In Honor Of Les Paul (1915-2009), Our Five Favorite Les Paul Guitarists
13 August 2009, 2:34 PM. By Chris Alonzo
The music world just lost an industry giant (one of it’s pillars, really) with the news this morning that guitar and engineering pioneer Les Paul had succumbed to pneumonia at the age of 94. He’ll best be remembered for the Gibson Les Paul, his signature guitar carried by swaggering musicians for decades.
Les Paul started out playing guit with the likes of the Andrews Sisters and Sinatra, but it was his relationship with Bing Crosby that really propelled him on his way to his hall of fame career. Crosby, in addition to teaching him everything he knew about timing and expression, gave him an early recording device that Paul began tinkering with, eventually arriving at the first multi-track recording that all musicians currently use.
But he really hit his stride with his signature solid body Les Paul guitar, picked up by Gibson in the early 50’s as a volley against rival Fender. Paul’s original design, “The Log” was just a big old solid block of wood (intended to do away with feedback associated with hollow bodied guitars.) There is, to this day, great debate over who contributed what to the final design, but the end result is a classic of big rounded sexy curves. By the mid-60s it had morphed into what is more commonly known (and imitated) today, with the big old plated PAF neck pickup and sunburst design.
The Great Civil War may never rest between Gibson and Fender players, but respect is due. Over the years there have been a lot of bad motherfuckers who have strapped a good old Les Paul on. Here are our favorites.
Jimmy Motherfucking Page
Yes. That is his middle name. Here’s a great live version of “Black Dog” from ‘73.
Neil Young
Ol’ Neil always got a great, epic, dirty sound out of his Les Paul, particularly in this live show with Crazy Horse in Japan in 2001.
Slash
Does Slash even know that there are other guitars out there? Like, if you replaced his Les Paul with, say, an Alvarez would his hat shrivel and melt right on his head? Anyway, here’s a live version of “November Rain”, because you don’t need to be doing anything important for the next ten minutes.
Mick Ronson
David Bowie’s guitarist for all those awesome 70’s hits was always great for pulling out big fat crunchy guitar licks (to bring balance to Bowie’s asexual cosmonaut thing.) Here’s a live solo to “Moonage Daydream” that starts out on Earth but winds up on goddamned Saturn.
Pete Townshend
Hey, look– it’s an incredible vid of The Who, all young and crazy, with Keith and Pete still alive and kicking ass and Pete jumping around like a madman. OK, it’s time to go get wasted and watch this ten times in a row.
Ace Frehley
OK, we said five, and we could honestly give a hoot about KISS, but it seems criminal not to mention the guy since he made his sunburst Les Paul pretty much a part of his whole stupid costume.
We could do this for hours: Fogerty, Zakk Wylde (and Randy Rhodes, for that matter), Freddie King (!), The Beatles and Stones, Stone Gossard, not to mention all the traditionally Fender dudes who would occasionally pick up a nice custom Gibson to see what the fuss was all about– the list goes on and on. The guy was a giant and he kept up his weekly Monday night gig at The Iridium right up into his 90’s. His contribution really can’t be underestimated. He will truly be missed.
Oh, also, Fender rules. We kid. God speed, Les.
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dooood, i know it’s yr list, but i just have to add marc bolan of t. rex fame. he makes his les paul sound so great in the opening riff of jeepster. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CwKJapgzFk&feature=related
I don’t mean to freak you out or anything but, based on this comment, I think I love you.
yesss, mission accomplished! as long as you don’t stalk me or anything, we’re cool. um, you do live on the east coast right? ;)
No no - as a long time reader of Guitar Player and Guitar For the Practicing Musician I realize that the only point to making a list of guitarists is to have people point out all the guitarists you left off, or how you put them in the wrong order, or how Satriani blows, or how Satriani rules.
To that end, how could you leave off Kirk Hammett of Metallica????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIciZD88fko&feature=related
i really don’t think kirk counts. mostly played ESPs. sometimes a les paul, but he even had an ESP made to look like a les paul
-squibbo
Totally - even if he did occasionally pick up another guitar, all I can ever picture Kirk playing is his dopey slick little ESPs. FOR WHICH WE LOVED HIM LIKE A BROTHER.
werd to the herb.
I would add to that list Clapton, Zappa (though heavily modified), Al Di Meola, John McLaughlin, Frampton, Albert fucking Lee, and, I believe, the Edge.
Really I could have just said Albert Lee and be done with it.
Fantastic column!
Eddie Frickin Van Halen nuf said
what about jimi hendrix? i seem to remember him playing other guitars, but i think i saw a pic of him w/ one somewheres a long time ago.
no way man. there’s like one pic of hendrix playing a les paul. they were too cumbersome for him to play upside down.
JOE PERRY! what about joe perry??? i’d put joe perry in mick ronson’s place.
-squibbohere
JOE PERRY. I wouldn’t trade him out with Mick Ronson, particularly since Mick’s done a lot more to influence me as a musician personally, but the solo for “Love in an Elevator” deserves notice. Really, now I wish I had left off goddamned KISS in favor of Aerosmith.
The reality is that I could have made this the top 30 Les Paul players and there’d still be 100 incredible guitarists who were left off.
I think Joe Strummer played a Les Paul also, but hey I am only a fan of The Clash not guitars
Joe is basically a God to me– I was gonna put him on here, but he switched it up so much I couldn’t really call him a Les Paul Man. Anyway, he primarily played Teles and Strats– going pretty much full-on Tele with the Mescaleros.
I stand corrected thanx. i was thinking more guitar players. Joe was no virtuoso, But he is still a God to me.Clash fan since the first time I heard them
For real. My Grooms Cake was a red velvet with a picture of Joe Strummer surrounded by all of their covers. But I loved reading that most recent bio that came out and everybody basically kept saying, “He wasn’t that great a guitar player, but he did get better!”
No he was not a great guitar player, He took the name Strummer cuz thats all he could do on a guitar. Watch the Movie “The Future is Unwritten” it tells his whole story, But i digress