The auction will be held at Christie’s, a reputable auction house based in Washington, DC, and is expected to reel in about $1 million in earnings. Some special pieces, such as the 1958 solid-body Gibson Flying V electric guitar previously owned by Albert King, are expected to attract bids as high as $90,000.

“They have been my true friends through the best and worst of times. I never planned to put together a collection. I just bought ones that I liked, the ones that sounded good and played well,” Richard was quoted saying in a statement.
Gere says he's parting with the instruments to support humanitarian causes around the world

Collectors, fans and musicians gathered at Bonhams New York yesterday for a sale of 75 guitars and 55 amps from the collection of Eric Clapton. The items were auctioned to benefit The Crossroads Centre in Antigua. With 100 percent of the lots sold, the final auction total more than tripled pre-sale expectations, with proceeds going to the drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre founded by Clapton in 1998.

Bidders from all four corners of the globe battled throughout the 4 ½ hour auction and included clients from the U.S., Asia, Australasia, UK, Europe, and the Caribbean. Notably, a private Russian Eric Clapton fan and collector showed keen interest in the room and Asian participants included those from Japan, Korea and Hong Kong.

“It has been a privilege and an honour working on this exceptional sale and being associated with one of the most iconic living musicians, Eric Clapton,” said Jon Baddeley, Worldwide Head of Collectables at Bonhams. “Arguably the greatest guitarist of all time, Eric Clapton inspires an ever-expanding fan base, many of whom made the journey to Bonhams in New York over the past few days and joined us for this remarkable auction. We were delighted to play our part in raising funds for The Crossroads Centre, a charity with a noble mission and a cause that remains very close to Eric’s heart.”

Guitar highlights included a 1948 Gibson L-5P that sold for $82,960 and a 2005 Zemaitis S22BP 3S that sold for $75,640. The top amp of the sale was a pair of 1997 Fender Twin Amps that sold for $42,700

Bob Faulkners's Gibson Super 400 still sounds great... and he quite a surprise when he took it to the show.
"It was $547 and now it's estimated some of them are $40,000," Faulker said.
Dolores Sidorak bought her guitar in 1967 and it's been under the bed for 40 years.
"When I was told I had to sing along with playing, that ended my career!" Sidorak said.
For her $280 investment, Dolores received a check for $1,800 for her guitar.
So check the basement and attic--those grade school music lessons may yet pay off.

"We have a database of well over 10,000 collectors in three countries. You know if it's cool and musical, we want it, we want to see it, we want to give you a check for it," said Stambaugh

WHAT: International Vintage Guitar Collectors Association Guitar Show
WHEN: October 12-October 16
Tuesday-Friday (9am - 6pm) Saturday (9am - 4pm)
WHERE: Crowne Plaza Cleveland South Independence
5300 Rockside Rd.
Independence, OH 44131

Nearly 30 of those favorites are confirmed for the June 26th show, which will feature Clapton in a headlining set with his own band and, if previous festivals are any indication, jamming with many of his guests as well. Returning veterans of the first two Crossroads shows include Jeff Beck, Robert Cray, B.B. King, the great Rick Nelson and Elvis Presley sideman James Burton, Jimmie Vaughan, Sheryl Crow, Los Lobos, ZZ Top, Steve Winwood, gospel-steel phenomenon Robert Randolph and one of Clapton’s personal heroes, Louisiana slide-guitar ace Sonny Landreth. “He’s a giant to me — his thing is so perfect,” Clapton says of Landreth. “When we send the invites, he’s the first guy that always comes back, the next day: ‘I’m in, what do you want me to do? I’ll open the show.’ Absolutely no bones with that guy.”

Among the artists making their Crossroads debuts this year are the Allman Brothers Band, British folk-guitar master Bert Jansch, singer-guitarist Keb’ Mo’ and Brazilian bossa nova legend Joao Gilberto. “I wanted to open it up a little,” Clapton says of the bill, “so it’s not so much about virtuosity as roots.” Clapton is especially excited by the booking of the reclusive Gilberto, who rarely performs abroad. “The whole thing was an excuse for getting him out of Brazil,” Clapton confesses with a laugh. But, he adds, “a festival about guitar doesn’t have to be all heavy metal or all rock. It would probably surprise a lot of people who don’t play that someone like me or Derek Trucks [of the Allmans] can admire and enjoy someone like Gilberto.”

Clapton notes that the musical success and smooth production of the 2007 festival — a one-day event also held at Toyota Park, a relatively intimate soccer stadium just south of downtown Chicago — encouraged him to do Crossroads at least one more time. The 2004 concert was, in contrast, a two-day marathon, held at the enormous Cotton Bowl in Dallas. “I’ve convinced the business guys this is the last one,” Clapton says, grinning. “Because they’re the ones who have to deal with all of the unraveling — the agencies, managers and record companies. I’ve kind of said, ‘We’ll do three.’ I like three. I’m a ‘three’ guy.”

Asked what the Crossroads festivals have achieved in greater public awareness of his peers and influences and the art of guitar playing, Clapton modestly responds, “I have no idea.” But the guitarist contends that Crossroads is not a typical music festival in that “it comes from the heart of a musician. It’s not a business deal, and there is an enlightenment in that. People realize we really love what we do.

“And hopefully,” Clapton adds, “it gets better every time. That’s the deal.”

Full list of confirmed performers:
Albert Lee
Allman Brothers Band
BB King
Bert Jansch
Buddy Guy
David Hidalgo and Cesar Rosas of Los Lobos
Doyle Bramhall II
Earl Klugh
Eric Clapton
Gary Clark Jr.
Hubert Sumlin
James Burton
Jeff Beck
Jimmie Vaughan
Joao Gilberto
Joe Bonamassa
John Mayer
Keb Mo
Pino Daniele
Robert Cray
Robert Randolph
Sheryl Crow
Sonny Landreth
Steve Winwood
Vince Gill
ZZ Top

Celebrating what many recognize as the “Golden Age” of modern guitars, Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival will bring the world’s finest guitar makers and vintage dealers to South Florida to display their brilliant hand-made acoustic, electric, vintage and modern guitars. In addition to the exclusive pieces from the Hard Rock collection, some of the nation’s top guitar collector's items will be displayed. The festival will feature a Blue Guitar Exhibition, commemorating the famous “Blue Guitar Exhibition” at the Smithsonian Institute, which many believe ushered in the modern age of guitar building.

Ed King, composer of the most famous riff in rock ’n’ roll history, will premiere his long awaited “Limited Edition Ol’ Red Stratocaster.” King, along with his instrument‘s original builder, Jeff Binion, will be available to sign autographs and perform a few favorite Skynyrd riffs throughout the festival. Since its debut in 1993, Muriel Anderson’s All Star Guitar Night will perform for the first time in Florida on Sunday, April 18th at Hard Rock Live. The finest acoustic and electric guitarists in the world will gather on stage and amaze guests with their prodigious finger-picking skills.

Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival will be held at the rocker-chic destination, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. “We are ecstatic to host a festival of this caliber, one that celebrates the iconic symbol of Hard Rocks worldwide – the guitar,” says Phil Madow, President of Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.

Visitors will fill Hard Rock Live, where hundreds of vendors will display vintage masterpieces and extraordinary one-of-a-kind modern guitars available for purchase, at prices ranging from $400 to $400,000. Over 30 distinguished guitarists including Muriel Anderson, Roy Bookbinder, Paul Asbel, and Chris Proctor will perform mini-concerts throughout the duration of the festival, to demonstrate the various guitars on display. Fans will also have the opportunity to try out their favorites inside both “quiet” and “loud” sound rooms.

Director of the festival, Henry Lowenstein purchased the festival in 2006 with his two business partners, Ron Hill and Eric Garcia, and relocated the event from Rhode Island to South Florida. According to Lowenstein, “The festival is unique, in that it combines the sale and display of classic vintage guitars with the modern designs and technological advancements of the world’s favorite instrument.”

Sponsors for Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival 2010 include the Seminole Hard Rock, Sony Pro Audio, Martin Guitar Company, TrueFire, Petros Guitars, The Blue Book of Guitars, Pikcard, Miami Vintage Guitars, DHR Music, McKnight Guitars, Glades Guitars and 13thFret.com. For additional information about Florida’s Newport Guitar Festival, please visit www.newportguitarfestival.com.

Forty years ago, rock guitar legend Jimi Hendrix made history with his anguished rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Woodstock. Now a Marin County Hendrix scholar is attempting to make another kind of history by assembling the world's largest guitar ensemble for a tribute to the late guitarist in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
Steve Roby, a San Rafael resident who teaches a Jimi Hendrix course at College of Marin, is trying to gather 3,000 guitar players together to play "Purple Haze" on Oct. 25 at West Fest, a Woodstock 40th anniversary tribute concert in the park's Speedway Meadows, where Hendrix played a free concert in 1967.
Roby, author of "Black Gold: The Lost Archives of Jimi Hendrix," hopes to break the Guinness record for largest guitar ensemble set last year by Country Joe McDonald, who organized 2,052 acoustic guitarists to play Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land."
"I thought that if he could get that many people to play 'This Land Is Your Land,' I could get more than that for Hendrix's 'Purple Haze,'" Roby said, noting that "this is part Guinness record and part Hendrix tribute with a Woodstock connection."
So far, Roby says 1,800 electric and acoustic guitarists from as far away as Florida and Texas have signed up for the tribute. Marin guitarist Peter Kaukonen has scored a five-minute arrangement of "Purple Haze" that can be downloaded on the registration page (www.steveroby.com/Jimi_Hendrix_Archives/Welcome.html)

along with an mp3 lesson of the song and instructional videos. Electric guitars should have battery powered amps.
A rehearsal is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. Sept. 19 at the Phoenix Theater in Petaluma. It will be the day after the anniversary of Hendrix's drug-related death on Sept. 18, 1970.
"It's not a talent contest," Roby said. "You won't be judged if you hit a wrong note, and you don't even have to play everything completely right. You just follow along with the band on stage."
What would the late guitar god, who would have been 67 in November, think of Roby's tribute?
"He'd probably think it's very silly," Roby said. "But when you look out at a sea of guitarists playing 'Purple Haze,' it will be an emotional moment for Hendrix fans."

Everywhere John Entwistle went, his one-of-a-kind bass guitar and "Boris the Spider" necklace usually went with him.
Now The Who bassist has gone where his belongings can't travel — he died of a heart attack in 2002 — and his beloved Buzzard bass and Boris necklace remain behind.
They're more than just mere belongings, though.
They're artifacts from the golden age of rock 'n' roll.
"He changed the face of music," said friend Steve Luongo, who drummed in The John Entwistle Band.
Those same artifacts are on display this weekend at Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center — along with other Who memorabilia, vintage rock posters from the 1960s and ’70s, signed guitars and more.
It’s probably the highest-profile event ever held at the fledgling art center, said center director Jim Griffith.
Sure, he said, they’ve had big-name Broadway actors and jazz musicians.
“But this is rock n’ roll,” he said. “It’s a whole other audience.”
In all, there will be 800-1,000 pieces in the show, said Paul Cola, a board member for The John Entwistle Foundation. The exhibit — plus an invitation-only party Sunday night — is a fundraiser for the foundation, which helps sick and poor kids get access to musical instruments and training.
The show features other rock memorabilia, including about 30 guitars signed by The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar, James Taylor and more. All those are for sale.
But the Entwistle items, organizers said, should be the biggest draw.
Before those things arrived at the center, though, most of them lived at Luongo’s south Fort Myers house. Luongo is a former drummer for Mountain, Rat Race Choir and The John Entwistle Band (best known for “Horror Rock,” the theme song in the cartoon Van-pires”).
Recently, Luongo showed off many of those pieces to a visiting news-press.com reporter. From a back room, he hauled out a black guitar case, clicked open the latches and carefully lifted the lightweight, angular Buzzard bass into the light.
“That’s the one,” Luongo said. “That’s an old friend.”
He smiled weakly.
“I sat next to him every night and listened to it bark,” Luongo explained. “For years.”
For Luongo, these pieces are more than just memorabilia.
They’re memories.
And this weekend’s event isn’t just any show. It’s a tribute to his best friend — a man who happened to be the bass player in one of the most important rock bands of all time, The Who.
The necklace and the bass guitar will sit alongside rare 45 RPM records from Entwistle’s personal collection, outfits he wore on tour with The Who, handwritten lyrics and pen-and-ink drawings of his bandmates.
The Boris the Spider necklace, of course, gets its name from the classic Who song written by Entwistle. The bassist commissioned the pendant — the first of several — to commemorate his first hit with the band.
At his house, Luongo lifted the top off a cardboard box to reveal the spider. Its onyx body and ruby eyes gleamed in the kitchen light. “Don’t worry,” he joked. “He’s been anesthetized.”
Luongo smiled.
“He probably won’t bite you,” he said.
The Boris necklaces were special to Entwistle, said his son, Chris Entwistle of Stroud in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It’s rare to find a photo without him wearing one version of the pendant.
“The spider became very much associated with him,” his son said. “He had to play the song at every concert.”
John Entwistle wrote the lighthearted tune after chatting with friends about movie stars and wondering aloud what kind of animal would best represent them. Horror actor Boris Karloff, they decided, would be a spider.
John Entwistle wrote the song the next day.
“He said it only took him seven minutes to write” his son said.
Each piece in the show triggers countless memories, Luongo said. He’s only now gotten to the point where he can do something like this: Talk openly about his friend and immerse himself again in Entwistle’s world.
The wound still aches. While showing off the memorabilia, Luongo accidentally stumbled upon an old photo from June 27, 1987 — the day he and Entwistle met.
“Wow,” Luongo said, his voice choked, his eyes tearing. “I didn’t know this was in here.”
It gets easier with each passing year, though.
“This is the first time I can talk about him without turning into an idiot,” Luongo said. “I still can’t listen to any of our records.
“It’s painful. It’s extremely painful.”

Introduced in 2006, Guitar Center's King of the Blues is designed to offer similar life-changing opportunities for unsigned guitarists. More than just a competition to find the most technically skilled players, King of the Blues is designed to seek out the most passionate, innovative and authentic undiscovered guitar players and give them a shot at stardom. Some of today's most iconic and groundbreaking artists, including BB King, John Mayer, The Black Crowes, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd have participated at past King of the Blues events, and the winner of Guitar Center's 2007 King of the Blues, Aaron Loesch, was invited to perform at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival in front of over 25,000 attendees.

Guitar Center's King of the Blues champion will win an impressive package of prizes, including $25,000 cash, a featured spot in a Guitar Center ad campaign, along with a Gibson '59 Les Paul reissue guitar, a $2,500 Levi's shopping spree, a Marshall Vintage Modern 50W half stack, a Boss GT-10 Guitar Multi Effects Pedal, a feature in Guitar World magazine, worldwide distribution of their music in iTunes and more, plus endorsement deals from Ernie Ball, Marshall Amplification, VOX Amplification, and Gibson. Additional regional, district, and local prize packages will also be awarded, thanks to the generous support of Gibson, Levi's, Ernie Ball, Marshall, Boss, VOX, Guitar World, and TuneCore, all of whom are proud supporters of Guitar Center's King of the Blues.

How It Works:
Sign-ups for the preliminary rounds of the King of the Blues competition begin July 1, and run on a "first-come, first-serve" basis, with a maximum of 30 registrants per store. Contestants must sign up with a Guitar Center associate at their local store—no phone or online sign-ups are available.

Each contestant will perform live to 1 of 25 original backing tracks, developed by Grammy Award-winning producer Pete Anderson. All backing tracks are available for free download at www.guitarcenter.com www.guitarcenter.com/kingoftheblues Contestants may bring and use any 6-, 7-, or 12-string acoustic or electric guitar, lap steel or pedal steel guitar, plus any audio pedal effects that can be set up in a 5-minute time limit, all of which will be plugged into a selection of amplifiers provided by Guitar Center.

Local competitions start August 20 in all 214 Guitar Center locations nationwide. One winner from each store will be chosen to move up to district competitions (24 locations), followed by regionally hosted semi-finals (6 locations). It culminates in the final King of the Blues Grand Finals competition in Los Angeles in November, where the grand finalists will perform in front of a live audience and a panel of celebrity judges. They'll share the stage with Joe Bonamassa, who was named Best Blues Guitarist by Guitar Player Magazine's readership in their annual Reader's Choice Awards for 2008, and whose incendiary playing has resulted in numerous albums in Billboard's Top 10 blues chart.

Competition Dates:
Store Prelims: August 20th, August 27th and September 3rd
Store Finals: September 10th
District Finals: September 30th
Regional Finals: October 21st
Grand Finals: November 2009
For more information, please visit www.guitarcenter.com