Jimi Hendrix Guitar - $480,000: Expensive Artists' Memorabilia Expensively Auctioned

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were some hell of a storm which produced one of the most consistent set of damages in US history, both financial and in human lives count. The echoes of their destructive force are still present and it's most likely that a big part of what was lost then will never be able to be replaced. Still, there are people who have not given up hope and who continue to offer support and to be most inspiring role-models for the common citizen of the planet. You know what people say: everybody can help in his/her own way...

Saturday night, the Hard Rock Cafe in New York was crowded with people who positively responded the call of the Music Rising foundation who organized the auction. Darren Julien, president and CEO of Julien's Auction, said that the event was so popular that it ran for about three hours after the scheduled ending hour.

One of the Music Rising co-founders, the U2 guitarist known as The Edge, has donated his very own 1975 Gibson Les Paul guitar which, despite the expected auctioned sale price of $60,000-$80,000 sold for the staggering sum of $288,000! The Irish band U2 is world-renowned for the charity raises and work around the planet, whether they stood for Bosnia and former Yugoslavia war victims or for third-world people. U2's frontman, Bono has also donated a very personal item, his legendary and almost U2-trademark sunglasses which sold for a nifty $24,000.

Other 2 guitars went away to new owners: one which belonged to Bob Dylan and was sold for $192,000 and a Paul McCartney-owned guitar sold for $81,600. The "queen of the evening" was one of Jimi Hendrix's guitars which went as high as $480,000!

The Saturday auction smashed by far all expectations as it has managed to raise somewhere close to $2.4 million, out of which a big part will go directly to the victims of Katrina and Rita.