Dylan's Strat Sold

The Fender Stratocaster that Bob Dylan usedat the 1965 Newport Folk Festival when he ‘went electric’ has been sold atauction.

Following the legendary performance, whereDylan’s unexpected switch to an electric guitar was booed by folk-fans, theStrat was left on Dylan’s private plane. The pilot didn’t hear back afternotifying Dylan’s management, so the instrument was passed through his family,who verified it on PBS’ HistoryDetectives before selling it at Christie’s on Friday.

‘I was able to match the wood grain on thebody of the guitar and the rosewood fingerboard. Wood grains are likefingerprints: no two are exactly alike. Based on the sum of the evidence, I wasable to identify that this guitar was the one that Bob Dylan had played inNewport.’ – Andy Babiuk, a consultant to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, on History Detectives.

Dylan’s guitar sold for $965,000,surpassing Eric Clapton’s ‘Blackie’, which sold for $959,500 in 2004. Clapton’slimited edition book, SIX-STRING STORIES,chronicles the guitars he auctioned for the Crossroads charity between1999-2011. To find out more and order your copy, click here.

Above: Dylan recording Highway '61 with a Fender Strat in Jerry Schatzberg’s THIN WILD MERCURY.