News
The Eric Clapton Crossroads 25th Anniversary Auction Was A Huge Success
9 Dec 23
On the evening of December 8, Heritage Auctions conducted a sale of sixty-five lots in aid of Crossroads Centre Antigua. Competition to acquire items ranging from autographed albums to limited edition artwork to stage-played-and-signed guitars was fierce.
In the auction catalog, Eric wrote about why the sale was so important. “As those of you who attended the recent Crossroads Guitar Festival in Los Angeles will know, it is now 25 years since the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, the beneficiary of this Auction, opened its doors, since when it has been able to help several thousand men and women needing help with their addictions, including numerous people from the Caribbean where little help was previously available to them.
Crossroads continues to flourish, but it always needs funds to subsidise help for those who could not otherwise afford help, and also to assist through educational programmes reaching out to schools, and through social media, to alert the young and old to the dangers of alcohol and drugs.”
The top-selling lot was Eric’s 2019 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster, built by Custom Shop luthier Todd Krause and hand-painted by John “Crash” Matos. Eric played this guitar on stage at the American Airlines Center in Dallas during the 2019 Crossroads Guitar Festival while collaborating with John Mayer (on Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla”) and Peter Frampton (during the George Harrison tribute “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”) and honoring Prince with “Purple Rain.” It sold for US $112,500.00.
The lot with the second-highest hammer price in the auction was the Metallic Blue Stratocaster that Eric played throughout the 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles this past September. Signed and dated by Eric, it was also built by Todd Krause in the Fender Custom Shop. It garnered US $90,625.00.
Rounding out the top-three, at US $52,500.00, was the Eric-signed Fender Stratocaster “Crash” Prototype Multi-Color Solid Body Electric Guitar. Inspired by the “Crash” artwork on the 2023 Crossroads “Crash” Stratocaster, it was built and painted by Fender at their Corona, California factory. Donated to the auction by the Guitar Center’s Michael Doyle, it is the prototype for the production of the Eric Clapton “CRASH” Stratocaster, a limited edition of 60 guitars.
Three guitars signed by Eric and 2023 Crossroads Guitar Festival artists including Peter Asher, Joe Bonamassa, James Bullard, Gary Clark Jr., Citizen Cope, Sheryl Crow, Jacob Dylan, Samantha Fish, Eric Gales, Ben Haggard, H.E.R., Judith Hill, Sierra Hull, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Marcus King, The Bros. Landreth, Albert Lee, Los Lobos, Taj Mahal, Pedro Martins, John Mayer, John McLaughlin, Roger McGuinn, Keb’ Mo’, Ariel Posen, Robert Randolph, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Carlos Santana, Daniel Santiago, Stephen Stills, Molly Tuttle, Jimmie Vaughan, Bradley Walker, The War On Drugs, and Billy Gibbons also raised astounding amounts. The Martin LX1 Natural Acoustic sold for $10,000.00, the black Gibson 70th Anniversary Les Paul sold for $20,000.00 while the limited-edition “Blackie” Crossroads Stratocaster with the sunshine logo Eric drew for Crossroads Centre Antigua on the body sold for $32,500.00.
The evening’s final lot was the “Tribute To Jeff Beck” signed Fender Jeff Beck Signature Model Stratocaster. On May 22-23, 2023, Eric Clapton and Sandra Beck put on the tribute concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall. Over the two nights, it was signed by Eric, Doyle Bramhall, Gary Clark Jr., Johnny Depp, Billy Gibbons, Imelda May, John McLaughlin, Robert Randolph, Olivia Safe, Rod Stewart, Joss Stone, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks and Ronnie Wood. The hammer price was $23,125.00
At the end of 85-minutes, the sale realized $536,474.00.
All profits from the Festival and auction benefit Crossroads Centre Antigua, a treatment and education facility founded by Eric Clapton for chemically dependent persons.
CLICK HERE to learn more about the work of Crossroads Centre Antigua
CLICK HERE to donate to Crossroads Centre Antigua. A not-for-profit organization, all donations go towards providing treatment to those who would otherwise not be able to afford it.