CULVER CITY, California — A handwritten copy of The Beatles song "Hey Jude" sold during an auction for $910,000.
The lyrics, penned by Paul McCartney himself, were part of Julien's Auctions Beatles sell-off held Friday. The auction took place on the 50th anniversary of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr's historic breakup.
The action house sold nearly 250 Beatles items like guitars and instruments, autographed items, rare vinyl, obscure licensed material and other rare and collectible artifacts.
The lyrics to the late 1960s classic, written in black felt pen, were used in-studio before McCartney gifted them to an engineer. According to the auction house, McCartney recorded the song with the sheet of paper at Trident Studios in London in July of 1968.
The auction house said the lines in the lyrics are numbered from 1 through 4, with notations in between such as “BREAK” and at the end “Ending. Fading.”
The song was famously written for John Lennon’s son Julian as a source of comfort during the divorce of his parents John and Cynthia Lennon. The song was originally called “Hey Jules.”
The song went on to be nominated for several Grammy's like Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The auction house estimated that the item would sell only for only $160,000 to $180,000.
