Presley piano, Beatles drum head to go under the hammer

LOS ANGELES: Elvis Presley’s gold-leaf piano and a drum head used by the Beatles on their first US visit will be auctioned off in Los Angeles next month, with both items expected to fetch more than $500,000.

The piano, currently on exhibition at a Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, was purchased by the rock legend in 1955 for his mother and is expected to fetch as much as $700,000 dollars, Julian’s Auctions said.

After Presley’s mother died, his wife Priscilla covered the walnut finish with gold leaf as a gift for their first wedding anniversary and moved it into their Graceland mansion.

"It’s the most historic and important piano that Elvis Presley ever owned," Darren Julian, the president of the auction house, told AFP.

He said the piano is being sold by a private collector who purchased it from Presley’s estate.

The Beatles drum head going under the auction hammer was hand-painted in 1964 with the Beatles’ signature dropped-T logo for the iconic group´s first visit to the United States.

It was used during their ground-breaking performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," a TV variety show, and other concerts they gave during that 1964 tour.

"It’s the most important drum head that will ever be auctioned of the Beatles," Julian said.

"It was used during The Ed Sullivan Show, which is the most pivotal and historic moment of the Beatles’ career."

Julian said the drum skin could fetch upwards of $800,000.