Paul McCartney’s Wings Bass Breaks Record with Sale of $ 471,000, Other Highlights from The Edge’s Music Rising | Guitar.com

Over the weekend, a massive auction of guitars and other memorabilia took place to benefit Music Rising, the charity founded by U2 guitarist The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin. The auction raised more than $ 2 million for the charity, aimed at musicians in New Orleans who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Ida.

The full auction featured instruments and other items donated by a laundry list of A-listers: Joan Jett, Lenny Kravitz, Noel Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Slash, Paul Stanley, Flea, Billie Joe Armstrong, for n to name a few. Among the items donated was a bass guitar owned and played by Paul McCartney in his post-Beatles band Wings – this broke the auction price record for a bass guitar, reaching a sizable amount of $ 471,900. The record was previously held by Bill Wyman’s bass guitar, which sold for $ 384,000 in 2020.

Another record was broken by, well, a shattered guitar, when Eddie Vedder’s Telecaster broke the record for the highest-paid guitar at auction. It sold for an undisclosed amount. These record sales combined with the huge amount of items sold drove the auction to a total of over $ 2 million.

The Edge said in a statement, “We would like to thank everyone involved in this incredible auction, including the artists who generously donated their personal instruments and the bidders around the world who have helped us break world records. world. Music Rising’s proceeds will help bring live music back to life in a part of the country whose music culture has been extremely influential around the world. We are indebted to all Music Rising supporters who gave us a great opportunity to go back to our roots and help musicians in need. We thank you.”

Bob Ezrin added, “Wow, what an auction. We are very grateful to all the artists, supporters and bidders who helped make Guitar Icons an auction for history books, ”before noting that the auction hit its impressive total in just a few hours.

“The musicians of New Orleans are the custodians of a unique musical heritage, passing it down through generations and influencing so many genres of music that we enjoy. The proceeds from this auction will help musicians in the region who have suffered financially from this pandemic. Thank you very much for your support.”