When writing Thursday´s article on 9 more things I didn't know about vinyl, I wrote about the most expensive album ever. A side note in the article, the story got me more interested because of how remarkable it is and how infrequently it has been told. With that I dug deeper, and I found out more that I consider worth telling.
The most expensive album of all times is John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's album Double Fantasy. This album was recorded after five years of taking a break, being a dad and staying clean from addiction. In my opinion this album is not Leonnon's best and Ono's singing is definitely not everyone´s cup of tea.
The reason one particular copy of this album rightfully became the most significant piece of music memorabilia is not because of the quality of the music, but because of the remarkable story attached to it.
Mark David Chapman murdered John Lennon in 1980. Five hours before being shot in the back, John Lennon signed a copy of his and Yoko Ono´s Double Fantasy Album for his future murderer. After signing the album, John Lennon enigmatically asked Chapman twice "Is that all that you want?" which seems curiously foreboding in retrospect. Chapman left both questions unanswered and stood with a blank stare instead.
Chapman, initially a great fan of the Beatles, became increasingly angered by the fact that Lennon on one hand "imagined no possessions", while on the other hand was hoarding lots of stuff himself. Chapman also considered some of Lennon's works "communist" which seems contradictory in light of his first grievance with Lennon's property. As we know, Chapman went on to kill Lennon. He had long schemed to murder the Beatle, had even made one previous trip to New York three months earlier without acting on his compulsion. After some additional deliberation he decided to shoot Lennon in front of his Dakota apartment on the night of December 8th, 1980. After he did so, he threw the murder weapon into a bush but placed the signed album beside the security booth. He calmly went on to read his favorite novel by JD Salinger "The Catcher in the Rye". The police retrieved the weapon but interestingly left the album to be found by a building maintenance worker named Michael Philips who was himself a great fan of the Beatles.
Phillips became aware of the significance of his possession when a photograph of the album signing was released showing both Lennon and Chapman. He handed the album to the district attorney for forensic testing and it became substantial evidence in the case against Chapman. The album was later returned to the lucky finder with a note of gratitude from the DA.
Meanwhile Chapman was smoldering in solitary confinement at the Attica Correctional Facility in New York where he is being held to date. In a curious display of character, he wrote a postcard asking someone in the memorabilia business about the possible worth of the album. He had previously been in a legal battle against Philips asking for the album to be returned and voiced his frustration about the lack of progress in this matter. He mentioned that he would like to donate any proceeds from a possible auction to a children's charity, this being "the least he could do". He also voiced some concern about the album's potential worth as it was not in good condition and mentioned lacked a dust cover, which, according to police reports, in fact it did have.
In 1999, Philips saw himself forced to sell the album. In an auction it raised $165'000 making it already then the most expensive album ever sold. It was bought by an American who remained anonymous and was solt again in 2004 for 274'000 Pounds Sterling which then was about $ 480'000 USD. It was placed on the market again in 2010 at a reserve price of $575'000 and reached $850'000. While future sales of this album might increase the vale, I consider it highly unlikely that any other recording will ever surpass it. The album last surfaced in August 2015 when the current owner Peter Miniaci curator of a Vancouver Beatles Memorabilia exhibit decided to include it amongst other things Beatles history. This decision took longe deliberation by Miniaci regarding the ethics of the choice:
"It was a really unnerving experience to buy the autographed album three years ago... ... I'm sort of ambivalent about that whole experienc... ... (but) look you know, you're preserving history here. This is very, very important, whether you're feeling uncomfortable about it, this is very very important.. ...So that kind of lifted up my spirits and I picked up the pieces, and the rest is history."
Chapman remains in prison and is considered a model inmate by correctional authorities. He had his last parole hearing in 2014 and parole was denied. It is assumed unlikely that parole will ever be granted due to the sensitivity of the case.
Arved Deecke is founder of the Danish / Mexican Loudspeaker company KVART & BØLGE that makes quarter wave loudspeaker and sound systems at a price any one can afford. In his free time he blogs about everything, sound, music and audio.