Dylan's 'Times They Are A-Changin'' lyrics for sale for $2.2 million

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to his 1960s classic “The Times They Are A-Changin’” are going up for sale with a $2.2 million asking price in what could mark a world record for rock lyrics.

Gary Zimet, owner of Los Angeles-based autograph dealers Moments in Time, said on Sunday the one-page sheet of lyrics, written in a notebook and with changes and scribbles, was originally owned by Dylan’s current manager, Jeff Rosen, and was now being sold by an anonymous private collector.

“It’s not an auction. It’s a private sale. First come, first served,” Zimet told Reuters.

Dylan’s handwritten lyrics to “Like a Rolling Stone” fetched a world-record $2 million when they were sold at auction by Sotheby’s in New York in 2014.

“The Times They Are A-Changin’”, written by Dylan in 1963 and released on his 1964 album of the same name, is regarded as one of the most iconic protest songs of the 1960s.

Zimet said he was also selling the lyrics of two other Dylan songs - his 1965 track “Subterranean Homesick Blues” for $1.2 million, and 1969 ballad “Lay Lady Lay” for $650,000.

“They are not quite as important, as iconic,” said Zimet, explaining the lower prices. “‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ is certainly a major, major song but not in the same league as ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’.”

The lyrics to popular songs, especially when handwritten and with scratched-out ideas or doodles, have become some of the most sought-after items for collectors of celebrity memorabilia.

Don McLean’s 16-page draft for “American Pie” fetched $1.2 million in 2015, while Paul McCartney’s scribbled partial lyrics for a recording of “Hey Jude” sold for $910,000 at an online auction earlier this month.

Dylan, 78, last month released his first original music in eight years with a 17-minute song called “Murder Most Foul” that was inspired by the 1963 assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. In 2016, Dylan became the only singer-songwriter to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Peter Cooney

Handwritten 'Hey Jude' lyrics sell for $910,000

LOS ANGELES, United States - A sheet of paper bearing Paul McCartney's handwritten lyrics to "Hey Jude" sold for $910,000 in an online auction held Friday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' historic split.

The document penned by McCartney and used during the 1968 London recording of the classic song at Trident Studios was sold for more than five times its pre-sale estimate.

California-based Julien's Auctions shifted its sale of some 250 Beatles memorabilia online due to the coronavirus pandemic, with fans around the world bidding for guitars, rare vinyl and autographed items.

Friday marks exactly half a century since an interview given by McCartney sealed the acrimonious end of the "Fab Four," widely considered one of the most influential bands in history.

Asked if he foresaw a time when his prolific songwriting partnership with fellow Beatle John Lennon would restart, his blunt reply -- "no" -- spoke for itself.

McCartney wrote "Hey Jude" after an earlier split -- Lennon's divorce from first wife Cynthia following his affair with Japanese artist Yoko Ono.

The song was composed to comfort Lennon's son Julian during his parents' break-up, and was initially titled "Hey Jules."

The handwritten document sold Friday contains partial lyrics along with annotations including the word "break" used to aid the song's recording.

Other items included a drumhead with the Beatles' logo used during their first US tour gig in 1964, sold for $200,000, and a handwritten shooting script page for the "Hello, Goodbye" music video in 1967, fetching $83,200.

A brass ashtray used by Ringo Starr at the Abbey Road recordings in the 1960s earned $32,500.

Agence France Presse

No shaking off Taylor Swift-Kanye West 'Famous' feud

Taylor Swift and Kanye West won't be shaking off their bad blood anytime soon, as the feud between the pop star and rapper over the lyrics of his single "Famous" took an ugly turn with the release of a video and phone call between the two music stars.

The video, released online on Sunday by West's reality star wife, Kim Kardashian, was a recording of West chatting by phone with Swift earlier this year in which the "Shake It Off" singer gave her approval -- at least in part -- to the song, which she later deemed offensive and misogynistic.

    do u guys follow me on snap chat? u really should ;-)

— Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) July 18, 2016
 
"Famous," released by West in February, contains the line, "I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex. I made that bitch famous."

The trio, three of the biggest pop culture celebrities, have been fighting long distance via tabloid and social media for months over West's insistence that Swift gave her blessing for the lyrics, and Swift's strenuous denials.

According to video of the phone call, released by Kardashian on social media on Sunday after an episode of "Keeping up with the Kardashians," Swift told West of the song, "I really appreciate you telling me about it. That's really nice," she says. "It's all very tongue-in-cheek either way."

PART 1: Kanye calling Taylor Swift to tell her about the #FAMOUS lyrics. Courtesy of KKW. pic.twitter.com/TIiqxxzLUh

— TeamKanyeDaily (@TeamKanyeDaily) July 18, 2016

"If people ask me about it, I think it would be great for me to be like, 'Look, he called me and told me about the line,'" Swift says in the call, which took place before the February release of "Famous."

On Sunday, however, Swift said that she had been secretly recorded by West and accused him of character assassination.

That moment when Kanye West secretly records your phone call, then Kim posts it on the Internet. pic.twitter.com/4GJqdyykQu

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) July 18, 2016

"Where is the video of Kanye telling me that he was going to call me 'that bitch' in his song?," the 10-time Grammy winner wrote on her Instagram account on Sunday.

"It doesn't exist because it never happened ... While I wanted to be supportive of Kanye on the phone call, you cannot 'approve' a song you haven't heard. Being falsely painted as a liar when I was never given the full story or played any part of the song is character assassination," added Swift.

"Famous" refers to an infamous 2009 MTV Video Music Awards incident in which West snatched the microphone from Swift during her acceptance speech and declared that Beyonce should have won.

The pair publicly made up in August last year when Swift presented West with an lifetime award.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com