that auction,' he said. According to Duthiers, the Jim Irsay Collection first began after Irsays father. 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. 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. The viewing events are free, but require RSVP tickets. But I like people to be able to say, I played Tiger, if you are a guitar player of any magnitude, or even if you just want to hold it. [1] 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. And then we have access to other resources to help us with preservation, control and security factors. Its so important to me that in the museum, people can play things and touch them, he told guitar.com. Cobain's acoustic guitar from Nirvana's iconic 1993 'MTV Unplugged in New York' performance sold for a record-breaking $6 million at auction in June 2020 (seen here in 1993). Yet the 1964 Stratocaster Dylan played that day was soon left behind on a private aeroplane and he never looked back. Ahead of the Colts game this Sunday, part of Jim Irsay's private collection of music memorabilia he's gathered over time will be on display. But I dont possess it. I was bidding on it. It was on the stage at Madison Square Garden during John Lennons last live performance, a duet with John. When the folk messiah turned Judas and performed Maggies Farm, Like A Rolling Stone and Phantom Engineer (an early version of It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry) with an electric band on 25 July 1965 at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island, this short but controversial set would later be hailed as a watershed moment in pop history. The band had more than a dozen members, including instrumentalists and background vocalists. $965,000. Irsay, the eccentric owner of the Indianapolis Colts, had assembled an all-star band, including blues guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, R.E.M. Before sports became his life's work, Jim Irsay was a musician. That said, the legendary guitars all around us arent simply props for photoshoot shenanigans these days Irsay is keen to get the guitars in his collection into the hands of musicians. This time, Irsay wisely declined. 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. Admission is free and, as of this writing, a limited number of tickets remain available. Handwritten notes, documents, and artifacts from Susan B. Anthony. The billionaire expressed interest in building a serious collection. '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. As well as being used by Elton himself at sold-out Dodger Stadium shows in October 1975, the piano would go on to be played by Freddie Mercury during Queens A Day At The Racestour in 1977 and by Paul McCartney in front of a television audience over over one billion people during the Live Aid finale in 1985. In 2015, Irsay's personal $2.2 million limit for Ringo Starr's drum kit proved prescient. ucla environmental science graduate program; four elements to the doctrinal space superiority construct; woburn police scanner live. How do you sell the golden tickets? I cant be Pete Townshend or Chrissie Hynde or Natalie Merchant or whoever, because thats just not me. Irsay's collection also includes Jack Kerouac's original 36-metre typewritten manuscript for On The Road ($2.4m), Hunter S Thompson's Red . An eclectic exhibit with items, ranging from pop culture to historical, is coming to Las Vegas for one night only, along with a concert featuring a few big names. Jim Irsay Collection Exhibit & Concert Saturday, March 4, 2023 5:30 PM Reserve Now Event Details ICONIC ROCK MEMORABILIA + MORE Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay will display his world-renowned collection of iconic rock memorabilia, American history and pop culture at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Kurt Cobain's iconic Smells Like Teen Spirit guitar sold for a staggering $4.55 million after a bidding war won by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay on May 22. I dont have any ownership over it. According to Duthiers, the Jim Irsay Collection first began after Irsays father, Robert, died in 1997. I also hired a guy who worked at the Smithsonian Museum in Indianapolis. 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. I want no money, Irsay told Reuters. The Indianapolis public will get the chance to see all his memorabilia, free of charge. 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. 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. I have to look after the Horseshoe thats my job. Jim Irsay . Of course we did. Its like Dylan says, He not busy being born is busy dying, Irsay asserts. 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. . bassist Mike Mills and singer Ann Wilson to accompany. Here are some selections from the roughly 9 million oddball facts and anecdotes surrounding it. The interesting thing about guitars is because of the heritage of these and the providence, theyre special, Irsay told Duthiers. 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. When I talk to a lot of artists I know and I start trying to get them to talk about the past a little bit, a lot of them are like, Im not interested in that. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Its a 200-foot scroll upon which Kerouac pounded out his most famous missive during a weekslong, alcohol- and drug-fueled frenzy. I wouldnt be here right now without that., The best insights from the ultimate insiders, 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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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.. I am only a steward of this collection, so its my job to share it with as many people as I can. 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. Its a service of the arts to the community.. An active philanthropist, Mr. Irsay hopes to establish a museum to share these treasures with the world. The auctioneers said the sale of Cobain's guitar was a 'once-in-a-lifetime' event. Since then, Irsay has been open about his emphasis to support mental health resources. In November of the following year, the Gretsch was gifted to his cousin David Birch. Jerry. It includes instruments used by famous musicians. The instrument, which Cobain acquired from a Los Angeles guitar shop in 1990, was later used in many live Nirvana performances. On September 9, Irsays Collection will be on display at Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium. 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. Excited Indianapolis Colts fans were treated to a star-studded concert celebrating the Jim Irsay Collection and the kickoff of Colts season. According to Irsay, at the heart of the collection is a David Gilmour Stratocaster in which 66 countries have contacted him about purchasing. READINTERVIEW, "The focus [of the collection] is on powerful people who changed the world. Among Irsay's acquisitions was an instrument originally owned by the Beatles, a pristine 1959 Gibson Les Paul and an ultra rare 1939 Martin D-45 to his collection. The Jim Irsay Collection at the Navy Pier in Chicago. Darren Julien, chief executive officer of Julien's Auctions, said: 'To have this legendary guitar, one of the most culturally significant and historically important guitars of Kurt Cobain and in all of rock music history to return to Indiana to be part of Jim Irsay's renowned memorabilia collection is a great honor and personal highlight of my life. Items on display ran the gamut from historical artifacts such as letters from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the wanted poster for John Wilkes Booth and the Atlantic Charter signed by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt to pop culture items such as Hunter S. Thompsons Red Shark 1973 Chevrolet Caprice convertible." When you have a gene, thats a very difficult thing. In seeking out and exhibiting objects from the past, Irsay aims to inspire young musicians to create the iconic music of the future. "Over the years, some remarkable guitar collections have featured in the pages of this magazine. He takes it on the road and shows it off for free. Indianapolis Colts Owner Jim Irsay has done it again, dropping huge money on famous musical instruments, this time at the auction held by Pink Floyd frontman David Gilmour. And regardless of your area of interest, there will be something there that will blow your mind." Given his great love for wordsmiths such as Dylan and Kerouac, Irsays answer is perhaps unsurprising. Indeed, hes not shy about allowing his numerous musical celebrity friends to play guitars from his collection, and will occasionally do it himself. I have things I dont even know I have. 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. And then we have people on retainer like Jim Canary, whos a paper conservator at Indiana University. 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. The Beatles. 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. 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 worlds leading authority and resource for all things guitar. Then theres Bob Dylans Newport Stratocaster. As you get older, you get more of a position of service. 2023 Guitar.com is part of NME Networks. Irsays lineup of famous guitars has been called the greatest on earth. Its hard to argue with this assessment. Outside of music, the collection includes such historic items as: Irsay, owner & CEO of the NFLs Indianapolis Colts and an active philanthropist, regularly loans items to museums, nonprofits and other organizations for display and research.Items have been displayed at the U.S.s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), The Lincoln Memorial, the world-famous Beverly Hills Hotel, and the Indiana State Museum; as well as at The Centre Pompidou (Paris), the British Library (London), Auditorium Parco della Musica (Rome) and other locations around the world. Click HERE for more information. The Stratocaster that Bob Dylan played at Newport Folk Festival in 1965? Former Colts players, including the uber-popular Pat McAfee, speak very highly of him. Recently, Irsay has added a Kurt Cobain guitar and Muhammad Ali's . In 2014, he was arrested for DWI and possession of prescription medications. The collection isnt just for viewing purposes, however. Its more of the spirit and what comes to me., Nevertheless, he doesnt win every bidding war. The guitar, case and strap sold for seven times its $642,0000 estimate with Julien's Auctions in California. The product of a quarter-century of feverish gathering, this massive cross section of musical, pop cultural, and political history includes everything from Abraham Lincolns pocketknife to Jack Kerouacs manuscript for the novel On the Road. A Jackie Robinson game-used bat from 1953. An 1823 William J. 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. Sometimes you might think Im coldhearted. So when the Colts boss saw Allen at an event in the following days, Irsay figured he should offer a 'thank you' to Allen, whom he mistakenly assumed had stayed out of the bidding. Visit jimirsaycollection.com to find out more about the collections upcoming tour dates. READARTICLE. '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. If the (other bidder) would have gone to $4 million, I would have been out because I was asleep, Irsay told. Interestingly, experts only expected the guitar to go for around $600,000. Jack Kerouac to Jackie Robinson. This fall, its gone on a national tour, with stops in Indianapolis (natch), New York City, and Los Angeles, to name a few locations. Owner of the NFL Indianapolis Colts, Jim Irsay's passion for rock music, American history and pop culture has led him to assemble a. But I can be a curator. In 2022, according to the release, Guitar Magazine highlighted Irsay's collection of guitars as "The Greatest Guitars on Earth." Colts' Jim Irsay hosting free event in downtown Las Vegas . We are an outdoor venue. In 2014, Irsay was suspended by the NFL for six games and fined $500,000 for driving while intoxicated. I mean, its the fabric of peoples lives. 'This crazy Australian billionaire bid $6 million dollars on it,' Irsay said. 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. Today, the necks startling lustre and the overall originality of the instrument tell us little about its former owner and, perhaps fittingly, theres a frustrating and slightly icy sense of detachment that leaves us feeling no closer to rocks greatest poet and greatest enigma. 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). This is my effort to make the world a better place. The exhibit will remain open during the concert. 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. [emailprotected], Copyright Downtown Las Vegas Events Center 2023 | Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions. A portion of Irsay's guitar collection will also be featured on two walls. CHICAGO Jim Irsay puffed on an American Spirit cigarette onstage and belted out covers of Neil Young and the Rolling Stones and it was actually much cooler than it sounds. 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 not just guitars, either. He typically sets a ceiling on how much he wants to spend and leaves the actual in-person bidding to an intermediary. 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. 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. Exclusive Events + Special Offers. Irsay possesses a Steinway that Elton John used for years, including during a 1974 Madison Square Garden show where John Lennon performed several songs as Johns guestwhich turned out to be the former Beatles last live performance. For the last quarter of a century, the billionaire owner and CEO of the NFLs Indianapolis Colts has spent big to obtain some of the most iconic instruments in rock history. They become alive when theyre playing.. Well consult Indianapolis Motor Speedway on who they use to move cars. At one point in an interview with The Post last week, Irsay referred to the collections value as being $100 million. 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The collection is highlighted by musical instruments and items owned and used by the greatest artists in music history, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Prince, Eric Clapton, Sir Elton John, Jerry Garcia, Les Paul, David Gilmour, Jim Morrison, Pete Townshend, Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, The Edge, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and other icons, as well as signed photos, handwritten lyrics, and other historic music memorabilia. 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. Visit thejimirsaycollection.com for details. 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'''. The collection had a heavy focus on music history, including instruments such as Ringo Starrs drum set from the Beatles famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, John Coltranes saxophone and a piano from Elton John. Like any music lover or fan I want to try to have fun with it and share it, he continues. Corporate Meetings: 702.388.2101 Items that will be on display include: An eclectic collection of pop culture and sports memorabilia will also be on display, including: The evening will also include some live music, with Irsay taking the lead and an all-star band backing him. 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. Our goal, to share the worlds unique, hidden and once in a lifetime locations with you to create unforgettable memories. Style 000-42 guitar (Eric Clapton - 'MTV Unplugged'), 1963 Gretsch Chet Atkins 6120 guitar (Lennon), 1964 Fender Stratocaster guitar (Bob Dylan - 'Dylan Goes Electric'), 1979 Yamaha BB-1200 bass guitar (Paul McCartney), 2002 DeArmond by Guild M-75T guitar (Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page), 1969 Fender Mustang (Nirvana's Kurt Cobain - 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'). He pled guilty to a misdemeanor, entered rehab and was suspended for six games and fined $500,000 by the NFL. Gilmours Black Strat? His collection debuts at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, which is also free to the public, along with guitars and musical instruments used by the Beatles, Prince and Kurt Cobain; 1823 edition of the Declaration of . And for most of the time since, the nearly million-dollar axe one of. During the course of our photoshoot, he not only pretends to smash the Black Strat but he also mischievously tucks a lit cigarette under the strings behind the nut. The guitar promptly ignited a furious bidding war, which Irsays representative won by offering the max $3.75 million.