Almost four decades ago, John Lennon and Yoko Ono piled Timothy Leary, Petula Clark, Dick Gregory, Allen Ginsberg, Tommy Smothers and many more into a Bed-In in a Montreal hotel room and recorded what may be the most famous protest song of all time using nothing but four mikes and an Ampex four-track.
Four decades later, the hand-written lyrics to that immortal song, “Give Peace a Chance,” were auctioned off by Christie’s for the tidy sum of $833,654.
Money may not be ably to buy you love, but evidently it can buy you peace.
Scratch that. It can buy you love too.
According to the Associated Press, “Christie’s spokeswoman Zoe Schoon said Lennon gave the sheet to 16-year-old Gail Renard during the eight-day Bed-in.” Renard went on to become an award-winning comedy TV writer, but sneaking in to see Lennon as a teenager so far has paid much better dividends. Lennon helped her out in more ways than one.
“I’m not just saying this because of the auction,” Renard told Montreal’s Gazette.
“John Lennon was kind, he was generous and he became a friend. Hehelped me sell my first piece of writing, and it was through hisencouragement I became a writer.”
Lennon also gave her the best financial advice she would ever receive as well: Hold onto those lyrics.
“They’ll be worth something some day,” he cautioned.
Yup, $833,654, to be exact.
As for actual peace? We’re still waiting to cash that one in.
This article appeared at Wired
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