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How Abraham Lincoln and David Gilmour’s guitar collided at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall

January 12, 2024

Rows of glass display cases filled the Shrine Expo Hall, holding priceless relics of rock and roll, pop culture, and American history.

Guitars, drums and a piano played by the Beatles during legendary performances. A handwritten letter from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson.

The 1969 Fender Mustang guitar that Kurt Cobain played in Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video. The original manuscript of Jack Kerouac’s “On The Road.”

All of these and more on display for a single day Thursday, Jan. 11, highlights of the collection of Jim Irsay, owner of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, and a passionate collector of music memorabilia and American pop culture and historical artifacts.

Ann Wilson sings with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Tom Bukovac, left, and Kenny Wayne shepherd perform with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kevin Cronin performs with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Peter Wolf performs with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kenny Wayne Shepherd holds up David Gilmourxe2x80x99s Black Strat before playing it with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kenny Aronoff on drums with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kenny Wayne Shepherd plays David Gilmourxe2x80x99s Black Strat with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Tom Bukovac, left, and Mike Mills, perform with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The Jim Irsay band performs at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Buddy Guy performs with the Jim Irsay All-Star Band at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Historic rock and roll guitars on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Visitors stroll past John F Kennedyxe2x80x99s rocking chair on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Jim Morrisonxe2x80x99s personal journal on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Kurt Cobainxe2x80x99s guitar, worth millions, on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Muhammad Alixe2x80x99s boxing shoes on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Elton Johnxe2x80x99s glasses on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

Jerry Garciaxe2x80x99s xe2x80x9cBud Manxe2x80x9d amp on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The rolling pages from Jack Kerouacxe2x80x99s typewriter on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

An original poster for the Winter Dance Party which was supposed to feature Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A hand-written letter from Thomas Jefferson on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The John Lennon piano and the Ringo Star drum kit on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A lottery ticket signed by John Hancock in 1765 on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

A $5,000 bill on display before the Jim Irsay All-Star Band performance at the Shrine Auditorium Thursday, Jan. 11, 2023. The All-Star band, led by lead guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, performed with special guests and concert goers also were able to take in the Jim Irsays world-renowned collection of rock and roll memorabilia and Americana artifacts before the show. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

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But the one piece missing speaks to the uniqueness of how Irsay views his collection and how it should be used. Inside the display for David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, a placard on the wall showed where his famous Black Strat, purchased in 1970 and used by Gilmour for decades until Irsay purchased it at auction for nearly $4 million in 2019. At the time, it was the most-ever paid for a guitar.

A few hours later, it reappeared on stage inside the Shrine Auditorium, where the all-star band Irsay puts together when his collection travels to a few cities each year, was thrilling a full house of fans who’d come to see legends both on display inside the cases and live in concert.

“One of the great things about Jim and his collection, you can buy something like the Mona Lisa and all you can do is hang it on the wall and look at it,” said blues-rock guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd, who served as the bandleader for the night. “But with these instruments, you can take ’em down and still make art with them.”

Shepherd and the band then played Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar,” with actor-musician Danny Nucci singing, and “Comfortably Numb,” with R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills and guitarist Tom Bukavic sharing vocals, though the real star of both was the Black Strat and the liquid notes Shepherd teased from its strings in his soaring solos.

Irsay, who normally plays with the band, and Stephen Stills, who was booked as a guest star, both bowed out due to illness. But Irsay and the band, which included star session drummer Kenny Aronoff and a handful of guys from John Mellencamp’s band, had plenty of power on its own and with other guests.

Wayne opened the show singing a few of his songs before blues legend Buddy Guy strolled on stage, dapper in dressy overalls and a white shirt with black polka dots and French cuffs, singing and playing three songs including “Damn Right, I’ve Got the Blues.”

After Mills sang R.E.M.’s (Don’t Go Back to) Rockville” and “Superman,” Ann Wilson of Heart came to deliver powerful versions of the Who’s “Love Reign o’er Me” and her own band’s “Barracuda.”

The rest of the night moved swiftly through Kevin Cronin doing lively takes of REO Speedwagon numbers such as “Take It On the Run” and “Can’t Fight This Feeling,” then Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band doing the ’80s MTV hits including “Centerfield” and “Love Stinks.”

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top then wrapped up the show with three bluesy rockers including “Sharp Dressed Man” and “La Grange.”

The exhibition included many more fascinating artifacts than those mentioned above.

The American history cases included more letters from Washington, including one actually penned by his aide Alexander Hamilton, and Jefferson. Items related to Abraham Lincoln included a pair of tickets and a pocketknife given to him by a Philadelphia organization, which had its case made from wood from the original support for the Liberty Bell, and also a pair of tickets to Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. on the night Lincoln was assassinated.

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Kerouac’s manuscript for “On The Road” was famously written on a 120-foot-long roll of paper, a little more than 30 feet of which was unfurled inside a long, narrow case. A first-edition copy of Kerouac’s “The Dharma Bums,” which had belonged to the writer Hunter S. Thompson sat inside a case next to an inscribed original edition of Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl.”

Music displays included a piano used on tour for 20 years by Elton John, the handwritten journal Jim Morrison of the Doors kept in Paris, shortly before his death, and the red cape worn on stage by James Brown.

Parked outside the Shrine, as fans streamed back to their cars, they passed one more significant piece of the collection, the Great Red Shark Chevy convertible once owned by Hunter S. Thompson, shining brightly in the street lights.

Orange County Register

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How Abraham Lincoln and David Gilmour’s guitar collided at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall

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