The guitar that Kurt Cobain used in the video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” sold for $4.5 million at auction on Sunday. The Lake Placid Blue 1969 Fender Competition Mustang was one of the Nirvana singer’s favorite guitars.
Bidding took place at the Hard Rock Hotel in New York’s Times Square, and the winning bid came from Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, whose collection of pop cultural artifacts includes a drum set from The Beatles, the original manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, and dozens of other instruments. The Cobain family, who sold the guitar along with other items belonging to the late musician, will donate a portion of the proceeds to the Colt’s Kicking The Stigma mental health awareness campaign.
“I am thrilled to preserve and protect another piece of American culture that changed the way we looked at the world,” Irsay said in a statement. “The fact that a portion of the proceeds will go toward our effort to kick the stigma surrounding mental health makes this acquisition even more special to me.”
Per AP, The Irsays have committed $16 million to the Kicking The Stigma mental health initiative and Jim said he has been talking about filming a new public service announcement with acclaimed Hollywood director Peter Berg, who directed Friday Night Lights, Lone Survivor, and Patriots Day.
The guitar that Kurt Cobain used for Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged concert sold for $6 million in 2019 along with his cardigan, which sold for a record $334,000, making it the most expensive sweater ever sold.
Watch Kurt Cobain use the guitar in the iconic video for “Smells Like Teen Spirit” below.
Nirvana – “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Official Video)
The post Kurt Cobain’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Guitar Fetches $4.5 Million At Auction appeared first on L4LM.
