Bob Marley’s guitar continues to be some of the most saute after guitars in the world.
It’s been a stellar year for earnings for the Marley family, who are celebrating what would have been Bob Marley’s 75th birthday. They’ve released a series of inspirational videos on YouTube and recently the 1984 album “Legend” was Billboard’s best-selling reggae album of 2020. In yet another accomplishment for the Marley’s this year, one of Bob Marley’s guitars has been sold for an impressive US$153,600.
The Marley family have chosen to celebrate this year and named it Marley75 to honour the legacy of Bob Marley. The celebration was done in collaboration with UMe and Island Records. They have promised exclusive digital content, as well as recordings and other “unearthed treasures.”
The guitar was sold at the December 1-2 Julien’s Auctions’ annual Icons and Idols Trilogy: Rock and Roll. The event took place in Beverly Hills, California. The guitar performed better than expected at the auction as it was estimated to bring in between US$80,000 and US$100,000. It’s a 1975 Ovation 1612-4 Custom Balladeer acoustic-electric and features a natural spruce top and shallow back. It also has a black fingerboard.
It was quite an achievement for the Marley’s as this was the first time that they had a guitar featured at the exclusive auction. The auction began in 2003 and this year they sold close to 900 items from a variety of music icons.
Bob Marley owned seven guitars throughout his lifetime. His 22-Series Washburn Hawk sold for between US $1.2- $2 million. Marley gave this guitar to his guitar tech Gary Clausen as a gift, and the Jamaican government decided to buy it to preserve it as a national treasure.
