Over time, guitars performed by Eric Clapton have commanded some eye-watering worth tags on the public sale block. Simply final yr, among the many huge guitar assortment of late billionaire and Indianapolis Colts proprietor Jim Irsay lay Clapton’s SG, the Idiot, which ended up fetching simply over $3 million at public sale.

Certainly, Clapton’s guitars have an extended historical past of incomes huge sums of cash; in a 2004 public sale at Christie’s in New York, the guitarist’s Cherry Pink 1964 Gibson ES-335 – which he performed throughout Cream’s final present on the Royal Albert Corridor in 1968, and was just lately remade as an Epiphone Impressed by Gibson mannequin – offered for $847,500 (simply over $1.5 million in right now’s cash, per usinflationcalculator.com).

The star of that 2004 public sale, although, was Clapton’s black Fender Stratocaster, nicknamed “Blackie”. That one offered to Guitar Heart for $959,500 (roughly $1.7 million in right now’s cash). It was the most costly guitar ever offered at public sale on the time. That determine was eclipsed fairly considerably final yr, although, by one other black Strat belonging to David Gilmour, which fetched a staggering world-record $14,550,000.

The guitars at Clapton’s 2004 Christie’s public sale have been offered off to assist his Crossroads Centre in Antigua, a substance-abuse rehabilitation centre which helps restoration from alcohol and drug habit.

Clapton – a former alcoholic and drug addict himself – continues to champion the significance of his Crossroads organisation, and just lately held the 2026 Crossroads Guitar Pageant with proceeds benefitting the Crossroads Centre.

Although he admits it was finally the fitting choice to dump a few of his most prized devices for a very good trigger, he jokes in a brand new interview with Guitar Heart that it was a “massive, massive mistake” letting go of Blackie and his Cream-era 335.

“When the public sale was occurring, I needed to always preserve [reminding] myself: ‘That is your goal. You’re an alcoholic and when you don’t keep sober, you gained’t have the ability to assist different alcoholics to attain sobriety. So that is all for that goal. Crossroads is for that goal. So I’m out [disproportionately] obsessive about the survival of that place.”

“So these items, as sacred as they’re, they need to be given away – sacrificed. That’s my factor – I actually need to maintain Crossroads alive, if I can.” 

He continues: “My main goal is to remain sober, and assist different alcoholics to attain sobriety. That’s above me being a musician or a husband or a father. It’s the primary factor.”

Elsewhere, Clapton speaks on the transformative energy of musical devices. “It’s probably the most dependable supply of inspiration, salvation, when you like,” he says.

“For those who’re in a nasty place, and also you decide up a guitar, there’s a powerful likelihood you’ll get out of that. You’ll transcend no matter the issue is… They’re very sacred issues to me, these guitars.”

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