From “Here Comes the Sun” to “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”, who isn’t a big fan of the Beatles? And if you’re not, you’re probably too young for the most influential band of all time. And what wouldn’t one give for the original handwritten lyrics of a song by Paul McCartney?
The original estimate worth of the handwritten lyrics to The Beatles hit song “Hey Jude” was $160,000. Turns out, someone paid 9 times the original estimate. “It sold for $910,000 on Friday, nine times its original estimate”, auction house Julien’s Auctions said.
It was sold alongside more than 250 items of Beatles memorabilia offered in an online auction by Julien’s Auctions to mark the 50th anniversary of the band’s breakup. Before the sale, Julien’s Auctions music specialist Jason Watkins had described McCartney’s hastily scribbled notes for a 1968 studio recording of “Hey Jude” as very rare and valuable. “It’s obviously a very iconic song that everyone’s familiar with,” said Watkins. “These handwritten lyrics were used in the studio as a guide when they were recording it.”
The sale had been due to take place online and at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square, New York, but it was made online-only due to the coronavirus pandemic, the auction house said.