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The original lyrics for what is considered one of the 20th century's most influential pop songs will be sold in a sealed-bid auction starting today, offered by fine arts auctioneers Bonhams. The two-sided page of handwritten lyrics for A Day In The Life, recently voted “Best British Song” by UK music critics, is considered potentially the most valuable musical manuscript composed in the 20th century to be offered at auction. The final selling price for this cornerstone of Rock history is expected to be in the seven-figures.

From the Madison Avenue gallery of Bonhams New York, the auctioneers announced today - on the anniversary of the date the song was composed - that written bids will be accepted for a seven-week period. The auction is to conclude at Noon EST on March 7, 2006 - the anniversary date of the "Fab Four's" first radio performance in 1962, on the BBC’s Teenager's Turn - Here We Go. Public viewings for collectors, institutions and fans will include Bonhams’ salesrooms in New York City, London, San Francisco and Los Angeles prior to the close of the auction. Details on the lyrics, the international preview tour and the sealed-bid auction process will be available online at www.bonhams.com/adayinthelife.

There is general agreement among music critics that one of the most outstanding accomplishments within the Beatles songbook is A Day In The Life, the Lennon/McCartney collaboration inspired the morning of January 17, 1967 as John Lennon read the Daily Mail. As the final track on the multi-platinum-selling album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in June of 1967 and considered one of Rock’s first and best concept albums, the work was voted “Best British Song” this past October in London's Q magazine by music critics who called the track "the ultimate sonic rendition of what it means to be British.”

The song has been referenced in nearly every chronicle of the history of Rock ‘n’ Roll. Bob Spitz, in his recent book The Beatles: The Biography, heralded the song as the group’s "most outstanding studio performance." Music critics Mark Herstgaard and Jack Kroll positioned the composition's towering accomplishment among the outstanding achievements of 20th century culture -- likening it to T. S. Eliot's The Wasteland and Picasso's Guernica.

According to Martin Gammon, specialist-in-charge of the sale at Bonhams, the original working draft of these lyrics in John Lennon’s hand “is undoubtedly the most significant Lennon manuscript to be offered at auction, and arguably, the most significant musical manuscript of the 20th century.”

Jon Baddeley, Group Director for sales of collectibles at the Bonhams companies, concurs, saying, “The greatest track on the Beatles’ most acclaimed album makes this original Lennon lyric one of the most highly prized musical manuscripts of all time."

The single sheet of handwritten lyrics apparently includes John Lennon’s first two complete drafts of his contribution to the song. An inspired Lennon began the draft at his home after paging through the morning paper, and then transcribed a cleaner composition in all capital letters on the verso, likely for use in the recording sessions which commenced two days later at Abbey Road Studios.

This historical rock artifact survived as part of the Estate of Mal Evans, the Beatles road manager. It was sold at auction in 1992, at that time acquired by a collector in whose family it has remained.

Rock critic Griel Marcus, writing about this manuscript for the Winter 2006 edition of Bonhams Magazine (available in February), perhaps sums it up best: "Nobody had ever heard anything like it; no one has heard anything like it since. That’s the first thing to remember about the Beatles’ A Day In The Life."

For more details visit the Bonhams web site.