The Collector
Chris Agajanian
Music and Motorsports promoter
Chris Agajanian is a well-known promoter in the music and motorsports industry whose interests naturally led him to collect the pieces of history that reflect his journey. The experiences, successes, and the friends made along the way, have all shaped the growth of this collection.
The collection has over 2000 pieces of Beatles history, including rare personal items that belonged to members of the band and a wide range of merchandise. To break up a collection that took more than 40 years to assemble would be a shame. Therefore, it will be sold in its entirety.
The work of cataloging and appraising this collection was performed by Gary Sohmers, the Rock ‘n Roll expert from the “Antiques Roadshow,” who valued the collection at just over $2mm.
Below is the story of how Chris became a fan, befriended numerous icons in the music industry through his career as an event promoter, and piece-by-piece built an incredible assemblage of Rock ‘N Roll history.
The Fan
When Chris was just a little boy in the early 60s, his mother wanted him to take piano lessons. He said, “For some reason, the piano just wouldn’t cooperate with my fingers,” but that frustration didn’t quench his desire to learn to play an instrument.
After numerous complaints, one glorious morning, he accompanied his mother to Rene’s Music Store, and returned with a brand-new Martin 6 string. Chris recalls, “By the time my fingertips were painstakingly calloused, four of the coolest-looking guys, wearing the coolest-looking clothes and playing the coolest instruments, showed up on the Ed Sullivan Show”.
Soon after, he placed a circular-shaped piece of vinyl titled “Meet the Beatles” on his HiFi record player. Thus began his path to fandom, and the rest is history.
“If someone had told me that I would be sitting next to Ringo having dinner or sleeping at George’s home, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
The Promoter
Through his teens and twenties, Chris performed music with his own band. They played regional gigs, and even won a “Battle of the Bands” or two. Chris began making friends in the industry and one opportunity led to another.
Soon after, Chris became a fixture in the LA music scene and began managing artists. He coordinated studio sessions for “Dreamweaver”, Gary Wright with Warner Records and Stephen Stills with Atlantic Records.
There was a lot of socializing and partying with rock stars back then, including icons like Mick Fleetwood, Peter Frampton, Jeff Lynne, Jackson Brown, Christopher Cross, Billy F Gibbons, David Crosby, Mike Love, Graham Nash, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison.
Chris spent time with George on several occasions, including a stay at his Friar Park home in England, where Chris assisted Gary Wright in adding synths and keyboard tracks to George’s album.
Chris also got to spend time with Ringo Star when he lived a few houses down the street from him in Trousdale Estates. On one occasion, Chris recalls:
“I had met Ringo a few times while Gary Wright was with the All-Starr Band tour. However, one evening at Graham Chapman’s house, Ringo showed up with pals, Harry Nilsson, Van Dyke Parks, and John Mayall. We chatted for a while and during our conversation I noticed he was calling me “Gino.” I said, “Ringo, my name is Chris.” He replied, “Ha! I know you’re Gino Vannelli. You can’t fool me. How’s your brother? I really enjoyed your show.” He kept that up all through dinner. Then when they were on their way out the door, he said, “Have a good one Chris.” I think that was just his style of humor.“
Most people would have struggled with keeping up with so many personalities in such a quick-moving industry. But living in the fastlane is a way of life for the Agajanians.
For many decades, the name Agajanian has been synonymous with auto racing. They owned and operated the legendary Ascot Park racetrack in Los Angeles, where they launched the career of famed daredevil, Evel Knievel. The Agajanians are also owners of race cars that have won the Indianapolis 500 on four separate occasions.
Chris’ brother Cary became a lawyer who represented dozens of leading racers. His other brother Jay made a name for himself in the advertising world.
Chris followed in his father’s footsteps and has made major contributions to the racing world by promoting a wide range of motorsports. Aside from his duties at Ascot Raceway, he specialized in converting elegant, exclusive, thoroughbred horse racing facilities like Emerald Downs in Seattle, Lone Star Park in Dallas, the Del Mar Fairgrounds, etc. etc. into racetracks suitable for 140mph National Championship motorcycle racing and then selling them out.
The Collector
At a certain point, Chris became committed to collecting pieces of Rock ‘N Roll history. One day, Chris recalls the time he was given a piece that stirred a change in the way he viewed his role as a fan of such an influential band like the Beatles:
“In 1984 I received as a birthday gift from my cousin, the “Ain’t She Sweet” album by the Beatles. It was such a unique album; it really piqued my interest. The pursuit of collecting Beatles memorabilia revealed the diverse and varied types of vintage merchandise and souvenirs that were sold during their heyday. Although it wasn’t as easy as it had seemed, one thing is for sure – it was never boring.”
He started going to every Beatle Fest, antique store, Rock n Roll memorabilia show, and record shop to ask, “Do you have any Beatles items?” He did that for years and years and bought up every Beatles item he could find. Eventually, the dealers started saying, “Sorry, we used to have Beatles items but not anymore. All the original collectable Beatles stuff just dried up.”
Chris also acquired many pieces through his personal relationships in the music industry. Stories about how he acquired John Lennon’s collarless stage suite, George Harrison’s glasses from the “Revolver” album, and the history of many other pieces can be found throughout this site.
It’s Chris’ hope that this collection will go to someone who might expose it to the countless Beatles fans out there who would otherwise never know these unique and rare collectables ever existed. To be able to walk amongst these iconic items and view them amassed and organized, truly tells a story of the band’s greatness. It can even generate additional fans of the fabulous foursome.
If you are interested in acquiring the collection or have any questions about the items, please fill out our contact form and we’ll reply to your message.