One of the most significant instruments in the history of rock and roll — or in the history of recorded music, for that matter — could be yours, if you’re a millionaire.
The instrument is the so-called “Sun Sessions” guitar, the 1942 Martin D-18 acoustic guitar that Elvis Presley owned between 1954 and 1956.
The starting bid is $1.2 million, and auction house Gotta Have Rock and Roll estimates the guitar will sell for $2 million-$3 million. In the mid-1950s, a new guitar of this type would have cost about $140.
“Elvis used this actual guitar extensively while recording at the iconic Sun Studios in Memphis, TN and while performing on stage during this period,” according to the description of the guitar at GottaHaveRockandRoll.com.
Referred to as “Elvis Presley’s most important guitar ever to come to auction,” the “historic” instrument goes up for auction Wednesday in a 10-day online “Rock & Roll and Pop Culture and Sports Auction” hosted by the New Jersey-based auction house, which describes itself as “the premier destination for authentic rock and roll and pop culture memorabilia.”
Assigned to “Lot 1,” the Elvis guitar is not only the key item of the auction but one of 53 Elvis objects up for bid. Other Presley artifacts available in the auction include a diamond-studded gold ring (starting bid: $6,000); Elvis’ copy of Khalil Gibran’s “The Prophet,” with the singer’s handwritten notes, underlinings and annotations ($4,000); and a red Munsingwear pajama top ($1,000).
Some non-Elvis objects in the sale include Air Jordan sneakers worn by Michael Jordan during the 1985-86 season (starting bid: $100,000); Jim Morrison’s handwritten lyrics for “The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)” ($100,000); and an impressive charcoal nude sketch drawn by Kanye West ($5,000).
Accompanied by “extensive documents of provenance,” the guitar was purchased by Elvis at O.K. Houck’s Piano Store on Union Avenue. Elvis decorated the guitar with adhesive metal letters spelling out his name, but only “ELVI” remains: The “S” is missing. According to the auction house catalog, “The extensive wear visible on the guitar due to Elvis’ hard strumming is testament to its considerable use by Elvis.”
The guitar’s significance comes from its use by Elvis during the early Memphis days of the singer’s career, especially during the so-called “Sun Sessions” of 1954 and 1955 at Sam Phillips’ studio at 706 Union Avenue. Sometimes referred to as the “Big Bang” of rock and roll, the sessions found Elvis, electric guitarist Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black innovating energetic and idiosyncratic interpretations of such country, bluegrass, rhythm-and-blues and pop songs as “That’s All Right (Mama),” “Blue Moon of Kentucky” and “Mystery Train” — innovations that would galvanize America’s youth culture and rock the world, in more ways than one.
The guitar currently is on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, and was featured in the 2019 “Play It Loud: Instruments of Rock & Roll “exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The guitar apparently is owned by Seattle-based DMX Music Michael Malone, a noted collector of rock instruments and race cars who bought the Elvis guitar at a Christie’s of London auction in 1993 for $151,700.