Jerry Garcia's Legendary Wolf Guitar Sells for $1.9 Million at Auction

[CountAllVotes]

Jerry Garcia's famous Wolf guitar sold at auction for over $1.9 million Wednesday, AP reports. "Wolf" was Garcia's go-to instrument for over two decades. The Grateful Dead singer-guitarist first wielded the instrument during a 1973 show for the Hell's Angels in New York City.

From 'Lucille' to 'Trigger,' great guitars and the musicians who love them

Brian Halligan, Chief Executive of software company HubSpot and an avid Deadhead (he co-authored the book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead) purchased the guitar at a Guernsey's auction benefiting the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Halligan's bid was also matched with a $1.6 million donation, raising $3.2 million total for the SPLC. The $1.9 million price Halligan paid included a $300,00 buyer's premium.

Wolf's previous owner was Daniel Pritzker, a philanthropist, musician and filmmaker, who originally purchased the guitar anonymously in 2002 for $790,000. At the time, it was the highest bid for a guitar in history. "I've been a fan of the Dead since I was a kid, and playing this iconic guitar over the past 15 years has been a privilege," Pritzker said in a statement before the auction. "But the time is right for Wolf to do some good."

Wolf was the first of several instruments that famed luthier Doug Irwin designed for Garcia. The musician, however, made his own modification to the guitar's unique purple heart and curly maple body, affixing a sticker of a cartoon wolf below the bridge. Wolf prominently featured in the 1977 concert film The Grateful Dead Movie, which Garcia directed. Garcia last played the guitar with the Grateful Dead at the Oakland Coliseum February 23rd, 1993.

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Bittersweet. Too bad it could not have been kept by a person with a link to Jerry Garcia. However the $1.9 million makes a great tax write-off for the rich person that owned it I suppose.

May Jerry Garcia RIP.

[SomethingNew]

1. What a ridiculous sentiment.

First, the new owner is apparently an avid Deadhead. THAT IS a link to Jerry. A lot of people loved/love him that he never knew personally.

Second, if one of the other Dead wanted it, they could have bought it. It's not like they are broke. Hell, Bob Weir got a couple hundred dollars from me just a few weeks ago.

Third, the sale raised over $3MM for charity. I'd bet Jerry and his close friends would rather have that result than have his guitar sitting in a corner collecting dust.

Fourth, I don't think tax writeoffs work the way you think they do and either way, Dan Pritzker has a few billion dollars and isn't doesn't need/care about an amount of money that small. He is also a guitarist/musician so there is another link to Jerry (at least for the old owner).

[CountAllVotes]

2. He doubled his investment

Last edited Thu Jun 1, 2017, 12:21 PM - Edit history (1)

Great investment -- more than doubled.

Sure he needs the write-off. They all do! Just because he is known, he too is a member of the 1%.

As for Weir, good luck with that one.

Old and In the Way indeed!