Photo Credit: Christie’s London
Bob Dylan’s one-of-a-kind recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” sold for more than $1.7 million at auction during The Exceptional Sale at Christie’s in London.
On July 7, 2022, Bob Dylan’s first studio recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” since its release in 1962 sold for $1,769,508 at auction. The recently announced Ionic Original disc sold during The Exceptional Sale at Christie’s London during Classic Week. The disc features a special session with Grammy-winning producer T Bone Burnett, who helped develop the Ionic Original pressing technique.
T Bone Burnett, the founder of NeoFidelity Inc., says, “With Bob Dylan’s new version of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind,’ our first Ionic Original archival analog disc, we have entered and aim to help develop a music space in the fine arts market. I trust and hope it will mean as much to whomever acquired it today at Christie’s Exceptional Sale as it does to all of us who made it, and that they will consider it and care for it as a painting or any other singular work of art.”
Senior Specialist of Americana, Books, and Manuscripts at Christie’s, Peter Klarnet, says, “We are so pleased with the excellent result this evening for the ‘Ionic Original’ disc of Bob Dylan’s first new studio recording of ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ since 1962. To work with such an incredibly important and groundbreaking advance in analog playback technology is a tremendous honor. We are excited that this is just the beginning for this amazing new opportunity for recording artists to work with T Bone and NeoFidelity to reset the value of music.”
The disc is the first recording to utilize NeoFidelity’s patented technology. The auction takes place during the year of Bob Dylan’s 60th anniversary as a recording artist, making the sale a first in music history.
Burnett notes that the technology used to create the Ionic Original disc “advances the art of recorded sound and marks the first breakthrough in analog sound reproduction in more than 70 years, achieving dramatic improvements in listening experience and durability.”
Dylan first recorded “Blowin’ in the Wind” for Columbia Records on July 9, 1962, for his second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. In March 2021, he entered the studio to re-record the song with his longtime friend and collaborator, Grammy and Oscar-winning composer, musician, and producer, T Bone Burnett.