Grand Piano Fleetwood Mac Used to Write ‘Sara,’ ‘Songbird’ Headed to Auction

The Grand Piano Fleetwood Mac Used to Write ‘Sara,’ ‘Songbird’ Headed to Auction

The instrument traveled all across the globe with Fleetwood Mac and was also used by Elton John and Freddie Mercury

By Andy Greene

Rollingstone

A Grand Hamilton Piano once owned by Stevie Nicks, which was used to compose the Fleetwood Mac classics “Sara” and “Songbird” and was later played by Elton John and Freddie Mercury, is headed to the auction block via Gotta Have Rock and Roll. The minimum bid is $50,000, and the auction house estimates it will go for between $100,000 and $200,000. The auction ends on December 6.

The piano first caught the eye of English singer/songwriter Robbie Patton when he visited Nicks at her house in 1975. “[She had] his black Grand Hamilton Piano where she wrote most of her songs on,” Patton says in a statement provided by the auction house. “She wrote everything on the piano, she really cherished it as her own.”

Patton opened up for Fleetwood Mac when they went on the road in 1979 to promote Tusk. “Christine used it on tour,” Patton said. “She played it all over, she even composed ‘Songbird’ from the album Rumours on this piano.”

McVie used the piano on the road again in 1982 when Fleetwood Mac toured behind Mirage. Patton co-wrote the hit “Hold Me” on that album and requested the piano as payment. “I used to work for all the big musicians, Elton John, for four and a half years,” Patton said. “John Reid managed Elton John and then Queen. Freddie Mercury even came by for a recording session and used the piano. Elton John used the piano. The people who have touched this piano are crazy!”

The piano comes with a letter of authenticity that was signed by Nicks, McVie, and Patton in 2015. “It has been refurbished and re-lacquered, at the request of Mr. Patton,” Nicks wrote. “And in time, he intends to pass on this interment, which this letter, so that its history can be fully appreciated.”

Gotta Have Rock and Roll is also auctioning off a Custom Stratocaster signed and played by Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, Bruce Springsteen, Pete Townshend, Slash, Brian May, Tony Iommi, Slash, Mike Rutherford, Joe Walsh, and many others. The estimate is between $80,000 and $100,000.