Earlier this week, we reported that a 1967 Arbiter Fuzz Face that had belonged to Jimi Hendrix sold at auction for an astounding $40,625. But that wasn’t the only piece of gear that fetched a price far above what was expected.
Also offered up at LA-based Julien’s Auctions on Saturday was a teal blue Cloud guitar that belonged to Prince in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. The guitar was made by esteemed Cloud luthier Andy Beech, who made a total of 31 guitars for Prince.
The guitar was first auctioned off in 1994, when Prince donated it to benefit Los Angeles earthquake relief. This past Saturday, the Cloud returned to auction, with anticipated final bids falling between $60,000 and $80,000. But the winning bid blew past expectations and the Cloud sold for a whopping $700,000.
A few non-instrument items from the “Icons and Idols: Rock ‘N’ Roll” auction also garnered surprisingly high final bids, like handwritten lyrics to David Bowie’s “Starman” that sold for $81,000 and one of Michael Jackson’s black and white rhinestone gloves that closed at $102,000.