With the possible exception of the Fender Stratocaster, no single guitar has affected the musical landscape more than the Gibson Les Paul. The iconic guitar has been used by many of the world’s greatest guitarists – from Jimmy Page to Jimi Hendrix – and is automatically guaranteed to make even the most musically inept person feel like a drug-addled rock star as soon as they pick it up.
Plus, it just looks cool.
Designed in 1950 by electric guitar pioneer Ted McCarty, parent company Gibson approached pop artist and accomplished jazz guitarist Les Paul to endorse the new guitar.
Gibson had hoped that the introduction of the Les Paul would siphon some of the popularity away from Fender’s Telecaser model, one of the first electric guitars to be embraced by musicians worldwide. What they didn’t count on was the staggering popularity of the Les Paul from the onset.
The Gibson Les Paul was in instant hit. It was so popular, in fact, that Gibson decided to market the Les Paul as their flagship guitar, in the same vein as Fender’s Stratocaster would years later.
Since 1957, over 20 separate variations of the Les Paul have been created since the original Goldtop design, and created from every material under the sun. The Les Paul has even introduced a Signature Series, a line of guitars modelled after famous Gibson guitarists such as Jimmy Page and Slash of Guns n’ Roses fame (top hat not included).
It also doesn’t hurt the Les Paul’s stock that almost every great rock and roll guitarist has played the Gibson guitar. Music icons as diverse as Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and BB King have all owned a Les Paul in their long careers; others, like Neil Young, have become so attached to their Gibson that they even named them. If a tool is only as good as it’s master, then the pedigree of musicians that use the Les Paul surely suggests how impressive the guitar truly is.
The Les Paul has gone through a great deal of change in the last 59 years, from the revolutionary introduction of the Humbucker pickup in 1957, to the continuous updating of the electronics, technology and materials that create this classic instrument.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the shape. Ted McCarty created a guitar so eloquent in it’s design that in almost 60 years, the Les Paul has never needed to adjust how it looks: it makes people adjust for it. In a world where things we know and love are constantly being updated, it’s comforting to know that some of things we love will never need to change.
