The White Album, No.0000001 which was owned by Ringo Starr, sold for a world record $910,000 Saturday at the Julien’s Live auction of instruments and items from Starr and wife Barbara Bach’s estate. Starr’s White Album carried a pre-auction estimate of $40,000 to $60,000, a number that was easily shattered during bidding.
In an interview with Rolling Stone before the auction Starr talked about his copy of the White Album. “We used to play the vinyl in those days, We didn’t think, ‘We’ll keep it for 50 years and it will be in pristine condition.’ Whoever gets it, it will have my fingerprints on it.”
All copies of The White Album were numbered in sequence, ensuring that whoever purchased Starr’s copy would have the first printing produced of the album.
Ringo’s 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl three-piece drum kit, used in the recording of “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “She Loves You” and other classics from that era, sold for $2.2 million Friday to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. The kit was used by Starr in more than 200 performances between May of 1963 and February of 1964 and later employed by Paul McCartney during the recording of his 1970 solo album McCartney.
