Goodbye, Les, and thank you from the bottom of my musical soul for everything you gave us; your innovations and the wonderful music you created with your signature instrument.
My favourite guitar is the
Fender Stratocaster, but I've had a
Gibson Melody Maker for over thirty years; not a
Les Paul but obviously a child of Mr. Paul's innovations. The very first guitar I fell in love with was a
Les Paul goldtop, played by the guitarist in the band at the first high school dance I went to; also the first band I ever saw live. He became a friend as I became part of the local music scene, and his goldtop was always his main axe. There are only a few guitars in the world that are instantly indentifiable by their sound and the
Les Paul is one of them.
Rest easy, Les. You earned it.
Quote:
Pete Townsend of The Who, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string.
Yes, I'm nitpicking a bit, but the truth is the truth. Steve Howe is one of the world's great guitar collectors and virtuosos who has probably owned and played every type of guitar ever made; however his trademark guitar was the Gibson ES-175D, an archtop hollowbody electric. This, of course, in no way diminishes the role Les Paul played in the music created by Steve Howe and anyone else who has ever picked up an electric guitar.
Keep it rockin'.
