Music history: 1971 John Lennon deposition

When it comes to past auction items especially in terms of popular culture, RR Auction has managed to build quite an impressive reputation. The Boston based auction house has managed to sell a lot of unique collectibles, from autographs, signed pictures, documents and even rare artifacts. This is perhaps one of the reasons why it is such a highly regarded organization in the memorabilia field.

For instance, one of its most outstanding items was sold back in 2016. It is basically quite an important piece of music history that collectors were incredibly thrilled about when it first appeared in RR Auction’s online catalogue. The document is a seven page deposition given by John Lennon in a trial he was involved in 1971. According to RR Auction the lawsuit was intended by Chuck Berry’s music publisher, Big Seven Music. Under the allegations that John Lennon copied music and lyrics from Chuck Berry’s “You can’t catch me” in “Come together”, they sued the Beatles publishers, Maclen Music Ltd. and Northern Songs Ltd as well as Apple Records.

As it was stated by RR Auction, the lawsuit was settled in 1973 when Lennon agreed to record three more songs for Big Seven Music. The document was in fine condition and was eventually sold for over $6,500. In part, the deposition reads: “ever since I was in my teens I was acquainted with the works of Chuck Berry whom I consider one of the original rock and roll poets. I heard his recording of You Can’t Catch Me at this time and spent many hours in generally [sic] listening to his general catalog.” The value of this deposition is almost impossible to be measured since it gives collectors a taste of the kind of person John Lennon was and the appreciation he had for fellow artists.

Of course, this is merely an example of the kind of items that have passed through RR Auction over time. This is why collectors should constantly check their online catalogue, website and social media for useful updates on lot sales and upcoming events.