A song can not only break records when sung or heard, but also when written. Hand-written lyrics of the 1965 epic song Like A Rolling Stone was sold for $2,045,000 at Sotheby’s, setting an auction record. Bob Dylan’s original, handwritten manuscript of one of the most influential compositions in post-war popular music was sold to a private collector in New York.
For just over $2 million, the anonymous collector walked back home with 4 pages in pencil on Hotel Roger Smith Washington letterhead stationery comprising 4 long stanzas and the repeated chorus of the song as recorded and released, with edits, corrections and marginal notes of song references, reminders and personal appointments.
Richard Austin, Head of Books and Manuscripts at Sotheby’s New York stated, “The Holy Grail of rock lyrics has taken its rightful place as the most expensive popular music manuscript sold at auction.”
Sotheby’s Rock & Roll History: Presley to Punk auction also included memorabilia from the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Joni Mitchell among others.
