Clapton’s “The Fool” was known for its unique sound. “It was the guitar he used to create the very famous woman tone that guitar players today try and recreate 50 years since,” said Martin Nolan, founder of Julien’s Auctions.

With hits such as “Bell Bottom Blues,” “Cocaine” and “Layla,” Clapton has won 18 Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. 

The other guitar, also estimated between 1 million USD and 2 million USD, is Kurt Cobain’s guitar, the “SkyStang I”, which Cobain played during his final public performance on Nirvana’s “In Utero” concert tour. 

Described as his “workhorse” because of the amount he used it during the tour, the guitar still has the same strings and even features black tape covering over the Fender brand name, as “Kurt hated corporate sponsorship and corporate branding,” according to Nolan. 

The world record for a guitar was set in 2020 when Cobain’s 1959 Martin D-18E guitar that he played for his 1993 appearance on “MTV Unplugged” sold for over 6 million USD.