Have you heard the news?
Well, there’s good rockin’ tonight for all you Elvis fans out there, especially those who avidly follow the comings and goings of valued Elvis collections!
And, what is it we hear you ask, are we all shook up about? Well, Elvis’ original Hagstrom cherry red Viking II guitar from the ‘68 Comeback Special was up for grabs this week, with bidding starting at US$250,000, a sweet deal for such a treasured item. This was the first time since the 1990s that the guitar had been up for auction. Did you have your cheque book close at hand? After all, who knows if, or when, this opportunity will come again!
After seven years of getting his Hollywood groove on, the ’68 Comeback Special marked Elvis’ triumphant return to performing live and featured him playing the Hagstrom in the opening segment and one of the live stand-up segments.
Interestingly, Elvis didn’t actually own the Hagstrom. It belonged to Al Casey who was part of the backing band for the special. The guitar’s vibrant colour caught the eyes of the producers who asked Elvis to play it in some of the segments. Red and black were dominant colours of the special, the guitar being an iconic part of the optics. Lawdy Miss Clawdy wasn’t he smokin’ hot in his black leather, red guitar in hand! Boy, he sure looked good to us.
Just last year the acoustic guitar that Elvis played on the legendary Memphis sessions sold for $1.32 million. Elvis decorated this guitar with adhesive metal letters to spell out his name, but the “s” went missing in action and it now reads ELVI. Kinda cute, don’t you think?
So, how did the Hagstrom fare in comparison? Well, all has been revealed. It went for a cool US$500,000, double the starting bid. Still a sweet deal? You be the judge of that!
Photos courtesy of Caroline Pratt – Elvis Presley Fans of Nashville
Colonel Clarker signing off