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Beatles Signed Guitar: Authenticity Opinions Please!

Claimed to be signed by all four Beatles, the guitar below was sold by Rock Star Gallery in an auction they held on April 1, 2006. A portion of the proceeds from the 200-lot rock memorabilia auction benefited Phoenix Children's Hospital, which issued a press release promoting the auction [press release has been removed since this discussion was posted].

Click for larger image:

If you feel you know Beatles autographs well enough, please give your opinions on either each autograph, or an opinion on the entire group.

But instead of just saying genuine or fake, tell us how strongly you feel by calling them, in your opinion:

Definitely Genuine
Probably Genuine
No Opinion/Not Sure
Probably Fake
Definitely Fake

The following is Rock Star Gallery's March 2006 press release on the guitar and the auction:

From Beatles to Zeppelin -- Rare Guitar Signed By All Four Beatles Added to April 1st Auction

A rare Beatles autographed guitar will be added to auction and a top forensic expert to attend the live auction to further authenticate autographs for bidders.

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) March 28, 2006

Adding fuel to an already hot fire, a last minute addition of a very rare guitar is making the headlines again. “On top of seven rare signed Beatles albums, now bidders will have a shot at a very rare autographed guitar with all four signatures, with a very solid provenance,” commented Michael Dunn with Rock Star gallery.

The guitar is being flown in from Virginia by forensic expert Christopher Morales. Christopher will further review other ots in the auction for bidders who request further authentication. “All the lots in the auction already are covered by a guarantee and prior forensic expert review, however his presence will re-affirm any questions from live or online bidders about the authentication of any autograph in the auction” explained Michael. “It is wonderful Christopher can attend the live event” His resume will be posted shortly online.

Here is the story on how the autographs were obtained on the guitar:

“Dave Wakefield Sr., an avid Beatles fan from Virginia, worked for Baltimore City in the 70s and 80s. During that time period, a close friend of his, a police officer who moonlighted as event security at the Civic Center got Dave signed on as one of the extra event security workers. This provided him with the opportunity to be backstage for various events. He had the chance to meet and get the autographs of many performing artists who appeared at the Civic Center during this time period.

His primary work was done at the Civic Center, which became the Baltimore Arena. He also did security work at the MerriWeather Post Pavilion, the Capitol Center, Cole Field House, the Towson Center and RFK Stadium.

Three out of the four signatures on the Beatles guitar were acquired at these various venues (Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison). He was unable to acquire John Lennon's signature at any of these locations.

In early 1980, after several failed attempts to get the remaining signature to obtain the final autograph, he traveled to New York to attempt to get John Lennon's signature. He went to the Dakota, the building Lennon lived in, and waited patiently outside. On the second day, John Lennon came out on foot and Dave approached him. He explained that he had the other three Beatles signatures but was missing his. Lennon commented “.. of course, he needed the most important signature” and signed his guitar.

Dave Wakefield Sr. kept the guitar in his home in a case. A few years ago, he passed it on to his son who is now putting it up for auction.

Catalog: http://www.cbtechlive.com

Rare rock memorabilia to be auctioned April 1, 2006 a portion benefiting “Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Phoenix Children’s Hospital”. Also available for bid is a series of high-quality photographic prints from Robert M. Knight, one of the most prolific photographers in rock music history. The photographs include classic shots of such artists as Jeff Beck, Dave Matthews, John Mayer and ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons. Possible guest celebrities including world renowned rock photographer Robert Knight and friends will attend to auction off rare rock music photography to benefit the children.

Dave Wakefield Sr's son who consigned the guitar to the auction was reportedly Dave Wakefield Jr. Wakefield owns Rock and Roll Heaven in Clearwater, Florida.

Your opinions on this guitar are very important. Please don't give an opinion unless you feel that you know Beatles autographs well enough to judge these.

See file below for full-length image of guitar.

Thanks,

Steve

Tags: authenticity, beatles signed guitar, george harrison, john lennon, michael dunn, morales, paul mccartney, ringo, rock star gallery, wakefield

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by scott on August 31, 2011 at 5:37pm

Why isn't this information on the news? Why doesn't a local station in Phoenix do a story on this fake Beatles signed guitar? Michael Dunn made money selling fake autographs at the Phoenix Children's Hospital charity auction. What is wrong with America? I would like to know.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew D on August 31, 2011 at 7:09pm

What is wrong with America huh? It begins with an O and ends with an a.

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Permalink Reply by Darren Ruskin, III on August 31, 2011 at 8:53pm

dude you are what's wrong with America and everyone else like you! why don't you stop blaming your radio station for not doing a story, stop blaming your local news station & papers, stop blaming obama, stop blaming george w bush, and everyone else that has nothing to do with the problem. typical american attitude - please Help ME!!!! Help yourself!! Write a letter to your local paper, write a letter to your local alternative arts paper, blog on your local websites, take out a paid ad in one of the papers, post on craigslist, spread the word, stop thinking anyone else is going to do it or cares how much money you are out. I personally don't care - you are the only person who should care if he stole so much money from you. I can guarantee if this scum stole as much money from me as he has others his phone would not stop ringing and he wouldn't be able to do business without a organized protest and demonstration outside of his place of business and every single charity auction he sponsored would also include me outside distributing flyers alerting people as to what they are bidding on. Grow a pair dude!

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Permalink Reply by scott on September 1, 2011 at 5:17pm

I am not going to go into the details about the amount of time and energy I spent trying to bring these activities to light. It is too bad that you do not entirely know what you are talking about. I am not going to lecture you on ethics. I am dismayed that you don't care that this type of merchandise was sold at a fund raiser for a children's hospital. Sadly, the children's hospital itself doesn't seem to care either. It is my understanding that Steve Cyrkin contacted them before any sales were made. I think highly of Mr. Cyrkin and what he has tried to do for the autograph industry. It is not easy doing the right thing.

American Royal Arts was featured on a 20/20 interview about selling fraudulent merchandise. The last time I checked, the BBB in Florida gave American Royal Arts an +A rating. I am certain that numerous complaints have been filed against this company. Despite everyone's efforts, unfortunately, that is how the matter stands. I can only hope that the situation will change in the future.

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Permalink Reply by David K on September 1, 2011 at 6:35pm

THE BB gave this fraudulent company an A+???? for AUTHENTICITY? I seriously doubt it...I bet all they graded the mon was whether or not they DELIVERED the fake autographs they are selling...their COA is woethless as well...it does not state One word on where and whe nanythign was signed..all it states is the usual garbage "We guarantee this is authentic blah blah". the BBB doesn't know a GOOD AXL ROSE from a forged one...it's too bad.

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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on September 1, 2011 at 8:29pm

Regarding the BBB generally and not as it applies to any particular business:

The BBB says it looks at 16 factors in issuing its ratings.

http://www.bbb.org/business-reviews/ratings/

Several of those factors involve consumer complaints.

But, the BBB can only list complaints IF a person files them. And if purchasers don't know they're buying fakes, for example, they don't file complaints. Likewise, often it's not at all obvious where the manufacturer (or seller) of a particular product is located. Dubious companies can go to great lengths to cover their tracks.

Second, if a complaint is filed, all the BBB really looks at is whether the company has made an effort to address them. The result of the effort can be a standoff. But if the company responds in a reasonable amount of time, then the BBB considers the complaints closed. That, of course, has nothing at all to do with the legitimacy of the product being sold.

Third, there have been reports recently that the BBB gives favorable treatment to businesses that pay to become members of the organization.

These are just some of the issues regarding the Better Business Bureau.

The bottom line is, BBB information can be used to spot a shady business because there likely will be numerous complaints. However, a good BBB report proves nothing. It may simply be an indication of how little customers (and the BBB itself) know about the products the business is selling.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on September 13, 2011 at 10:31am

Scott,

Just catching up here. I didn't even know about this guitar and Rock Star Galleries' Phoenix Children's Hospital auction until 2008-9, and the auction was 2006. But you can bet if I knew about the situation beforehand, I would have gone to the hospital, press and the cops. Back in 2006, though, I had no idea how bad the memorabilia gallery fraud problem was.

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Permalink Reply by Sidney Fields on September 1, 2011 at 8:41pm

Scott asks an important question above about why local media don't investigate things like this absurd item being auctioned for charitable benefit.

The VERY short answer is that for both local and national media the issues often descend into a "he said-he said". They don't have any expertise in the field and don't know whom to believe about authenticity...especially, for example, when they see a COA from a guy who was once a Secret Service Agent who supposedly exercises forensic document examination techniques

It takes A LOT of work to look into these kinds of stories. And, unfortunately, this is an era of tremendous cutbacks in mainstream media. Areas like investigative reporting have suffered. Getting to the bottom of the issues that come up in stories like this just becomes too time consuming and therefore too expensive and unproductive. Reporters have to get into print and on the air to keep their jobs. They generally just don't have the luxury of digging into something like this.

That said, perhaps the fact this information is now online may prompt someone to take a look.

Also, the lack of involvement by other media underscores how important Steve Cyrkin's work is and what a courageous effort he's making.

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Permalink Reply by Matthew D on September 1, 2011 at 9:28pm

About the Better Business Bureau, I watched a report last year, I believe it was 20/20 or something like that. The BBB was exposed for what it is, a for-profit organization. You can pay for that A+ rating.

This shouldn't be shocking to anyone.

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Permalink Reply by scott on September 2, 2011 at 4:25pm

Thanks for the information. It is unfortunate that all these guys need is a little respectability and they can get away with it. They sell rock artwork by famous artists. They hire famous musicians to do a meet and greet or two. They can even get a favorable review from what should be an independent consumer protection service. They put their merchandise in a nice frame and it sells. They put on a nice song and dance and they are professionals at what they do.

If you want to get and autograph and you don't know any better, people end up taking the bait and then it is too late. They have an excellent business model. It is a tough nut to crack. Worst case senario - they just blame the authenticator and say that they were tricked too. As unfair as it may seem to these unscrupulous dealers, they might even have to give you back your money. I remember one gentleman who had Led Zeppelin say that they did not sign his guitar from ARA and he was even on the news. He still didn't get a refund. He had to get what amounted to a a store credit to buy some artwork.

If I hadn't stumbled onto this website one day, I would probably still be buying a bunch of nonsense. Thank goodness for Autograph Magazine and the few people responsible for putting out this information.