Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Mr. Tambourine Man” are both up for sale. Both cost over six figures, with “Like a Rolling Stone” crossing over the $1 million mark. Moments in Time representatives told TMZ these lyric sheets were sold to a collector by Dylan’s own team.
The “Like a Rolling Stone” document is listed for $1,375,000, while the “Mr. Tambourine Man” lyrics will cost $425,000. The lyrics are written on parchment paper and feature scratched-out words. Moments in Time also has a listing for “Blowin’ in the Wind” lyrics, with Dylan’s signature dated 2011. It is being sold for $150,000.
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In June 2014, Sotheby’s sold a hand-written “Like a Rolling Stone” manuscript for $2.045 million, including the buyer’s premium. Sotheby’s said the document it sold was “the only known surviving draft of the final lyrics for this transformative rock anthem.” The lyrics were written on Roger Smith Hotel Washington, D.C. stationary. The seller was described as a longtime Dylan fan from California “who met his hero in a non-rock context and bought directly from Dylan.” The “Like a Rolling Stone” auction passed the previous record-holder for handwritten rock lyrics, which was held by John Lennon’s “A Day in the Life” lyrics. The Lennon document sold for $1.2 million in 2010.
Dylan fans do not need $1 million to see his handwritten lyrics. They just need a ticket to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Earlier this month, the Bob Dylan Center had its grand opening, complete with displays of handwritten lyrics and other important pieces from his career. The 29,000-square-foot facility also includes rotating tributes to other artists important in Dylan’s career, beginning with photographer Jerry Schatzberg, who took the picture on the Blonde on Blonde cover.
“We’re really hoping that visitors walk away with a sense that they can tap into their own creative instincts, their own impulse for artistic expression, in whatever medium that might be,” Bob Dylan Center director Steven Jenkins told the New York Times. Credentialed researchers can get access to the full Dylan archive, but casual visitors can still see plenty of pieces. One highlight on display now is the notebooks Dylan used to write Blood on the Tracks.
The next big Dylan auction will be on July 7 at Christie’s, when the new recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” made on a new “Iconic Original” format pioneered by T Bone Burnett is put up for sale. It’s expected to sell between $725,000 and $1.2 million, Rolling Stone reports. This is Dylan’s first studio recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” since 1962. The new recording will only be available to hear at appointment-only listening sessions, first in Los Angeles on June 8, then in New York on June 15. Dylan reportedly recorded new versions of several classics for Burnett’s new format, but it’s not clear if Dylan plans to release these other songs to the general public.
