Michael Jackson's Glove and More "Music Icons" Rarities Reap $2 Million at Auction

An auction of Michael Jackson collectibles and other rare rock objects brought in $2 million this weekend at New York's Hard Rock Café. The huge total far exceeded the estimated $120,000 the 80-plus items were expected to draw from bidders, who proved to be willing to throw down big bucks on storied items from the King of Pop's past. The biggest item on the block was Jackson's rhinestone-studded glove from the 1983 Motown 25 concert. The iconic glove was only expected to fetch between $40,000-$60,000, easily the highest estimate for any item at the auction. Instead, the glove sold for an astounding $420,000 to a buyer in Hong Kong, CNN reports.

• Rock on the block: check out prized MJ, Madonna and Kurt Cobain collectibles from the auction.

Jackson's famed fedora, worn when he kissed then-wife Lisa Marie Presley during the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards, had a pre-auction estimate of $6,000-$8,000; it sold for $73,800 at the Julien's Auctions event. A drawing of Charlie Chapin by the King of Pop, estimated to sell for between $4,000-$6,000, went for a winning bid of $33,480. Other noteworthy MJ items on the block included handwritten "Beat It" lyrics and a Mickey Mouse drawing by Jackson featuring the Disney character on the cover of Bad.

Jackson memorabilia wasn't the only thing up for grabs at the Julien's Auctions Music Icons event, as items from the Beatles, Buddy Holly and Nirvana were also available to the highest bidder. To see some of the best items to go under the gavel this weekend, check out our gallery below:
• "Music Icons" Auction 2009: Michael Jackson's Glove, Kurt Cobain's Fingerprints Hit the Block

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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