The Jim Irsay Collection | |
---|---|
Website | jimirsaycollection.com |
The Jim Irsay Collection is a collection of musical instruments, American history artifacts, and popular culture items collected by Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. The collection is heavily focused on guitars associated with rock music, but also contains items such as historic manuscripts, film artifacts, and sports memorabilia. Since 2021, the collection has been touring the United States as part of an ongoing traveling exhibit and concert series. [1] [2]
Although the collection does not have a permanent exhibit location, its contents have been displayed in museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the British Library, the American Writers Museum, Lowell National Historical Park, the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, and the Indiana State Museum, among others. [3] [4] [5] [6]
Jim Irsay began collecting at a young age, starting with baseball cards. Irsay had an early affinity for music, playing violin and later guitar. [7] His collecting began in earnest when he inherited the Indianapolis Colts from his father, Robert Irsay, in 1997. Irsay claimed that the collection began as a way to "share music with others." [8] [9]
The first major acquisition of the Jim Irsay Collection came in May 2001, when Irsay purchased Jack Kerouac's original typescript scroll for his 1957 novel On The Road . Kerouac wrote his seminal Beat Generation novel over a 20-day period in 1951 while living in Manhattan, New York City. Kerouac taped together stripes of tracing paper to form a nearly 120-foot (36.5m) continuous sheet he referred to as, "the scroll." [9]
Between 2004 and 2012 the scroll was displayed in several museums and libraries in the United States, Ireland, and the UK. [10] It was exhibited in Paris, in the summer of 2012, to celebrate the film based on the book. [11]
The Collection's first major guitar addition was Jerry Garcia's custom Tiger guitar, which Irsay purchased in 2002. Tiger was built by luthier Doug Irwin for Garcia over the course of six years, delivering it to the Grateful Dead guitarist in 1979. Tiger was Garcia's main touring guitar until 1989, and was the last guitar he played at his final live performance at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois on July 9, 1995. [12]
The collection features over 200 guitars, several of which were formerly owned by famous musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Prince, Lou Reed, Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Cash, Les Paul, U2's The Edge, Walter Becker of Steely Dan, Neal Schon of Journey, and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac. [1] [13]
In addition to famously owned guitars, the collection boasts a large vintage guitar selection. These include an early Martin acoustic, dating from the 1850s, a 1952 Fender Telecaster, and a 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard, better known as a "Burst Top." [13]
Other instruments in the collection include Elton John's Steinway & Sons Grand Piano, played during his famous 1975 Dodger Stadium performance, an alto saxophone used by John Coltrane during his 1966 tour of Japan, and a trumpet played by Miles Davis on his albums You're Under Arrest (1985) and Aura (1989). [2] [14] [15] [16]
Irsay claims The Beatles as his favorite music artist. [2] The British band is considered one of the most influential musical acts of all time, and their popularity in the 1960s and beyond helped usher in a new era of popular music. The Jim Irsay Collection contains several Beatles instruments and collectibles.
In 2013 Irsay acquired the 1964 Fender Stratocaster used by Bob Dylan during his July 25, 1965 performance at the Newport Folk Festival. [19] Dylan plugged in for the first time with an electric guitar playing his song "Maggie's Farm," followed by electric renditions of "Like a Rolling Stone," and "Phantom Engineer," an early version of "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry."
The crowd's reaction to Dylan's performance was mixed. Some claimed that the boos heard from the crowd were due to poor sound quality, while others believed that audience members were upset with Dylan for eschewing his folk roots. This performance was an important moment in the history of popular music, leading this guitar to be known as the "Dylan Goes Electric" guitar. [20]
The guitar was left on Dylan's private plane after the concert. The pilot initially tried to return the guitar to Dylan, but after being unsuccessful in his attempt he kept the guitar and eventually gave it to his daughter. The daughter later auctioned the guitar, where it was purchased by Irsay. [21]
Irsay also owns the original handwritten lyrics to Dylan's 1963 song "The Times They Are a-Changin'," which includes crossed-out sections of lyrics that did not appear on the recorded version of the song. [5]
Blues rocker Eric Clapton is represented in the collection with two guitars. Clapton is considered one of the best guitarists of all time, with Rolling Stone ranking him second in their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time." [22]
The collection features two guitars formerly owned by Pink Floyd guitarist and vocalist David Gilmour.
Irsay purchased Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain's 1969 Fender Mustang at auction in 2022. The guitar had been used by Cobain on Nirvana's albums Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993). [2] [29]
However, the guitar is most famous for appearing in the music video for the band's 1991 single "Smells Like Teen Spirit." The song was the lead single on Nevermind and its surprise popularity is often credited with propelling grunge music into the mainstream. [30]
The collection includes important items from American history, dating back to the American Revolution. Items include a John Hancock signed lottery ticket from 1765 for the rebuilding of Faneuil Hall in Boston, the first declaration of Thanksgiving passed by the Continental Congress in 1777, an 1823 copy of the Declaration of Independence, and several letters by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. [5] [9] [31]
Abraham Lincoln is represented in the collection with letters, a presentation cane, and a pocket knife he was given for attending the 1864 Great Central Fair in Philadelphia. In 2023, Irsay purchased two tickets from the April 14, 1864, performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre, the night Lincoln was assassinated. [32]
The collection has a rocking chair used by President John F. Kennedy at the White House and a Stetson hat that was to be presented to Kennedy by Texas Governor John Connally on the day he was assassinated. [2] Irsay also owns the top hat worn by Harry S. Truman on the day of his 1949 Presidential Inauguration. [1]
In 2018, Irsay acquired what he called his "most important" item in the collection, [2] the original working manuscript for the founding text of Alcoholics Anonymous, colloquially known as "The Big Book." Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder William "Bill W." Wilson was the primary writer of the book, but did not share credit or profit from its publishing in 1939. [33]
Irsay has been open about his past struggles with addiction. He credits Alcoholics Anonymous' Twelve Steps with helping him to beat his addiction, having attended his first A.A. meeting in the 1990s. [33] Irsay hoped that by purchasing and sharing the book, he could fight the stigma associated with alcoholism and addiction. He claimed, "I think it'll help a lot of people. That's the reason I'm doing it." [2] [8] [17] [33]
The Jim Irsay Collection contains several items from boxer Muhammad Ali, including his shoes worn during this 1975 bout against Joe Frazier, known as the Thrilla in Manila, his walk-out robe worn during his second fight against Sonny Liston, and the WBC Heavyweight Championship belt he won for his 1974 victory against George Foreman at The Rumble in the Jungle in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo). [9] [34]
Other sports related items include Jackie Robinson's baseball bat from the 1953 season and the saddle used by jockey Ron Turcotte aboard Secretariat during their 1973 Triple Crown victory. [35]
A Wilson volleyball, used during the filming of Cast Away (2000), a "golden ticket" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), and Al Pacino's shooting script used during production of Scarface (1983) are included in the collection's film section. [7] [36]
In 2021 Irsay purchased Sylvester Stallone's early working script notebook for the film Rocky (1976), written by and starring Stallone. [37]
Since 2021 the Jim Irsay Collection has been exhibited across the United States as part of a traveling exhibition and concert series featuring a display of the collection and a performance by the Jim Irsay Band. [17] Past venues include the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles, the Hammerstein Ballroom at the Manhattan Center in New York City, the AON Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier in Chicago, the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, Downtown Las Vegas, TD Garden in Boston, and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. [1] [2] [3] [5] [13] [15] [38] [39] [40]
The Jim Irsay Band consists of Irsay, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Kenny Aronoff, Tom Bukovac, Danny Nucci, Mike Wanchic, Carmella Ramsey, and Michael Ramos. [13] Outside of the exhibit and concert series, the Jim Irsay Band performed at the 2023 Farm Aid benefit concert at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana. A small portion of the guitar collection was also displayed. [15] [41]
Past featured guests performing with the Jim Irsay Band include Stephen Stills, Buddy Guy, Billy Branch, Ann Wilson, John Mellencamp, Vince Gill, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, John Fogerty, John Hiatt, Peter Wolf of The J. Geils Band, and Natalie Merchant. [15] [16] [39]
Eric Patrick Clapton is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He ranked second in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and fourth in Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". He was named number five in Time magazine's list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players" in 2009.
George Harrison was an English musician, singer and songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian culture and helped broaden the scope of popular music through his incorporation of Indian instrumentation and Hindu-aligned spirituality in the Beatles' work.
The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of Canadians Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and American Levon Helm. The Band's music combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz and country, which influenced artists such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton, and Wilco.
Geoffrey Arnold Beck was an English guitarist. He rose to prominence as a member of the rock band the Yardbirds, and afterwards founded and fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to an instrumental style with focus on an innovative sound, and his releases spanned genres and styles ranging from blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion and a blend of guitar-rock and electronica.
David Jon Gilmour is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter who is a member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined in 1967, shortly before the departure of the founder member Syd Barrett. By the early 1980s, Pink Floyd had become one of the highest-selling and most acclaimed acts in music history. Following the departure of Roger Waters in 1985, Pink Floyd continued under Gilmour's leadership and released the studio albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987), The Division Bell (1994) and The Endless River (2014).
The Concert for Bangladesh was a pair of benefit concerts organised by former Beatles guitarist George Harrison and the Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar. The shows were held at 2:30 and 8:00 pm on Sunday, 1 August 1971, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of, and fund relief for refugees from East Pakistan, following the Bangladesh Liberation War-related genocide and the 1970 Bhola cyclone. The concerts were followed by a bestselling live album, a boxed three-record set, and Apple Films' concert documentary, which opened in cinemas in the spring of 1972.
Jaime Royal Robertson was a Canadian musician of Indigenous ancestry. He was lead guitarist for Bob Dylan in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s, guitarist and primary songwriter of The Band from their inception until 1978, and a solo artist.
Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by singer-guitarist Eric Clapton, keyboardist-singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previously played together in Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, during and after Clapton's brief tenure with Blind Faith. Dave Mason supplied additional lead guitar on early studio sessions and played at their first live gig. Another participant at their first session as a band was George Harrison, the recording for whose album All Things Must Pass marked the formation of Derek and the Dominos.
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album The Beatles. It was written by George Harrison, the band's lead guitarist, as an exercise in randomness inspired by the Chinese I Ching. The song conveys his dismay at the world's unrealised potential for universal love, which he refers to as "the love there that's sleeping".
"All Things Must Pass" is a song by English rock musician George Harrison, issued in November 1970 as the title track to his triple album of the same name. Billy Preston released the song originally – as "All Things (Must) Pass" – on his Apple Records album Encouraging Words (1970) after the Beatles had rehearsed the song in January 1969 but did not include it on their Let It Be album. The composition reflects the influence of the Band's sound and communal music-making on Harrison, after he had spent time with the group in Woodstock, New York, in late 1968. In his lyrics, Harrison drew inspiration from Timothy Leary's poem "All Things Pass", a psychedelic adaptation of the Tao Te Ching.
Jesse Edwin Davis III was a Native American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, John Lennon, and George Harrison.
"What Is Life" is a song by the English rock musician George Harrison from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. In many countries, it was issued as the second single from the album, in February 1971, becoming a top-ten hit in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, and topping singles charts in Australia and Switzerland. In the United Kingdom, "What Is Life" appeared as the B-side to "My Sweet Lord", which was the best-selling single there of 1971. Harrison's backing musicians on the song include Eric Clapton and the entire Delaney & Bonnie and Friends band, with whom he had toured during the final months of the Beatles. Harrison co-produced the recording with Phil Spector, whose Wall of Sound production also employed a prominent string arrangement by John Barham and multiple acoustic rhythm guitars, played by Harrison's fellow Apple Records signings Badfinger.
On Tour with Eric Clapton is a 1970 album by Delaney & Bonnie with Eric Clapton, recorded live at the Fairfield Halls, England. Released on Atco Records, it peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 in April 1970, at No. 39 on the UK Albums Chart, and was certified a gold record by the RIAA.
James Irsay is an American businessman and the principal owner, chairman, and CEO of the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).
The Black Strat is the nickname for a black Fender Stratocaster guitar played by David Gilmour of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. It appeared for the first time with Gilmour at the 1970 Bath Festival. Gilmour stated in an interview prior to the auction of his guitar collection that 'The Black Strat' featured in many of Pink Floyd's and his individual albums and was used in “Money”, “Comfortably Numb” and “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”, among many others.
The Fool is a 1964 Gibson SG guitar, painted for Eric Clapton by the Dutch design collective The Fool, from which the guitar takes its name. One of the world's best-known guitars, it epitomizes the psychedelic era. Clapton used the guitar extensively while playing with Cream and it was an essential element of his famed "woman tone". From the 1970s to early 1980s, the guitar was owned by Todd Rundgren, who was often seen playing the instrument in his live performances. He nicknamed the guitar "Sunny", after the Cream song "Sunshine of Your Love".
The Concert for Bangladesh is a film directed by Saul Swimmer and released in 1972. The film documents the two benefit concerts that were organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar to raise funds for refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and were held on Sunday, 1 August 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As well as notable performances from Harrison and Shankar, the film includes "main performer" contributions from Harrison's fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and Leon Russell, and a surprise walk-on from Bob Dylan. Other contributing musicians include Ali Akbar Khan, Eric Clapton, the band Badfinger, Klaus Voormann, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Horn and Jim Keltner.