Kurt Cobain's "Unplugged" guitar estimated at $ 1 million

The guitar strummed by the delicate and frantic fingers of the legendary rocker Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) during the recording of the famous concert Unplugged by the group Nirvana, in 1993, will be sold at auction in an organized sale June 19-20 in Los Angeles. The initial, stratospheric estimate is $ 1 million.

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This semi-acoustic guitar which will be sold by Julien's Auctions is a rare model, the D-18E made by the American luthier Martin in only 302 copies, this one in 1959.
It obeyed the rules of the Unplugged show (disconnected in French) from the American channel MTV, who wanted the invited artists to use only acoustic or semi-acoustic instruments.

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The concert, recorded in New York on November 18, 1993, marked the climax of Nirvana, the most striking rock group of the 1990s, which crystallized around it a musical movement, grunge. In addition to its great successes, the group had also interpreted a cover of David Bowie's song, The Man Who Sold the World , which will remain in the history of rock. And this legendary concert was given, as a last present, less than six months before the suicide, on April 5, 1994, of Kurt Cobain, depressed and addicted to heroin.

The guitarist and singer could not therefore have seen the triumph of the album Unplugged , which would rise to the forefront of record sales when it was released in November 1994. According to the specialized magazine Billboard , it went by more than five million copies in the United States.

Kurt's vest sold for $ 333,000

The guitar is sold with its case, personalized by Kurt Cobain, as well as three luggage deposit tickets. The most expensive guitar in history is a Fender Stratocaster, dubbed Black Strat , used by the guitarist of the British group Pink Floyd, David Gilmour. It was sold by the musician for 3.975 million dollars, during a sale organized in June 2019 by Christie's, for the benefit of charitable works.

In late October, the legendary olive green vest worn by Kurt Cobain when recording the same Unplugged had been sold for 334,000 dollars, during auctions organized by Julien's Auctions. This new auction could certainly erase this record.

Nirvana and Kurt Cobain perform The Man Who Sold The World in 1993