Waylon Jennings Estate Auction Nets $37,000 For Willie Nelson’s Braids

Item up for sale at Waylon Jennings’ estate sale: a pair of Willie Nelson’s braids.

News Net 5 is reporting that Jessie Coulter, fellow country singer and Waylon Jennings’ widow, had over 2,000 items from Jennings’ estate auctioned off, with the proceeds going to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Charities.

One of the most intriguing items for auction was two braids clipped off of Jennings’ co-contributor and friend, Willie Nelson. In 1983, June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash convinced Nelson to cut the braids off to celebrate Jennings’ sobriety. Nelson complied, and the Jennings estate held on to them ever since.

Jennings’ estate also auctioned off an Ariel Cyclone motorcycle previously owned by Buddy Holly, who bought it in 1958. It came as originally purchased and had 4,000 miles on it. It sold for $450,000.

Jennings acquired the motorcycle after the remaining members of the Buddy Holly Band gave him the motorcycle some years after Holly’s death in 1959. Jennings, playing bass with the Buddy Holly Band at the time, was supposed to fly with Holly, Ritchie Valens, and pilot Roger Peterson. However, J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson, who was touring with them at the time, became ill and Jennings gave up his plane seat and got on the bus to travel to the next gig. Moments later, the ill-fated plane carrying the four crashed, killling everyone on board.

From then on, February 3, 1595 would forever be known as “The Day the Music Died,” and immortalized by Don McLean’s epic song American Pie.

RadioAustralia is reporting that the new owners of the memorabilia are unknown. The auction was run by Guernsey’s in New York and at the Museum of Musical Instruments in Phoenix, Arizona.

Other items that were up for sale were a robe once worn by Muhammad Ali, a letter signed by John Lennon, many guitars and hand-written lyrics, and the original contract signed by Jennings, Nelson, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson when they formed the country supergroup The Highwaymen.

Jennings, who had a cocaine addiction for several years, died in 2002 at age 64 of diabetes complications.

His hit songs included “Ladies Love Outlaws,” “Are You Ready for the Country,” “Bob Wills Is Still the King” and “Luckenbach, Texas.”

He also recorded two duets with Nelson: “Good Hearted Woman” and “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys.”

When deciding on where to hold the auction, Colter was adamant about it being hold in Phoenix, saying “he (Jennings) loved this place more than others.”

[Image courtesy of Fanpop]