(04-24-2007) The Edge of Compassion - ABC News*

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The Edge of Compassion


By TERENCE KENNY

April 23, 2007 — Some things are worth the pain that comes from separation. So reasoned the Edge, U2's guitar player, when he parted with one of his most prized possessions this past weekend, the Gibson Les Paul electric guitar that he used to record "New Year's Day" and has owned since 1982.

The rock 'n' roll legend was in New York City to host Saturday night's "Icons of Music" auction, which benefited Music Rising, a charity he co-founded with Gibson Guitars in an effort to replace some of the musical instruments lost to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

"The initial idea was to try to help the [Bayou's] musicians, so we put a lot of instruments in the hands of professional musicians in New Orleans and that area," the Edge told ABC News. "Now we have got to the point where we want to try to focus on the local music…the churches, the schools of the areas that have been most badly hit."

In anticipation of this past weekend's auction — which at last count has brought in $2.4 million — the Edge called on friends and colleagues from the music world, and challenged them to donate marquee items by putting his cherished Gibson on the auction block.

"It will be hard to give up," said the Edge of the guitar, "but I just felt like this was a special occasion and I wanted to put forward something that meant a lot to me…Hopefully it will generate a lot of money."

Even by a rock star's standards, the $240,000 the instrument fetched surely qualifies.

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