Results from the Waylon Jennings Arizona Estate Auction
This story has been updated.
Waylon fans and collectible enthusiasts from around the country and world made their way to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ or tuned in online to a 2,000-item estate liquidation from the Arizona homestead of the late Waylon Jennings. The auction was conducted by Guernsey’s of New York who compiled over 500 lots that included many pictures of Waylon and his friends, gold & platinum records and other trophies accumulated over his storied career, many music instruments including personal guitars and amplifiers, personal effects like watches and sunglasses, clothing, and reams of paper material of Waylon’s lyrics and other musings.
Bidding began at 1 PM Pacific time, and started with the pictures Waylon had accumulated over his lifetime. The most desirable lot of pictures turned out to be a lot of four vintage photos from the set of the movie Stagecoach that included pictures with Johnny Cash, and one with Waylon shooting the bird from inside a stagecoach.
PLEASE NOTE: The sale prices should be considered preliminary and may not take into consideration certain factors. As soon as sale prices are finalized and confirmed, they will be updated here.
Out of the gold & platinum records and the trophies, the most sought-after of the collection was the gold record for The Highwaymen which fetched $6,000. 17 new trophies had been added to the auction recently from what was originally advertised, including a 1998 Chettie Award that went for $2,250.
Out of Waylon’s musical instruments, his two personal 1940’s Martin guitars brought $26,000, and $22,500 respectively, while a 1985 acoustic-electric Alvarez guitar fetched $10,000—much higher than original auction estimates. However auctioneers had a difficult time getting bidders interested in the numerous Fender amplifiers from Waylon’s personal collection, with most of the Twin Reverb models going for well under estimates, and for less than $1,000.
The crown jewel of the auction was the 1958 Ariel Cyclone motorcycle once owned by Waylon’s mentor Buddy Holly that was then given to Waylon on his birthday in 1979 by the former members of Buddy’s backing band The Crickets. It sold for $457,500. Some initial reports had the motorcycle not selling at a high bid of $375,000 that did not meet the reserve, but Saving Country Music has confirmed with the auction house the sale of the bike and the price. The other high bid in the auction was for a desk given to Waylon by Johnny Cash that sold for $70,000.
As for other items of interest, a letter from Johnny Cash to Waylon went for $2,750, the note from John Lennon to Waylon went for $7,500, and a robe given to Waylon by Muhammad Ali landed $5,000.
Proceeds from the auction went to benefit the Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
Here’s a run down of some of the most important and interesting items from the auction:
1958 Ariel Cyclone Motorcycle. $457,500. (Read More)
Photograph of Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash Rollerskating. $750
Waylon’s GED Plaque from the State of Oklahoma Earned on April 14th, 1991 at 52. $1,200
Gold Record for The Highwaymen Record from 1986. $6,000
1946 Martin D28 Herringbone Guitar. $26,000.
1943 Martin Guitar 00021. $22,500
“Little” Jimmy Dickens Dobro Resonator Guitar. $12,000
Gold RWN Necklace for Waylon, Ritchie Albright, & Neil Reshen. $1,800
Howard 23 Jewel Pocket Watch on Chain. $10,000
Golden Badge from Davidson County (Nashville) Sheriff. $2,500
Rare Autographed Copy of an Early Waylon Jennings LP, JD’s. $1,100.
Hank Williams’ Custom-Made Nudie Cowboy Boots. $8,000.
Muhammad Ali’s Ring Robe Presented to Waylon by Ali (Read More). $5,000.
Letter From Johnny Cash to Waylon Jennings (Read More). $2,750.
Willie Nelson’s Braids, Given to Waylon. $31,250.
Armadillo World Headquarters Poster w/ Commander Cody & Willie Nelson. $900.
Partner Desk Given to Waylon from Johnny Cash in 1985. $70,000.
Original Contract Forming The Highwaymen. $18,000.
Letter from John Lennon to Waylon Jennings (Read More). $7,500.
Waylon’s Rolex Submariner Wristwatch. $25,000.
October 6, 2014 @ 8:35 am
Am I the only one wondering if any of these items are now in Marty Stuart’s collection of memorabilia?
September 12, 2021 @ 9:46 am
I got the boot pulls that he used, love them.
October 6, 2014 @ 10:05 am
Ha! I was just getting to ask the same thing!
October 6, 2014 @ 2:34 pm
i’m going to miss these posts. i bet everything that was sold had a just as intriguing story as the next.
October 6, 2014 @ 3:09 pm
There’s a few other cool artifacts that I discovered in the auction items that I hope to feature eventually. I know it takes a certain type of music nerd to get excited about something like Waylon’s GED he earned at 52, or the poster for the famed Armadillo World Headquarters show in Austin when Waylon poked his head out of the curtain and saw all those crazy hippie rednecks, and turned to Willie and said, “Now what have you gotten me into?” But I could write about this stuff all day long.
October 6, 2014 @ 3:06 pm
Seriously? Nobody wanted a fender twin Waylon picked through for more than 1000? That’s less than retail! Holy crap collectors must be as stupid as musicians are poor…
October 6, 2014 @ 3:35 pm
I was blown away by the lack of interest in the amps. It really was one of the biggest stories to come out of the auction. They had a couple of amps they had valued at 5 figures (maybe a little high to being with) that went for $900. Some of them went cheaper than what you can find in your local Craigslist ads, and for solid vintage Fender amps regardless of who owned them.
It proves the theory that most people have no clue that the guitar is only half of what goes into a player’s sound, and that the amp is just as important, if not more for some players.
October 6, 2014 @ 3:33 pm
Seeing all of these items displayed at the MIM made me really wish that it could all stay together as a collection. It was pretty amazing to see all of it in one exhibit, and put together a mental timeline of his career. I learned a lot about him.
October 7, 2014 @ 12:02 pm
Word is that the bike is going to be displayed at the Buddy Holly Museum in Lubbock, TX.
October 7, 2014 @ 2:18 pm
I’m also seeing reports that the motorcycle sold for $450,000, though that certainly wasn’t what happened at the auction because I was watching live. It may have been sold afterwards, I don’t know. I have calls and emails out and hope to get to the bottom of the story soon.
October 7, 2014 @ 11:58 pm
Wow! Those braids certainly raked in some cash. That is the most expensive hair I’ve ever seen.
October 8, 2014 @ 2:42 pm
some perspective
“Perhaps the best known single example of the celebrity instrument is Eric Clapton’s (1945) Stratocaster, auctioned at Christie”™s in London in 2004 for 959 500. This guitar, named Blackie, held the record of the worlds”™ most expensive guitar until the Stratocaster played by Bob Dylan at Newport in 1965 went under the hammer for 965 000 just last year.”
Of course this is absurd.
article by Heikki Uimonen
October 16, 2014 @ 10:35 am
HEY, so I don’t know if anyone else noticed but when these items were first listed, Waylon’s original guitar was listed complete with well played worn frets and then it disappeared!? What happened to that guitar??!!
October 16, 2014 @ 10:37 am
the guitar I question was his Telecaster with the leather wrap!
October 16, 2014 @ 11:10 am
I saw Waylon’s original guitar in certain promotional pictures for the auction, but never saw a specific listing for it. It doesn’t mean it wasn’t there at some point, but watching the auction live, I never saw it come across the block, nor was it listed in the official auction catalog.
April 12, 2018 @ 8:38 pm
His son shooter owns it
February 12, 2022 @ 4:54 pm
Funny story! I was at the Sundance Film festival with a jewelry company I was the National sales Mgr. For.Shooter Jennings came into the store we were selling from with his then Fiancé Drea De Mateo.She was Adriana on the Sopranos….she bought him a piece he wanted and I shared with Shooter that his mother went to high school with my parents in Mesa Arizona…..being a guitar guy, I asked him about Waylon’s #1 and he told me that he had it and played it all the time….he claimed it’s sounded like heaven….
May 25, 2015 @ 7:18 pm
I would almost bet that Shooter ended up with that original Telecaster. I would want it if it was my dads!
August 20, 2021 @ 9:51 pm
I agree and wish they hadn’t been auctioned off in the first place! It’s sad to know it happened, and the fact that all the items were together for the last time, and will never be again. Is equally sad. Now nothing against Keith Urban but, he’s Australian, and the guitar he ended up with is an iconic piece of music history and should’ve went to a more appropriate person (like Shooter)
or place. His fans, me included, deserved at least that much. I’m told that Nicole made sure that wouldn’t happen. By pushing up the bid too high for anyone to compete. Making sure she’d get it and was a bit unfair.