Music

The first ever copy of The Beatles' White Album sold for $790,000

by Jesse Locke

Following a recent rock auction including a lock of John Lennon’s hair, Beatles megafans had another chance to clone the Fab Four from an item with traces of their DNA samples. The first ever copy of The White Album, numbered 0000001, sold for a record $790,000.

The LP was purchased alongside other items from Ringo Starr’s personal collection, including his 1963 Ludwig Oyster Black Pearl drum kit, which was sold for a cool $2.2 million to Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. The three-piece kit was used on the recording of “Can’t Buy Me Love”, “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and more than 200 live performances from 1963-1964.

According to Rolling Stone, other Starr items sold include his drum kit from the “Hello Goodbye” video ($112,000), a Hofner bass ($22,500), and his suit worn during the filming of Hard Day’s Night ($50,000).

When asked about the smudgy condition of his copy of The White Album, Starr said “We used to play the vinyl in those days. We didn’t think, ‘We’ll keep it for 50 years and it will be in pristine condition.’ Whoever gets it, it will have my fingerprints on it.”