LONDON (AP) 鈥� Musicians, collectors and fans have a chance to own a guitar god鈥檚 tools of the trade 鈥� instruments owned by the late are going up for auction.
Christie鈥檚 announced Friday it will sell more than 130 items, including 90 guitars, from the collection of the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck Group guitarist, who at age 78.
Valued at more than 1 million pounds ($1.3 million), the collection includes an oxblood 1954 Gibson Les Paul that Beck bought in Memphis in 1972 and played for the rest of the decade. The guitar, which is featured on the cover of Beck鈥檚 Grammy-winning 1975 jazz-fusion album 鈥淏low by Blow,鈥� is expected to sell for between 350,000 pounds and 500,000 pounds ($450,000 and $640,000).
Amelia Walker, head of Private and Iconic Collections at Christie's, called it 鈥渁 really beautiful instrument, covered in grime and dust and signs of use.鈥�
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 part of the appeal,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hese are things that he used. They鈥檝e got the indents of his fingernails on the fret boards. Some of them, the strings haven鈥檛 been changed for years. He played them hard. He didn鈥檛 see them as precious works of art 鈥� they were his tools to ply his trade with.鈥�
Beck came to prominence in the 1960s with hard-rock progenitors the Yardbirds and went on to a solo career that incorporated rock, jazz, blues and even opera. Twice inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 鈥� with the Yardbirds and as a solo artist 鈥� he played with everyone from Rod Stewart to Davie Bowie, Stevie Wonder and Tina Turner, and was known for his improvisational skill and the unique sound he got from the whammy bar on his preferred guitar, the Fender Stratocaster.
鈥淗e had an unparalleled ability to bend entire tones鈥� on the Strat, Walker said. The sale includes Beck鈥檚 1954 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster, valued at between 50,000 pounds and 80,000 pounds ($65,000 and $100,000), and a white Strat that was his staple instrument for 16 years, played everywhere from Ronnie Scott鈥檚 jazz club to the Obama White House. It has an estimated value between 20,000 pounds and 30,000 pounds ($26,000 and $39,000).
One of a group of 1960s guitar heroes that included Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix, Beck was revered by many peers as 鈥渢he ultimate maestro,鈥� Walker said.
As well as Beck鈥檚 beloved Strats, the sale features other models including a Telecaster-Gibson hybrid 鈥淭ele-Gib鈥� valued at between 100,000 pounds and 150,000 pounds ($130,000 and $190,000).
鈥淚t didn鈥檛 really matter what he was playing, he鈥檇 always sound like Jeff Beck,鈥� Walker said. 鈥淚t didn鈥檛 matter what the amp was turned to or which guitar, he could still pick it up and make it sound incredible. It鈥檚 all in the fingers, and in his brain.鈥�
The sale follows Christie's auction of some of Dire Straits鈥� guitarist , which raised more than 8.8 million pounds ($11.2 million) earlier this year, and memorabilia from model, artist and 1960s musicians鈥� muse , which ($3.6 million) in March.
Beck鈥檚 widow, Sandra Beck, said it was a 鈥渕assive wrench鈥� to part with the collection, but that 鈥淚 know Jeff wanted for me to share this love.鈥�
鈥淎fter some hard thinking I decided they need to be shared, played and loved again,鈥� she said.
A selection of the guitars will go on display at Christie's Los Angeles showroom Dec. 4-6, and the whole collection will be at Christie鈥檚 in London from Jan. 15 until the sale on Jan. 22.
Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
