McCartney's Handwritten 'Hey Jude' Lyrics Sell In Virtual Auction For $910K

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Money can't buy you love — or so the Beatles sang — but it can snag a piece of pop music history.

A Christie's porter displays, 24 April 2002 a rare page of handwritten lyrics of the Beatles' best selling single ever "Hey Jude" that will come under the hammer at Christie's 30 April 2002. Written by Paul McCartney in 1968, the 19 lines in blue ink are expected to fetch up to 80 000 pounds (130 000 Euros) at the pop memorabilia auction. AFP PHOTO / Odd ANDERSEN (Photo credit should read ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

On Friday, one lucky collector bought Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics to the 1968 Beatles classic "Hey Jude" during an online auction for $910,000.

McCartney's hastily scribbled notes for a studio recording of the song was among 250 items of Beatles memorabilia — including an annotated shooting script of the band's 1967 "Hello, Goodbye" music video and a standing ashtray used by Ringo Starr at the Abbey Road recording studios in London — according to Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions.

The auction house did not disclose the name or location of the "Hey Jude" lyrics buyer except that he is a collector ho lives in the United States. The original estimate of the lyrics' worth was $160,000, Julien's said.

McCartney originally wrote "Hey Jude" for Lennon's then-5-year-old son Julian during John's separation from his first wife Cynthia Lennon.

Another top seller was a vintage Ludwig bass drumhead bearing the Beatles logo used at the Cow Palace Arena in San Francisco in 1964. The original estimate for the piece was $50,000, though it ended up selling for $200,000.

A drawing by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, featured in the couple's 1969 "Bed in Peace" documentary went to $93,750, according to Julien's.

The live online auction included an auctioneer conducting the sale in streaming video in front of a global audience of registered bidders and fans live-streaming the event from their homes.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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