Rolling Stones Amplifier Rig Sells For $51K At MusiCares Auction

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Former Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman's custom bass amplifier rig was the top-selling item Wednesday at an auction held live in Beverly Hills and online to benefit MusiCares, a charitable foundation established by the Recording Academy to assist members of the music community in times of need. Wyman's Mesa/Boogie set-up, which he used during the band's 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle World Tour, sold for $51,200, according to Julien's Auctions. The second-highest bid was for Harry Styles' cherry red Gibson Memphis ES 335 guitar, signed on the body in silver marker with a heart and the words "Treat people with kindness Harry Styles." It sold for $28,125, over nine times its original estimate of $3,000, according to the auction house.

Other highlights included:

-- NASCAR star Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr.'s 2018 Daytona 500 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which sold for $25,600;

-- Bono's handwritten and signed lyrics to the 2017 U2 song ``Love is Bigger than Anything in its Way," which sold for $22,400, about 11 times the original estimate;

-- a Gibson SG Standard '61 guitar in vintage cherry signed by Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) and Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) which sold for $19,200, nearly five times its original estimate of $4,000; and

-- Ozzy Osbourne's stage-worn ensemble of a black ``Gene Meyer New York" shirt with red crystal cross and matching pants ($8,960) and his Oliver Peoples round silver metal glasses ($7,500).

The auction also featured a ukelele autographed by Billie Eilish, a caftan worn by Barbra Streisand in the film “Meet the Fockers”, a Gibson guitar signed by Taylor Swift, a drumhead signed by Coldplay members, a guitar signed by Keith Urban, and a Prada handbag signed by Nicole Kidman.

Designated lots also shared proceeds with MusiCares and the Grand Ole Opry Trust Fund, including items signed by artists who have played Opry shows without an audience in attendance during the COVID-19 pandemic. And half of the sales proceeds from Wallace Jr.'s Daytona 500 Camaro will go towards MusiCares and the other half to The Petty Family Foundation.