Caption	2005 Gibson '58 Reissue Les Paul in 'Heritage Cherry Sunburst'. The Gibson '58 and '59 Reissues are among some of the most sought-after new instruments on the market.
Manufacturer	Gibson, Epiphone
Period	1952–1960, 1968–present
Colors	Various (often natural-type finishes), Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Honey Burst, Vintage Sunburst, Ebony, Wine Red, Alpine White

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar originally developed in the early 1950s. The Les Paul was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the most well-known electric guitar types in the world, along with the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster.

Origins

The Les Paul model was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty brought guitarist Les Paul into the company as a consultant. Les Paul was a respected innovator who had been experimenting with guitar design for years to benefit his own music. In fact, he had hand-built a solid-body prototype called "The Log", a design widely considered the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built, as opposed to the "Hawaiian", or lap-steel guitar. This guitar is known as "The Log" because the solid core is a pine block whose width and depth are a little more than the width of the fretboard. Although numerous other prototypes and limited-production solid-body models by other makers have since surfaced, it is known that in 1945–1946, Les Paul had approached Gibson with "The Log" prototype, but his solid body design was rejected.

In 1951, this initial rejection became a design collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul. It was agreed that the new Les Paul guitar was to be an expensive, well-made instrument in Gibson's tradition. Although recollections differ regarding who contributed what to the Les Paul design, it was far from a market replica of Fender models. Since the 1930s, Gibson had offered electric hollow-body guitars, such as the ES-150; at minimum, these hollow-body electric models provided a set of basic design cues to the new Gibson solid-body, including a more traditionally curved body shape than offered by competitor Fender, and a glued-in ("set-in") neck, in contrast to Fender's bolt-on neck joint design.

The significance of Les Paul's contributions to his Gibson guitar design remains controversial. The book "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" limits Paul's contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color (stating that Paul preferred gold as "it looks expensive", and a second choice of black because "it makes your fingers appear to move faster on the box", and "looks classy—like a tuxedo").

Additionally, Gibson's president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly finished instrument. McCarty also claims that design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested reversed. However, according to Gibson Guitar, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused. Another switch: the original Goldtop was to be all mahogany and the later Custom was to have the maple cap/mahogany body. Beyond these requests, Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were stated to be cosmetic. For example, ever the showman, Paul had specified that the guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Les Paul instrument, as well. In addition, the early 1952 Les Pauls were never issued serial numbers, did not have bound bodies, and are considered by some as "LP Model prototypes". However, the later 1952 Les Pauls were issued serial numbers and also came with bound bodies. Interestingly, the design scheme of some of these early models varied. For instance, some of the Les Pauls of this issue were fitted with black covered P90 pickups instead of the creme colored plastic covers that are associated with this guitar, even today. Of note, these early models, nicknamed "Goldtops", have begun to gain the interest of collectors, and subsequently, the associated nostalgic value of this instrument is increasing. In fact, re-sale prices of the vintage Les Pauls have begun to compete with already high priced, but more practical (and usable) Les Paul versions issued in later years.

Custom (1954–1961)

The second issue of the Les Paul guitar was introduced to the public in 1954. Called the Gibson Les Paul Custom, this entirely black guitar was dubbed the Black Beauty. The Les Paul Custom featured a mahogany top to differentiate the instrument from its Goldtop predecessor's maple top. It also featured the new Tune-o-Matic bridge design and a pickup with an alnico-5 magnet in the neck position. In addition, since 1957, the Custom was fitted with Gibson's new humbucker pickups, and later became available with three pickups instead of the more usual two. The three pickup model retained the standard Gibson 3-way switch so not all pickup combinations were possible. The neck and bridge-only settings were retained, but the middle was changed to switch in the middle and bridge pickups. A common modification was to restore the standard neck/both/bridge switching combination and add a switch to enable the middle pickup on its own.

The Les Paul Custom single cutaway was discontinued in 1961 and replaced with the SG (as we know it) acronym for "solid guitar". This model featured a thin 1-5/16" body and a double cutaway. Confusion abounds to this day over the name Les Paul Custom. Since the single cutaway was discontinued, Gibson transferred the name Les Paul Custom to the new models.

Junior (1954–1960) and TV (1955–1960)

In 1954, to widen the solid-body electric market still further, Gibson issued the Gibson Les Paul Junior. Although previously the Melody Maker was marketed toward the novice guitarist, Gibson targeted to the beginner again with a Les Paul Junior design. Over time, this Gibson design has proven well-suited for even professional use.

There were marked differences between the other Les Paul models and the Les Paul Junior. For instance, although the Junior's body outline was clearly reminiscent of the original upmarket Les Paul guitar, the Junior issue was characterized by its flat-top "slab" mahogany body, finished in traditional Gibson Sunburst. The Junior was touted as an inexpensive option for Gibson electric guitar buyers: it had a single P-90 pickup, simple volume and tone controls, and the unbound rosewood fingerboard bore plain dot-shape position markers. However, as a concession to the aspirations of the beginning guitarist buyer, the Junior did feature the stud bridge/tailpiece similar to the second incarnation of the upscale Gold-Top.

Later, in 1955, Gibson launched the Les Paul TV model, which was essentially a Junior with what Gibson called a natural finish. This finish was actually more of a translucent mustard yellow through which the wood grain could be seen, and was not unlike the finish that competitor Fender called butterscotch yellow. The idea behind this TV Yellow was that white guitars would glare too much on early black and white television broadcasts, whereas TV Yellow guitars would not cast a glare.

In 1958, Gibson made a radical design change to their Junior and TV models: with the design change came cosmetic changes to these guitars that would later take on enormous importance. To accommodate player requests for more access to the top frets than the previous designs allowed, Gibson revamped both these electric guitar models with a new double-cutaway body shape. In addition, the Junior's fresh look was enhanced with a new cherry red finish, while the re-shaped TV adopted a new, rather yellow-tinged finish for its new design.

Special (1955–1960)

The Les Paul Special was released in 1955, featuring two soapbar P-90 single coil pickups, finished in a TV Yellow variation (but not called a TV model).

In 1959, the Special was given the same new double-cutaway body shape that the Junior and the TV received in 1958. However, when the new design was applied to the two-pickup Special, the cavity for the neck pickup overlapped with the neck-to-body joint. This weakened the joint to the point that the neck could break after only moderate handling. The problem was soon resolved when Gibson's designers moved the neck pickup farther down the body, producing a stronger joint and eradicating the breakage problem.

This stabilized version of the Special is currently offered only by Gibson's Custom Shop in the "VOS" series in TV Yellow.

Special-Special, 1964 , two pickups, on a flat maple top, mahogany back, and a skinny flat '60s neck, with dots. Loud with bass overtones. Glenn Frey's sound on, "No Fun Aloud", a 1982 solo album.

Standard (1958–1960, 1968–2008)

playing a 1960 left-handed cherryburst Les Paul]] ]] In 1958, Gibson updated the Les Paul yet again. the new model retained most of the specifications of the '57 Goldtop, including PAF humbucker pickups,maple top,tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece or Bigsby vibrato tailpiece) . The most significant change in the new models was the finish. the Goldtop color used since 1952, was replaced by the Sunburst finish already being used on Gibson's archtop acoustic and hollow electric guitars such as the J-45 model. to differentiate from the earlier Goldtop model, the new Les Paul was referred to as The Les Paul Standard. Original production of the standards lasted from 1958 to 1960. Only 1,700 of these early models were made and have subsequently become highly collectible. Original production ended when, in 1961, Gibson redesigned the Les Paul to feature a "double cutaway" body which has subsequently become the Gibson SG. However due to high demand, Gibson resumed production of Les Paul Standards in 1968. Today, the Gibson Les Paul Standard has BurstBucker pickups on the Vintage Original Spec models and Burstbucker Pro on the lower end models bearing the 'Standard' name.

2008 Standard (2008–)

Gibson's new version of the Les Paul Standard was released August 1, 2008 and features a long neck tenon, an asymmetrical neck profile to make for a comfortable neck, frets levelled by Plek machine, and locking Grover tuners with an improved ratio of 18:1. With the 2008 model Gibson has introduced their "weight relief" chambering, which includes routing "chambers" in specific areas of the mahogany slab body as specified by Gibson R&D;. Before 2008, Les Paul Standards were "swiss cheesed." In other words, it had holes routed into the body, but it was not chambered like most of Gibson's Les Paul lineup now is. In 2008 Gibson also introduced the Les Paul Traditional. The Traditional is built using the traditional Les Paul specifications; such as Kluson style tuners, 57 Classic pickups, and an unchambered body.

1961 Les Paul SG

In 1960, Gibson experienced a decline in electric guitar sales due to their high prices and strong competition from Fender's comparable but much lighter double-cutaway design: The Stratocaster. In response, Gibson modified the Les Paul line. This 1961 issue Les Paul guitar was thinner and much lighter than the earlier models, with two sharply pointed cut-aways and a vibrato system. However, the redesign was done without Les Paul's knowledge. When the musician saw the guitar, he asked Gibson to remove his name from the instrument and parted ways with the company. Although this separation occurred in 1960, Gibson had a surplus stock of "Les Paul" logos and truss rod covers, and so continued to use the Les Paul name until 1963. At that point, the SG guitar's name was finally changed to "SG", which stood simply for Solid Guitar. In addition to the SG line, Gibson continued to issue the less expensive Jrs and Specials (and the Melody Makers) with the newer body style. These were the standard Gibson electric models until the reintroduction of the Les Paul Standard Goldtop and the Les Paul Custom guitars to the market in 1968.

Renewed interest in the Les Paul models

In 1964, The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards obtained a 1959 sunburst Les Paul. The guitar, outfitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, was the first "star-owned" Les Paul in Britain and served as one of the guitarist's main instruments through 1966. In 1966, Eric Clapton also recognized the rock potential of the late '50s Les Paul guitars (particularly the 1958–1960 Standard sunburst models), and gave them wide exposure. He began using Les Pauls because of the influence of Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin. Soon artists such as Peter Green, Mike Bloomfield, Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page began using the Gibson model. These 1950s models featured the thicker, more sustaining tone of Gibson's humbucker pickups with the original units known as "Patent Applied For" (PAF) pickups. These PAFs were designed by Seth Lover while working for Gibson in 1955 (), and debuted on Les Pauls in 1957. This innovation became a standard pick up design for Gibson, and subsequently, many other guitar companies followed suit, outfitting their electrics with copycat versions of the humbucking pickup altered to avoid infringing Gibson's patent. Gretsch had their Filtertron pickups, and when Fender entered the humbucker market in 1972, it was with the radically different Fender Wide Range pickup. "Standard" humbuckers from other guitar manufacturers and third party replacement pickups from the likes of DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan were only offered after Gibson's patent had expired. Over the years, authentic 1950s Les Pauls have become some of the most desirable and expensive electric guitars in the world. Only 1700 were made between 1958 and 1960 today, a 1959 Les Paul Standard in good condition can be easily priced between $US200,000 and $US750,000, making it the most valuable production model electric guitar ever built(However, a reissue of the 1958, 1959, or 1960 Les Paul can be purchased for less, between $US3,000-$US6,000.). as early as the mid 1960s demand for Les Paul guitars had begun to increase. in response to the increased demand, and increased pressure from the public, Gibson re-introduced the single cutaway Les Paul in July 1968.

Les Paul models in the Norlin era

Subsequent years brought new company ownership to the Gibson Guitar Company. During the "Norlin Era", Gibson Les Paul body designs were greatly altered, most notably, the change to the neck volute. Because the Les Paul had the reputation of having an easily broken neck joint, the volute strengthened the neck where it joined the headstock to avert breakage. To further increase the strength, the neck woods were changed from mahogany to a three-piece maple design. The LP body was changed from a one piece mahogany with a maple top into multiple slabs of mahogany with multiple pieced maple tops (also called a "pancake body').

In this era, as well, Gibson began experimenting with new models such as the Les Paul Recording. This model is often eschewed by guitar purists: considered "too full of gadgetry". The Recording featured low-impedance pickups, many switches and buttons, and a highly specialized cable for impedance-matching to the amplifier. Less noticeable changes included, but were not limited to, maple fingerboards (1976), pickup cavity shielding, and the crossover of the ABR1 Tune-o-matic bridge into the modern day Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge. During the 1970s, the Les Paul body shape was incorporated into other Gibson models, including the S-1, the Sonex, the L6-S, and many other experimental models.

Deluxe

The Deluxe was among the "new" 1968 Les Pauls. This model featured "mini-humbuckers", also known as "New York" humbuckers, and did not initially prove popular. The mini-humbucker pickup fit into the pre-carved P-90 pickup cavity using an adaptor ring developed by Gibson (actually just a cut-out P90 pickup cover) in order to use a supply of Epiphone mini-humbuckers left over from when Gibson moved Epiphone production to Japan. The DeLuxe was introduced in late 1968 and helped to standardize production among Gibson's USA-built Les Pauls. The first incarnation of the Deluxe featured a one-piece body and three-piece neck in late 1968. The "pancake" body (thin layer of maple on top of two layers of Honduran mahogany) came later in 1969. In late 1969, a small "volute" was added. 1969 Deluxes feature the Gibson logo devoid of the dot over the "i" in Gibson. By late 1969/early 1970, the dot over the "i" had returned, plus a "Made In USA" stamp on the back of the headstock. By 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple, until the early 1980s, when the construction was returned to mahogany. The body changed back to solid mahogany from the pancake design in late 1976 or early 1977. Interest in this particular Les Paul model was so low that in 1985, Gibson canceled the line. However, in 2005, the Deluxe was reintroduced with more popularity due to its association with Pete Townshend and Thin Lizzy.

In 1978 the Les Paul Pro Deluxe was introduced. This guitar featured P-90 pickups instead of the "mini-humbuckers" of the Deluxe model, an ebony fingerboard, maple neck, mahogany body and chrome hardware. It came in Ebony, Cherry Sunburst, Tobacco Sunburst or Gold finishes. Interestingly, it was first launched in Europe, rather than the USA. It was discontinued in 1982.

Studio

The "Studio" model was introduced in 1983, and is still in production. The intended market for this guitar was the studio musician; therefore, the design features of the "Les Paul Studio" were centered on optimal sound output. This model retained only the elements of the Gibson Les Paul that contributed to tone and playability, including the carved maple top and standard mechanical and electronic hardware. However, the Studio design omitted several stock Gibson ornamentations that did not affect sound quality, including the binding on the body and neck. The two notable exceptions to this are the Studio Standard and the Studio Custom. Both models were produced in the mid 1980s, and included body and neck binding, though with dot fingerboard inlays instead of more ornate trapezoids. The first Studios from 83 to 86, except for Studio Standard and Studio Custom, were made with alder bodies rather than mahogany/maple. The current Studios come with a chambered mahogany body with either a maple or mahogany cap. The latter also include "faded" finishes.

Custom Shop models

Due to the popularity of the Les Paul guitar, hundreds of unendorsed imitations or copycat versions began to sell in the U.S. and overseas. Due to the lack of U.S. legislation addressing patent infringements or restricting import sales, the cheaply priced imitations created legal and financial problems for the Gibson Guitar Corporation. Although troublesome, there were overseas copycat companies that produced very high quality Les Paul and Stratocaster imitations. In fact, during the 1970s and early 1980s, a Japanese company, Tokai, made superb replicas of the 1957–59 Les Paul designs.

Modern Les Pauls

In January 1986, Gibson changed ownership and began manufacturing a range of varied Les Paul models to suit different user needs. The 1980s also saw the end to several design characteristics that were classic to the Les Paul, including the volute and maple neck. However, due to consumer demand, the Gibson Les Paul guitar is available today in an array of choices, ranging from guitars equipped with modern digital electronics to classic re-issue models built to match the look and specifications of the guitar's earliest production runs from 1952 to 1960.

Les Paul's guitar

playing his guitar (similar to Personal or Recording)]] Until his death in August 2009, Les Paul himself played his personal Les Paul Guitar onstage, weekly, in New York City. Paul preferred his 1972 Gibson "Recording" model guitar, with different electronics and a one-piece mahogany body, and which, as an inveterate tinkerer and bona fide inventor, he had modified heavily to his liking over the years. A Bigsby-style vibrato was of late the most visible change although his guitars were formerly fitted with his "Les Paulverizer" effects.

Per a statement made by Les Paul himself in the, "Chasing Sound" bio-pic, the, "Les Paulverizer", was a hoax with the actual EFFECT being provided via multi-track recording. Les Paul was also a pioneer of stereo and multi-track recording.

Epiphone Les Pauls

The Gibson-owned Epiphone Company makes around 20 models of the Les Paul, which are copies of the original. Made in places outside the U.S., the Epiphone Les Pauls are made from more commonly-available woods and have less hand detailing than the Gibson models, and, as a result, sell for a lower price. Epiphone Guitar Co. has been owned by Gibson Guitars since the 1950s. Once Gibson purchased Epiphone they quickly began making lower quality guitars based on Gibson designs.

Epiphone currently produces several models of the Les Paul including The entry level "Les Paul Special II" which is generally made of a basswood body and a veneered top, bolt on neck (with dot inlays instead of the usual trapezoid inlays), lacks a binding, and has simplified electronics.

The next model up is the "Les Paul 100", which costs approximately $US300, has similar setbacks but it has the standard Les Paul wiring, mahogany body and a higher quality paint job. The standard models are the "Les Paul Standard Plain Top" and the "Les Paul Standard Plus Top". They cost $US550 and $US650 respectively. They both feature a solid mahogany body with a maple veneer and carved top.

Epiphone also makes several less common models of the Les Paul such as the "Les Paul Goth", "Les Paul Goldtop", "Les Paul Ultra" and "Les Paul Ultra II", "Les Paul Custom", "Les Paul Black Beauty", "Les Paul Prophecy Series", "Zakk Wylde Custom Les Paul Model", "Slash signature Les Paul Models" and the "Les Paul Studio".

Gibson Robot Guitar

In 2007, Gibson announced an idea to create a computerized Les Paul, dubbed the "Robot Guitar". It was released on December 7, 2007. The guitar has a computer integrated into the body with a "master control" knob next to the volume knobs, which can be pulled out, turned, or pressed to issue different commands to the guitar. One of the more notable features is the ability to tune the guitar to standard tuning simply by pulling out on the master control knob and strumming the guitar, while the tuning pegs adjust themselves to standard tuning. Another use of the master control knob is to be able to tune the guitar to alternative tunings, such as drop D, by pressing on the control knob to fit the setting. The new Les Paul has a new custom silverburst blue finish. While the product was advertised in the American popular press as a "world's first", similar systems, some external, have been in use for decades.

Gibson Dark Fire

Gibson announced a new interactive computerized Les Paul that produces more sounds, named the Dark Fire. It was released on December 15, 2008. The guitar has a computer integrated into the body and controlled by the "Master Control Knob" (MCK) The MCK allows players the ability to change the pickups and coils, adjust each tone and tunings automatically and simultaneously, even during a song being played. Like the Robot, the Dark Fire features the ability to tune the guitar; however, in an improvement over the Robot, the player can tune it up to 500 times per battery charge, allowing the tuning pegs to adjust themselves to different tuning styles. Using the "Chameleon Tone Technology" Gibson claims this guitar will produce every imaginable guitar sound. In addition to the improved and advanced tuning features, the guitar has three various types of pickups, which includes: Burstbucker (humbucker), a P-90 single-coil and a bridge-mounted piezo acoustic—all of which contribute to organic blends of original sounds.

Gibson Dusk Tiger

Gibson has made another guitar in the robot series: The Dusk Tiger. This third robot guitar has lightweight 45 gram tuners and chameleon tone editor support (which means you can make your own sounds by modelling in chameleon tone).

Signature models

Slash Model

Slash also created his own signature Gibson Les Paul. Since the VOS model, the next Slash Signature model was a Les Paul Tobacco Burst. It features Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pro pickups and Slash's custom neck profile. Following this model was an 'Inspired By' Les Paul guitar. It was a Goldtop model that wasn't much different from the original Goldtop. Both guitars carry Slash's pickups, the Seymour Duncan Alnico II Pros and the line also has his custom neck profile. The Slash Signature Tobacco Burst and 'Inspired By' Goldtop Les Paul, are both produced by Epiphone as well with the same pickups and neck profile as the Gibson models. In 2010 Slash released the Appetite For Destruction Les Paul, a copy of the guitar he received before recording Appetite. It features his signature Seymor Duncan Alnico 2 Pro zebra style humbuckers, maple top and mahogany back, and a Slash signature graphic on the headstock.

Peter Frampton Signature Model

Guitar Center added a replica of the "Black Beauty" Les Paul Custom, with three pickups, that Peter Frampton used as his main guitar from his days in Humble Pie through his early solo career, photographed playing the instrument on the front jackets of his albums Frampton and Frampton Comes Alive. It has all the same qualities such as the 3 uncovered humbucking pickups and missing pickguard.

Gary Moore Signature Model

Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist Gary Moore also created his own signature Gibson Les Paul in the early 1990s. Characterised by a yellow flame top, no binding and a Gary Moore truss rod cover. It featured two open-topped humbucking pick-ups, one with "zebra coils" (one white and one black bobbin). Gary formerly owned Peter Green's vintage Les Paul Standard with the accidentally reversed pick-up magnet that gives it its unique sound.

In 2009, Gibson released another Gary Moore signature guitar, the Gibson Gary Moore BFG Les Paul. The Gary Moore BFG is much like their previous Les Paul BFG series, while having the style of Moore' 1950s Les Paul Standards.

Michael Bloomfield Signature Model

Blues guitar star Michael Bloomfield may not have been the first to make the then-out-of-production Les Paul Standard his own in the mid-1960s. But his popularity and influence with the Butterfield Blues Band are often credited with helping seed the renewed interest compelled Gibson to return the original Les Paul to full production later in the decade. Bloomfield first played a 1954 Les Paul goldtop (with the strings wrapped around the tailpiece rather than suspended and intonated over a bridge) while with Butterfield in 1966, but he swapped the guitar (plus $100) to noted guitar technician Dan Erlewine in exchange for a 1959 Les Paul Standard. This guitar was characterised by a mismatched volume control knob, a missing cover on the rhythm/treble toggle switch, and a crack in the wood behind the tailpiece. Because the guitar was lost in the 1970s (Bloomfield scholars believe a Canadian venue owner claimed it as compensation after Bloomfield missed a scheduled performance and never reclaimed the instrument), Gibson used hundreds of photographs of the late blues guitarist's instrument (and consulted with Bloomfield's family) to produce the limited-edition Bloomfield signature. The company produced one hundred Bloomfield models with custom-aged finishes and one hundred more with the company's Vintage Original Specifications finishing in 2009. They reproduced the tailpiece crack and the mismatched volume control knob but included a toggle switch cover. The headstock was characterised by the kidney-shaped Grover tuning keys installed on the guitar before Bloomfield traded for it, and the pickups were Gibson Burstbucker 1 (at the neck) and Burstbucker 2 (at the bridge).

Pete Townshend Signature Models

In 2005, Gibson issued three Pete Townshend signature edition Les Paul Deluxe guitars, based on Townshend's heavily customised “#1” Wine Red 1976 Les Paul Deluxe, "#3" Gold top 1976, and "#9" Cherry Sunburst 1976. These guitars were modified by Alan Rogan and used extensively on stage and in the studio with The Who. In addition to the two mini-humbuckers the guitar carried, Rogan modified Townshend's originals with a DiMarzio humbucker in the middle. Toggle switches located behind the guitar's tailpiece turned the pickup on and off and added volume boost. The control knobs were wired for volume, one for each pickup and a master volume. The reissues differed from Townshend's originals in that the reissues had an inlay at the first fret while the originals did not.

Jimmy Page Signature Model

Gibson has produced three Jimmy Page signature models. The first was issued in the mid-1990s. It was based on a stock Les Paul Standard of the time (rather than the more prestigious and historically correct 1958/1959 re-issues issued by the Gibson Custom Shop). The modifications were based on Jimmy Page's "#2" 1959 Les Paul, which had been modified with push-pull potentiometers on all four control knobs, as well as mini push-pull switches under the pickguard. This first version of the Jimmy Page Signature did not have the mini-switches under the pickguard, nor did it replicate the custom-shaved neck profile of Jimmy Page's guitar, but it did include the four push-pull pots. With all four pots pushed down, the guitar operated as normal. Pulling up the tone pot for the Bridge or Neck pickup turned the respective pickup into a single coil, rather than humbucking pickup. Pulling up the volume pot for either pickup changed it from series (stock) to parallel. The first iteration of the Jimmy Page Signature utilized Gibson's then-current high-output humbuckers: a 496R in the neck position and a 498T at the bridge.

In 2005, after 2 years of research and development utilizing Jimmy Page's actual guitar, Gibson Custom Shop issued a limited run of Jimmy Page Signature guitars based on Jimmy Page's #1 1959. This time, Gibson worked directly from Jimmy Page's actual guitar, which he lent to Gibson for the project. The guitar featured just one push-pull pot, just like Page's #1, which reversed the phase of the pickups in the up position, which in Page's own words gave "a close approximation to the Peter Green sound." Gibson also went to great lengths to replicate the accuracy of the pickups, creating two custom pickups which were available only in this guitar. The pickups were based on the Burstbucker vintage-style pickups, but featured stronger Alnico magnets and slightly higher output than the other Burstbuckers, as well as slightly higher treble response, which accurately reproduced the sound of the pickups in Page's guitar. Gibson also replicated the neck profile, which was heavily modified prior to Page acquiring the guitar, and the Grover tuners that Page favored.

Several years later, Gibson issued its third Jimmy Page Signature guitar, this one based closely on Jimmy Page's #2. Put out by the Gibson Custom Shop in an extremely limited run of 325 guitars, this guitar more accurately reproduced Page's heavily modified #2 than the original Signature model of the 1990s, and featured the 4 push-pull pots, the two mini-switches under the pick guard, accurate tuners and sound-accurate pickups (the same pickups that were used in the 2005 Jimmy Page #1 Signature), as well as an accurate neck profile. As in the original Signature model of the 1990s, pulling up the neck or bridge volume pots switched the respective pickups' coils from series to parallel, and pulling up the tone pots switched the respective pickups from humbucking to single coil. The two push-button DPDT switches mounted beneath the pickguard provide universal switching functions, regardless of the positions of the push-pull pots. With the switch mounted toward the bridge-end of the pickguard in the out position, the bridge pickup’s phase is reversed. With the switch mounted toward the neck-end of the pickguard in the out position, both pickups are wired in series and out of phase. With both switches out, both pickups are in series and in phase. The Jimmy Page “Number Two” Les Paul is finished in the Gibson Custom Shop’s painstakingly devised “Page Burst Version Two”, a sunburst finish that accurately replicates the deep, rich, reddish-brown to amber appearance of the original guitar, and which has been approved by Page himself. With a total production number of 325 units, these are some of the most expensive guitars Gibson has ever issued. The initial 25, autographed by Jimmy Page, priced at as much as $25,000 new, with prices rising in the collector market. Although gibson made 100 more with the same level of quality only the 25 remain signed.

Ace Frehley Signature Model

The Ace Frehley (KISS) signature model has three humbucking DiMarzio SDHB (Super Distortion Humbucking) pick-ups, a cherry sunburst finish (AAAA), a color image of Frehley's face in his Kiss make-up on the headstock, and mother-of-pearl lightning bolt inlays. This was one of Gibson's Best selling artist runs. Released in 1997, only 300 were made. These guitars now value between 4000-12000 USD.

Billy Gibbons / "Pearly Gates" Signature Model

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has a signature model and pick-up based on his favorite "Pearly Gates" Les Paul.

Buckethead Signature Model

Electric guitar virtuoso Buckethead's signature model has an oversized alpine white chambered body, a 27" neck, and a push/pull switch on the tone knob to enable coil splitting in the bridge and neck pickups. Despite the neck having the same length as that of a baritone, it is originally tuned as a normal guitar. It has Gibson’s contemporary-voiced Ceramic series humbucking pickups (496R in the neck, 500T in the bridge). The electronics are also re-wired to make use of the two arcade style "killswitch" buttons on the guitar. This guitar is identical to the Les Paul that Buckethead toured with from 2009.

Sammy Hagar Signature Model

Sammy Hagar's signature Les Paul model is equipped with dual "zebra-striped" humbuckers on a red flame maple top. The headstock is inlayed with the logo of Sammy's new supergroup, Chickenfoot.

Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day)

Billie Joe's signature guitar is a Les Paul Junior, based on the vintage Junior he uses that is named 'Floyd.' It has one Billie Joe Armstrong signature pickup, the H-90, a humbucking version of the famous P-90 pickup.

Zakk Wylde Bullseye

Features Zakk's trademark bullseye graphics, EMG 81 and EMG 85 humbucking pickups and raw, unfinished necks.

Perhaps due to fact that only 50 of these guitars were made by Gibson, Aged edition Zakk Wyldes Bullseye Les Paul guitars are extremely sought out by head banging musicians and collectors alike. The custom design crew at Gibson conducted the redesign of Zakk Wylde's guitar seriously as it mirrors every chip and dent you'd find on Zakk's legendary #1 Les Paul custom.

Neal Schon Signature Model Custom Les Paul

The Neal Schon Signature Les Paul model has a carved mahogany top, mahogany back, multi-ply black/white binding on top, chrome-plated hardware and a Floyd Rose tremolo. The one-piece mahogany neck has a scarfed heel joint a “Schon custom” slim-taper neck profile. The 22-fret ebony fingerboard features pearl split-diamond inlays and single-ply white binding. The pickups are a DiMarzio Fast Track/Fernandes Sustainer in the neck position and a Gibson BurstBucker Pro in the bridge position. In addition to the standard Les Paul electronics (individual pickup volume and tone controls, plus three-way selector switch), the Schon Signature features two mini-toggles – an on/off for the Sustainer and an octave effect – along with a push/pull pot for midrange cut. Only 60 of these guitars made it to production and sold out in days upon release...

Notable Les Paul users

Les Paul imitations

Gibson Les Paul specifications during 1958-60 varied from year to year and also from guitar to guitar. Typical 1958 Les Paul Standard necks had a thicker "club-shaped" neck, thinner frets and lower fret height which changed during the course of 1959 to develop into typical 1960 necks with a thinner cross-section and wider, higher frets. On the other hand, Les Paul Customs from the same period had totally different frets and were referred to as "The Fretless Wonder", which were designed for jazz guitarists of the day with thick flat-wound strings and they are generally unsuitable for modern blues-based playing. Coupled with a luxurious use of selected, naturally seasoned, quality tone wood, with its timbre and tendency to cause notes to sustain, and the hand-wound "PAF" humbucking pickups, the original Les Paul Standard became the most desirable electric guitar in history, matching the status of Stradivarius. The huge premium it commanded, starting in the late 1960s following Eric Clapton's recording with Bluesbreakers, began inspiring replicas and imitations.

Although early Les Paul imitations in the '60s and '70s such as those made by Höfner, Hagström, Harmony Company and Greco Guitars differed visibly from Gibson's design, with different electronics, and even bolt-on necks, in the late '70s some Japanese companies came very close to perfecting copies of the original 1958-60 Standards. It is considered among vintage guitar experts that the early and mid '70s marked a low point in the quality of guitars from the major manufacturers including Gibson, which helped contribute to the popularity of the Japanese-made vintage replicas. These guitars later became known as "lawsuit" guitars. The actual lawsuit referred to, was brought by the Norlin Corporation, the parent company of Gibson guitars, in 1977, and was based on an Ibanez headstock design that had been discontinued by 1976. Ibanez settled out of court, and by 1978 had begun making guitars from their own designs.

ESP Guitars makes seven types, the Eclipse series, James Hetfield Truckster, and Kirk Hammett KH-3 from ESP, the LTD EC series and Truckster, the Edwards E-LP series, and the Navigator N-LP series, that are based on the Les Paul design. Certain EC models have 24 fret necks and active electronics using EMG pickups instead of the standard passive pickups and 22 frets found in the traditional Les Paul. The Edwards and Navigator lines are made in Japan, and only available retail on the Japanese market, they come standard with Gotoh hardware and Seymour Duncan pickups (EMG pickups in a few models), and unlike the EC and Eclipse series guitars which are updated variants on the Les Paul, these are made to be as close to the Gibson '59 Les Paul design as possible, in the vein of the late '70s and '80s "Lawsuit" model guitars from Tokai, Burny, and Greco, complete with Gibson style headstocks.

Heritage Guitars, founded in 1985 by four, long-time Gibson employees when Gibson relocated to Nashville, continues to build high-quality guitars in the original factory at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Many of their models evoke memories of Gibson's late-'50s/early-'60s "golden years." The H-150 and H-157, for instance, are reminiscent of the original Les Paul and Les Paul Custom, while the H-535 is a modern version of the Gibson ES-335. Because Heritage guitars are built in the original factory, some don't consider them imitators at all, but a continuation of the Kalamazoo legacy.

In 2006 Gibson lost a lawsuit against PRS Guitars, Gibson claiming PRS was stealing the Les Paul shape and design.

Gibson lost the trademark for Les Paul in Finland. According to the court, "Les Paul" has become a common noun for guitars of a certain type. The lawsuit began when Gibson sued Musamaailma, which imports Tokai guitars, for trademark violation. However, several witnesses testified that the term "Les Paul" denotes character in a guitar rather than a particular guitar model. The court also found it aggravating that Gibson had used Les Paul in the plural form and that the importer of Gibson guitars had used Les Paul as a common noun. The court decision will become effective, as Gibson is not going to appeal.

Notes

Further reading

Electric Guitar Man: The Genius of Les Paul (Library Binding). Edwin Brit Wyckoff. Enslow Elementary (April 2008). ISBN 978 0766028470

50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul: Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars (Paperback). Tony Bacon. Backbeat Books 1st edition (April 26, 2002). ISBN 0-87930-711-0

External links

Gibson's Les Paul front page

Gibson Les Paul History

Les Paul

Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Lester William Polsfuss
Born	June 09, 1915Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States
Died	White Plains, New York, United States
Genre	Jazz, Country, Blues
Occupation	Innovator, Inventor, Musician, Songwriter
Instrument	Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica
Years active	1928–2009
Url	lespaulonline.com
Notable instruments	Gibson Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009)—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was certainly not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.

Among his many honours, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.

Biography

Early life

Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss outside Milwaukee, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to George and Evelyn (1888–1989) (née Stutz) Polsfus. His family was of German ancestry and Paul's mother was related to the founders of Milwaukee's Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and the makers of the Stutz Bearcat automobile; his parents divorced when he was a child. The Prussian family name was first simplified by his mother to Polfuss before he took his stage name of Les Paul. He also used the nicknames Red Hot Red and Rhubarb Red.

While living in Wisconsin, he first became interested in music at age eight, when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning the banjo, he began to play the guitar. It was during this time that he invented a neck-worn harmonica holder, which allowed him to play the harmonica hands-free while accompanying himself on the guitar. Paul's device is still manufactured using his basic design. By age thirteen, Paul was performing semi-professionally as a country-music singer, guitarist and harmonica player. At age seventeen, Paul played with Rube Tronson's Texas Cowboys, and soon after he dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri, on KMOX.

Early career

Paul migrated to Chicago in 1934, where he continued to perform on radio. His first two records were released in 1936. One was credited to "Rhubarb Red", Paul's hillbilly alter ego, and the other was as an accompanist for blues-artist Georgia White. It was during this time that he began playing jazz and adopted his stage name.

Paul's jazz-guitar style was strongly influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt, whom he greatly admired. Following World War II, Paul sought out and befriended Reinhardt. After Reinhardt's death in 1953, Paul furnished his headstone. One of Paul's prize possessions was a Selmer Maccaferri acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow. (older half-brother of guitarist Chet Atkins) and bassist/percussionist Ernie "Darius" Newton. They left Chicago for New York in 1939, landing a featured spot with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians radio show. Chet Atkins later wrote that his brother, home on a family visit, presented the younger Atkins with an expensive Gibson archtop guitar that had been given to Jim Atkins by Les Paul. Chet recalled that it was the first professional-quality instrument he ever owned.

Paul was dissatisfied with acoustic-electric guitars and began experimenting at his apartment in Queens, NY with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created several versions of "The Log", which was nothing more than a length of common 4x4 lumber with a bridge, guitar neck and pickup attached. For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body. These instruments were constantly being improved and modified over the years, and Paul continued to use them in his recordings long after the development of his eponymous Gibson model.

While experimenting in his apartment in 1940, Paul nearly succumbed to electrocution. During two years of recuperation, he relocated to Hollywood, supporting himself by producing radio music and forming a new trio. He was drafted into the US Army shortly after the beginning of World War II, where he served in the Armed Forces Network, backing such artists as Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, and performing in his own right.

As a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore, Paul played with Nat King Cole and other artists in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles, California, on July 2, 1944. The recording, still available as Jazz at the Philharmonic- the first concert- shows Paul at the top of his game, both in his solid four to the bar comping in the style of Freddie Green and for the originality of his solo lines. Paul's solo on 'Blues' is an astonishing tour de force and represents a memorable contest between himself and Nat 'King' Cole. Much later in his career, Paul declared that he had been the victor and that this had been conceded by Cole. His solo on Body and Soul is a fine demonstration both of his admiration for and emulation of the playing of Django Renhardt, as well as his development of some very original lines.

Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number-one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and other artists, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own on the Decca label in the late 1940s.

In January 1948, Paul shattered his right arm and elbow in a near-fatal automobile accident on an icy Route 66 just west of Drumright, Oklahoma. Mary Ford was driving the Buick convertible, which rolled several times down a creekbed; they were on their way back from Wisconsin to Los Angeles after performing at the opening of a restaurant owned by Paul's father. Doctors at Oklahoma City's Wesley Presbyterian Hospital told him that they could not rebuild his elbow so that he would regain movement; his arm would remain permanently in whatever position they placed it in. Their other option was amputation. Paul instructed surgeons, brought in from Los Angeles, to set his arm at an angle—just under 90 degrees—that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a year and a half to recover.

Guitar builder

, one of the world's most popular electric guitars, was named after the man who invented it.]] Paul's innovative guitar, "The Log", built after-hours in the Epiphone guitar factory in 1940, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars. Adolph Rickenbacker had marketed a solid-body guitar in the 1930s and Leo Fender also independently created his own in 1946. Although Paul approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with his idea of a solid body electric guitar, they showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire and Telecaster models.

The arrangement persisted until 1961, when declining sales prompted Gibson to change the design without Paul's knowledge, creating a much thinner, lighter and more aggressive-looking instrument with two cutaway "horns" instead of one. Paul said he first saw the "new" Gibson Les Paul in a music-store window, and disliked it. Although his contract required him to pose with the guitar, he said it was not "his" instrument and asked Gibson to remove his name from the headstock. Others claimed that Paul ended his endorsement contract with Gibson during his divorce to avoid having his wife get his endorsement money. Gibson renamed the guitar "Gibson SG", which stands for "Solid Guitar", and it also became one of the company's best sellers.

The original Gibson Les Paul-guitar design regained popularity when Eric Clapton began playing the instrument a few years later, although he also played an SG and an ES-335. Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson and endorsed the original Gibson Les Paul guitar from that point onwards. His personal Gibson Les Pauls were much modified by him—Paul always used his own self-wound pickups and customized methods of switching between pickups on his guitars. To this day, various models of Gibson Les Paul guitars are used all over the world by both novice and professional guitarists. A less-expensive version of the Gibson Les Paul guitar is also manufactured for Gibson's lower-priced Epiphone brand.

On January 30, 1962, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Paul a patent, Patent No. 3,018,680, for an "Electrical Music Instrument."

Multitrack-recording innovations

In 1948, Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. ("Brazil", similarly recorded, was the B-side.) This was the first time that Les Paul used multitracking in a recording (Paul had been shopping his multi-tracking technique, unsuccessfully, since the 30's. Much to his dismay, Sidney Bechet used it in 1941 to play half a dozen instruments on "Sheik of Araby"). These recordings were made not with magnetic tape, but with acetate discs. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result he was satisfied with, he had discarded some five hundred recording disks.

Paul even built his own disc-cutter assembly, based on automobile parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the acetate-disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his fifteen-minute radio show in his hotel room. He later worked with Ross Snyder in the design of the first eight-track recording deck (built for him by Ampex for his home studio.)

Electronics engineer Jack Mullin had been assigned to a U.S. Army Signal Corps unit stationed in France during World War II. On a mission in Germany near the end of the war, he acquired and later shipped home a German Magnetophon (tape recorder) and fifty reels of I.G. Farben plastic recording tape. Back in the U.S., Mullin rebuilt and developed the machine with the intention of selling it to the film industry, and held a series of demonstrations which quickly became the talk of the American audio industry.

Within a short time, Crosby had hired Mullin to record and produce his radio shows and master his studio recordings on tape, and he invested US$50,000 in a Northern California electronics firm, Ampex. With Crosby's backing, Mullin and Ampex created the Ampex Model 200, the world's first commercially produced reel-to-reel audio tape recorder. Crosby gave Les Paul the second Model 200 to be produced. Using this machine, Paul placed an additional playback head, located before the conventional erase/record/playback heads. This allowed Paul to play along with a previously recorded track, both of which were mixed together on to a new track. This was a mono tape recorder with just one track across the entire width of quarter-inch tape; thus, the recording was "destructive" in the sense that the original recording was permanently replaced with the new, mixed recording.

Paul's re-invention of the Ampex 200 inspired Ampex to develop two-track and three-track recorders, which allowed him to record as many tracks on one tape without erasing previous takes. These machines were the backbone of professional recording, radio and television studios in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1954, Paul continued to develop this technology by commissioning Ampex to build the first eight-track tape recorder, at his expense. His design became known as "Sel-Sync" (Selective Synchronization), in which specially modified electronics could either record or play back from the record head, which was not optimized for playback but was acceptable for the purposes of recording an "overdub" (OD) in sync with the original recording. This is the core technology behind multitrack recording.

Les Paul & Mary Ford

Paul met country-western singer Colleen Summers in 1945. They began working together in 1948, at which time she adopted the stage name Mary Ford. They were married in 1949. The couple's hits included "How High the Moon", "Bye Bye Blues", "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise", and "Vaya con Dios". These songs featured Ford harmonizing with herself.

Like Crosby, Paul and Ford used the now-ubiquitous recording technique known as close miking, where the microphone is less than from the singer's mouth. This produces a more-intimate, less-reverberant sound than is heard when a singer is or more from the microphone. When implemented using a cardioid-patterned microphone, it emphasizes low-frequency sounds in the voice due to a cardioid microphone's proximity effect and can give a more relaxed feel because the performer isn't working so hard. The result is a singing style which diverged strongly from unamplified theater-style singing, as might be heard in musical comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

Radio and television programs

Paul had hosted a fifteen-minute radio program, The Les Paul Show, on NBC radio in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humor between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood", "Little Rock Getaway", "Brazil" and "Tiger Rag". Over ten of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.

The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show (also known as Les Paul & Mary Ford at Home) with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine mouthwash, it was widely syndicated during 1954–1955, and was only five minutes (one or two songs) long on film, therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in in programming schedules. Since Paul created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to current quality standards up until his death.

During his radio shows, Paul introduced the fictional "Les Paulverizer" device, which multiplies anything fed into it, like a guitar sound or a voice. Paul has stated that the idea was to explain to the audience how his single guitar could be multiplied to become a group of guitars. The device even became the subject of comedy, with Ford multiplying herself and her vacuum cleaner with it so she could finish the housework faster.

Later career

In 1965, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He and Ford had divorced in December 1962, as she could no longer cope with the traveling lifestyle their act required of them. Paul's most-recognizable recordings from then through the mid-1970s were an album for London Records/Phase 4 Stereo, Les Paul Now (1968), on which he updated some of his earlier hits; and, backed by some of Nashville's celebrated studio musicians, a meld of jazz and country improvisation with fellow guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, Chester and Lester (1976), for RCA Victor.

By the late 1980s, Paul had returned to active live performance. In 2006, at age 90, he won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. He also performed every Monday night, accompanied by a trio which included guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinksi (and later, Nicki Parrott) and pianist John Colianni, originally at Fat Tuesdays, and later at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in the Times Square area of New York City.

Composer Richard Stein (1909–1992) sued Paul for plagiarism, charging that Paul's "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgălăi" (Romanian for "Sledge with Bells"). A 2000 cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society.

For many years Les Paul would sometimes surprise radio hosts Steve King and Johnnie Putman with a call to the "Life After Dark Show" on WGN (AM) in Chicago. These calls would take place in the wee hours of Tuesday Morning following his show at the Iridium Jazz Club. Steve and Johnnie continue to honor Les on Tuesday Mornings at 2:35 AM with their segment "A Little More Les" drawing from around 30 hours of recorded conversations with Les.

Death

On August 12, 2009, His family and friends were by his side Paul is survived by his four children and his companion Arlene Palmer. His attorney told the media Paul had been "in and out of the hospital" because of illness.

Upon learning of his death many artists and musicians paid tribute by publicly expressing their sorrow. After learning of Paul's death, former Guns N' Roses and current Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash called him "vibrant and full of positive energy." U2 guitarist The Edge said, "His legacy as a musician and inventor will live on and his influence on rock and roll will never be forgotten."

On August 21, 2009, he was buried near Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin at Prairie Home Cemetery which indicated that his plot would be in an area where visitors can easily view it. Like his funeral in New York on August 19, the burial was private, but earlier in the day a public memorial viewing of the closed casket was held in Milwaukee at Discovery World with 1,500 attendees who were offered free admission to the Les Paul House of Sound exhibit for the day.

Awards and honors

Paul was initiated into the Gamma Delta chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Miami in 1952. He has earned the Presidential award from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

In 1979, Paul and Ford's 1951 recording of "How High the Moon" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Paul received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983.

In 1988, Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit." In 1991, the Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name; the Les Paul Award which honors "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology". In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his development of the solid-body electric guitar. In 2006, Paul was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He was named an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society. In 2007, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

A one-hour biographical documentary film The Wizard of Waukesha was shown at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (FILMEX) March 4–21, 1980, and later on PBS television. A biographical, feature-length documentary titled Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90 made its world première on May 9, 2007, at the Downer Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paul appeared at the event and spoke briefly to the enthusiastic crowd. The film is distributed by Koch Entertainment and was broadcast on PBS on July 11, 2007, as part of its American Masters series and was broadcast on October 17, 2008, on BBC Four as part of its Guitar Night. The première coincided with the final part of a three-part documentary by the BBC broadcast on BBC ONE The Story of the Guitar.

In June 2008, an exhibit showcasing his legacy and featuring items from his personal collection opened at Discovery World in Milwaukee. The exhibit was facilitated by a group of local musicians under the name Partnership for the Arts and Creative Excellence (PACE). Paul played a concert in Milwaukee to coincide with the opening of the exhibit.

Paul's hometown of Waukesha is planning a permanent exhibit to be called "The Les Paul experience."

In July 2005, a 90th-birthday tribute concert was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. After performances by Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Jose Feliciano and a number of other contemporary guitarists and vocalists, Paul was presented with a commemorative guitar from the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

On November 15, 2008, he received the American Music Masters award through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a tribute concert at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the many guest performers were Duane Eddy, Eric Carmen, Lonnie Mack, Jennifer Batten, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Dennis Coffey, James Burton, Billy Gibbons, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Katy Moffatt, Alannah Myles, Richie Sambora, The Ventures and Slash.

In February 2009, only months prior to his death, Les Paul sat down with Scott Vollweiler of Broken Records Magazine, in which would be one of Les Paul's final interviews. His candid answers were direct and emotional. Broken Records Magazine had planned to run that cover feature the following month but due to delays was held until the summer. 3 days before the release, Les Paul died. The issue would be his final cover feature of his storied career.

In August, 2009, Paul was named one of the ten best electric guitar players of all-time by Time magazine.

Personal life

Paul married Virginia Webb in 1938. They had two children, Gene (Lester Jr.), born in 1941 and named after actor-songwriter Gene Lockhart, and Russell (Rusty), born 1944, before divorcing in 1949. Later that year, Paul and Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) were married. They adopted a girl, Colleen, in 1958 and their son Robert (Bobby) was born the following year. They had also lost a child, who was born prematurely and died only four days old. Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced in 1963.

Paul was the godfather of rock guitarist Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band, to whom Paul gave his first guitar lesson. Miller's father was best man at Paul's 1949 wedding to Mary Ford.

Paul resided for many years in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Discography

Hit Singles

Albums

Feedback (1944)—compilation

Les Paul Trio (1946)—compilation

Hawaiian Paradise (1949)

The Hit Makers! (1950)

The New Sound (1950)

Les Paul's New Sound, Volume 2 (1951)

Bye Bye Blues! (1952)

Gallopin' Guitars (1952)—compilation

Les and Mary (1955)

Time to Dream (1957)

Lover's Luau (1959)

The Hits of Les and Mary (1960)—compilation

Bouquet of Roses (1962)

Warm and Wonderful (1962)

Swingin' South (1963)

Fabulous Les Paul and Mary Ford (1965)

Les Paul Now! (1968)

Guitar Tapestry

Lover

The Guitar Artistry of Les Paul (1971)

The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise (1974)—compilation

The Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford (1974)—compilation

Chester and Lester (1976)—with Chet Atkins

Guitar Monsters (1977)—with Chet Atkins

Les Paul and Mary Ford (1978)—compilation

Multi Trackin' (1979)

All-Time Greatest Hits (1983)—compilation

''The Very Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford'

Famille Nombreuse (1992)—compilation

The World Is Waiting (1992)—compilation

(1992)—compilation

All-Time Greatest Hits (1992)—compilation

Their All-Time Greatest Hits (1995)—compilation

Les Paul: The Legend and the Legacy (1996; a four-CD box set chronicling his years with Capitol Records)

16 Most Requested Songs (1996)—compilation

The Complete Decca Trios—Plus (1936–1947) (1997)—compilation

California Melodies (2003)

''Les Paul - The Legendary Fred Waring Broadcasts (2004)

Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played (2005)

Les Paul And Friends: A Tribute To A Legend (2008)

Singles

"It's Been a Long, Long Time"—Bing Crosby & The Les Paul Trio (1945), #1 on Billboard Pop singles chart, 1 week, December 8

"Rumors Are Flying"—Andrews Sisters & Les Paul (1946)

"Guitar Boogie" (1947)

"Lover (When You're Near Me)" (1948)

"Brazil" (1948)

"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (1948)

"Nola" (1950)

"Goofus" (1950)

"Little Rock 69 Getaway" (1950/1951)

"Tennessee Waltz"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1950/1951)

"Mockingbird Hill"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"How High The Moon"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 9 weeks, April 21 – June 16; #1, Cashbox, 2 weeks

"I Wish I Had Never Seen Sunshine"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"Just One More Chance"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"Jazz Me Blues" (1951)

"Josephine" (1951)

"Whispering" (1951)

"Jingle Bells" (1951)

"Tiger Rag"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Carioca" (1952)

"In the Good Old Summertime"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Smoke Rings"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Meet Mister Callaghan" (1952)

"Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Lady of Spain" (1952)

"My Baby's Coming Home"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Bye Bye Blues"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)

"I'm Sitting On Top Of The World"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)

"Sleep" (Fred Waring's theme song) (1953)

"Vaya Con Dios"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 11 weeks, August 8 – October 3, November 7–14; #1, Cashbox, 5 weeks

"Johnny (Is The Boy For Me)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)

"Don'cha Hear Them Bells"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #13, Billboard; #32, Cashbox

"The Kangaroo" (1953), #23, Cashbox

"I Really Don't Want To Know"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"I'm A Fool To Care"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"Whither Thou Goest"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"Mandolino"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"Song in Blue"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954), #17, Cashbox

"Hummingbird"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Amukiriki (The Lord Willing)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Magic Melody"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Texas Lady"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)

"Moritat" (Theme from "Three Penny Opera") (1956)

"Nuevo Laredo"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)

"Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1957)

"Put A Ring On My Finger"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1958)

"Jura (I Swear I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1961)

"Love Sneakin' Up On You"-Les Paul, Joss Stone & Sting (2005)

See also

Ampex

Discovery World

Gibson Les Paul

Gibson SG

List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Mary Ford

References

External links

lespaulfoundation.org, Les Paul Foundation website (includes Legacy, Foundation & Community websites)

Remembering Les Paul Photos and extended interviews with Les on WGN Chicago's Steve & Johnnie early morning show

Staff writer (August 13, 2009). "Les Paul", obituary at The Daily Telegraph (Accessed August 24, 2009)

Staff writer (November 15, 2007). "Les Paul Receives 2007 National Medal of Arts", article at Modern Guitars Magazine (Accessed September 4, 2009)

"Les Paul, 'The Wizard of Waukesha'", a biography (undated) at the Wisconsin Historical Society's official website

Les Paul - Discovery World 2005 video (requires Adobe Flash)at Discovery World's (museum) official website

The Les Paul Show, archive of Paul's NBC radio show at the Internet Archive's official website (includes MP3 files (free) of eleven of their radio shows including their audition show)

The Wizard of Waukesha (1980), at Variety's official website

The Wizard of Waukesha (1980) at Allmovie's official website

Les Paul - 'Miles of Music', two video interviews of and performances by Paul (5–6 minutes each; requires Adobe Flash) with Bob Miles on Miles of Music (milesofmusic.tv), a cable-access television program

CLASSIC TRACKS: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High The Moon'

Photo Library from performances at Iridium

Les Paul's final interview

Category:American jazz guitarists Category:American musical instrument makers Category:American radio personalities Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:Decca Records artists Category:American musicians of German descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Guitar makers Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York Category:Inventors of musical instruments Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Musicians from Wisconsin Category:National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Mahwah, New Jersey Category:People from Waukesha, Wisconsin Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:1915 births Category:2009 deaths

Name	Paul Black
Instrument	vocals
Associated acts	L.A. Guns
Background	solo_singer

Paul Michael Eaton Black (born Paul Black March 27, 1965 in Dundee, Scotland) was originally a singer and drummer. Most notable for his time as lead vocalist in L.A. Guns, with whom he wrote most of their self-titled debut album.

Biography

His roots were in bluegrass. In the seventies his high school rock band was called Your Mother. He also played in several jazz cover bands. In 1978 he was a percussion major at San Jose State University.

He moved to Los Angeles in May 1980 still using his given name Paul Martin Marmorstein. His first L.A. band was Mad Captions who played CBGBs in New York and The Hot Club in Philadelphia with The Dead Boys. In 1981 Paul joined The Mau Maus, a famous LA punk band which was fronted by Rick Wilder of The Berlin Brats. During Paul's time with The Mau Maus he shortened his name to Paul Mars. Paul played drums for a Mau Maus record produced by Robbie Krieger of The Doors which was never released. In 1984 Paul Mars Joined the Joneses and recorded the drums for Keeping Up With The Joneses. Paul also began putting together a side project for his songs to be called Faster Pussycat with guitarist Mick Cripps. Paul switched to lead vocals, Mick switched to bass, and the two joined guitarist Tracii Guns and drummer Nickey "Beat" Alexander and later on guitarist Robert Stoddard to complete this line up.

The name was switched to L.A. Guns because the owner of the name, Raz, offered to back the band if this line up would re-use L.A. Guns, a name which had been abandoned over a year prior by a former band of Tracii's. Paul changed his name again to Paul Black. From 1985 to March 1987 Paul Black wrote and co-wrote a number of songs which led L.A. Guns to a record deal with Polygram Records. However, Paul left before the record was finished and before the deal was signed. Paul Black was replaced by Phil Lewis. These songs became the foundation of the group's success which helped them stand apart from the repetitive glam metal scene of the time. Paul Black has recently been acknowledged for his contributions to L.A. Guns self titled debut.

After leaving L.A. Guns, Paul Black formed Black Cherry, which quickly became one of the most popular and sought after bands in L.A. But, a law suit filed by Black against his former band L.A. Guns and Polygram Records kept Black Cherry from signing a deal. One of the original members of Black Cherry was the artist now known as Ukulele Bartt, who at the time was a guitarist and singer. Paul Black retired in 1993 and seldom played shows. In 2000 Paul Black wrote and recorded an album with Jo Almeida of Dogs D'Amour called Jo & Paul's Sonic Boom, Sun Down And Yellow Moon. The band itself did about 8 shows with different rhythm sections. The record received great reviews but only a few were made. Paul is working on a solo record and at the end of 2005 plans were made to reform Paul Black's L.A. Guns line up for a tour in 2006.

Paul Black released CDs of L.A. Guns with himself on lead vocals called Black City Breakdown (1985-1986) and Black List and a CD of Sonic Boom Sun Down And Yellow Moon on his own label " Black City Records (www.blackcitymusic.com). In the making are plans to release Black Cherry, The Mau Maus, The Joneses and a solo record.

Discography

With Jo & Paul's Sonic Boom

Sun Down And Yellow Moon (2000)

With L.A. Guns

Black City Breakdown (1985-1986) (2000)

Black List (2005)

References

External links

Paul Black's Official Website

2008 Interview at Sleaze Roxx

Saviours Of Rock">Interview at Saviours Of Rock

Category:American male singers Category:American rock singers Category:Glam metal musicians Category:L.A. Guns members Category:Living people Category:1965 births

:For the astronaut, see Michael J. Bloomfield.

Name	Michael Bloomfield
Img caption	Mike Bloomfield playing a Gibson Les Paul guitar
Born	July 28, 1943Chicago, Illinois, US
Died	February 15, 1981San Francisco, California, US
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Michael Bernard Bloomfield
Instrument	Guitar, piano
Genre	Blues, blues-rock
Occupation	Musician
Associated acts	The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Bob Dylan, Electric Flag, Al Kooper, Nick Gravenites, Dr. John, John Paul Hammond
Years active	1964–1981
Url	www.mikebloomfield.com
Notable instruments	Gibson Les PaulFender Telecaster

Michael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981) was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation entirely on his instrumental prowess. Respected for his fluid guitar playing, Bloomfield, who knew and played with many of Chicago's blues legends even before he achieved his own fame, was one of the primary influences on the mid-to-late 1960s revival of classic Chicago and other styles of blues music. In 2003 he was ranked at number 22 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Early years

Bloomfield was born into a wealthy Jewish family on the North Side of Chicago but preferred music to the family catering equipment business, becoming a blues devotee as a teenager and spending time at Chicago's South Side blues clubs.

The young guitarist's talent "was instantly obvious to his mentors," wrote Al Kooper, Bloomfield's later collaborator and close friend, in a 2001 article. "They knew this was not just another white boy; this was someone who truly understood what the blues were all about." Among his early supporters were B. B. King, Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan and Buddy Guy. Michael used to say, 'It's a natural. Black people suffer externally in this country. Jewish people suffer internally. The suffering's the mutual fulcrum for the blues'."

During the late 1970s, Bloomfield recorded for several smaller labels, including Takoma Records. Through Guitar Player magazine he also put out an instructional album with a vast array of blues guitar styles, titled If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em as You Please. Bloomfield also performed with John Cale on Cale's soundtrack to the film Caged Heat in 1975.

In 1973, Bloomfield teamed with Dr. John and John Hammond, Jr. for an album called Triumvirate, Bloomfield's final album under his Columbia contract. In 1974 Bloomfield hooked up with a failed supergroup called KGB, from the initials of Ray Kennedy (co-writer of "Sail On, Sailor"), Barry Goldberg on keyboards and Bloomfield on guitar. The band had a rhythm section of Rick Grech on bass and Carmine Appice on drums. Grech and Bloomfield immediately quit after its release, stating they never had faith in the project. The album was not well received, but it did contain the standout track "Sail On, Sailor". Its authorship was credited only to "Wilson-Kennedy", and had a bluesy, darker feel, along with Ray Kennedy's original cocaine related lyrics.

Through the 1970s, Bloomfield seemed satisfied to play in local San Francisco Bay Area clubs, either sitting in with other bands or using his own "Michael Bloomfield and Friends" outfit. But his best performing days were behind him and most of the decade was spent battling drugs and his own deep insecurities.

Death

The exact events and circumstances that lead to his death are not clear. What is known is that Bloomfield was found dead of a drug overdose in his car on February 15, 1981. The only details (from unnamed sources) relate that Bloomfield died at a San Francisco party, and was driven to another location in the city by two men who were present at the party.

Style

Bloomfield's musical influences include Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, B.B. King, Big Joe Williams, Otis Rush, Albert King, Freddie King and Ray Charles.

Bloomfield originally used the Fender Telecaster. During his tenure with the Butterfield Blues Band he switched to a 1954 Gibson Les Paul model, which he used for some of the East-West sessions. In due course, according to biographers Jan Mark Wolkin and Bill Keenom, Bloomfield swapped that guitar for a 1959 Les Paul Standard and $100. This was the guitar Bloomfield used as a member of the Electric Flag, and on the Super Session album and concerts. He later veered between the Les Paul and the Telecaster, but Bloomfield's use of the Les Paul—as did Keith Richards' with the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton's with John Mayall—influenced many others to use the model. Bloomfield eventually lost the guitar in Canada; Wolkin and Keenom's biography revealed a club owner kept the guitar as partial compensation after Bloomfield cut short a round of appearances. Its whereabouts today are unknown.

Unlike contemporaries such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck, Bloomfield rarely experimented with feedback and distortion, preferring a loud but clean sound with a healthy amount of reverb. One of his amplifiers of choice was a 1965 Fender Twin Reverb. Bloomfield's solos, like most blues guitarists', were based primarily on the minor pentatonic scale and the blues scale. However, his liberal use of chromatic notes within the pentatonic framework allowed a considerable degree of fluidity to his solos. He was also renowned for his use of vibrato.

Gibson has since released a Michael Bloomfield Les Paul—replicating his 1959 Standard—in recognition of his effect on the blues genre, on helping to influence the revived production of the guitar, and on many other guitarists. Because the actual guitar had been unaccounted for so many years, Gibson relied on hundreds of photographs provided by Bloomfield's family to reproduce the guitar. The model comes in two configurations—a clean Vintage Original Specifications (VOS) version with only Bloomfield's mistmatched volume and control knobs, missing toggle switch cover, and kidney-shaped tuners replacing the Gibson originals indicating its inspiration; and, a faithful, process-aged reproduction of the guitar as it was when Bloomfield played it last, complete with the finish smudge below the bridge and various nicks and smudges elsewhere around the body.

His influence among contemporary guitarists continues to be widely felt, primarily in the technique of vibrato, natural sustain, and economy of notes. Guitarists such as: Joe Bonamassa, Slash, Jimmy Vivino, Chuck Hammer, Eric Johnson, Elliot Easton, Robben Ford, John Scofield, Jimmy Herring, Phil Keaggy, remain essentially influenced by Bloomfield's early recorded work.

Selected discography

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (1965)

East-West (1966)

The Original Lost Elektra Sessions (Unreleased recordings from 1964)

East-West Live (Various live versions of the track East-West)

Electric Flag

The Trip (1967)

A Long Time Comin' (1968)

The Band Kept Playing (1974)

Solo

It's Not Killing Me (1969)

Try It Before You Buy It (1973) (Remained unreleased until the 1980s, Additional recordings during these sessions were released on "Bloomfield: A Retrospective" in 1983)

If You Love These Blues, Play 'Em As You Please (1976)

Analine (1977)

Michael Bloomfield (1978)

Count Talent And The Originals (1978)

Between A Hard Place And The Ground (1979)

Bloomfield-Harris (1979)

Cruisin' For A Bruisin' (1981)

Collaborations

Super Session - Bloomfield, Kooper and Stills (1968; this album has since been remastered, with new editions featuring several Bloomfield performances not included on the original album, including "Blues for Nothing" and "Fat Gray Cloud.")

The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper (1968)

Fillmore East: Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. The Lost Concert Tapes 12/13/68 (recorded 1968, published 2003)

Two Jews' Blues (1969), with Barry Goldberg; uncredited due to contractual constraints.

My Labors (1969) with Nick Gravenites

Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West (1969) with Nick Gravenites, Taj Mahal, Mark Naftalin. (Note: Some of the performances at the same concerts that yielded this album were included on My Labors. Those performances, except for "Winter Country Blues," are now part Live at Bill Graham's Fillmore West 1969'', released in 2009 and credited to Michael Bloomfield with Nick Gravenites and Friends.)

Medium Cool (1969) Original Film Soundtrack featuring Bloomfield and others

Steelyard Blues (1973) Original Film Soundtrack with Nick Gravenites and others

Mill Valley Bunch - Casting Pearls (1973)

Triumvirate (1973), Mike Bloomfield, with John Hammond & Dr John.

KGB (1976) - Ray Kennedy - Vocals, Barry Goldberg - Keyboards, Mike Bloomfield - Guitar, Rick Grech - Bass, Carmine Appice - Drums

Selected session work

Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan (1965)

''Grape Jam - Moby Grape (1968)

Living with the Animals - Mother Earth (1968); credited as "Makal Blumfeld" due to contractual constraints.

Fathers and Sons - Muddy Waters (1969)

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! - Janis Joplin (1969)

Weeds - Brewer & Shipley (1969)

Sam Lay In Bluesland - Sam Lay (1970)

Gandharva - Beaver & Krause (1971)

Posthumous releases

Living In The Fast Lane (1981)

Bloomfield: A Retrospective (1983)

I’m with You Always (Live recordings from McCabe’s Guitar Shop, Santa Monica, CA; 1977)

Between The Hard Place And The Ground (Different to the original 70s LP - containing further selections from McCabe’s Guitar Shop)

Don't Say That I Ain't Your Man: Essential Blues, 1964-1969, an anthology that includes five songs from Bloomfield's original 1964 Columbia sessions.

Live at the Old Waldorf (Recorded live in 1976 and 1977 by producer Norman Dayron at the Old Waldorf nightclub)

Barry Goldberg & Friends - Live (Features Mike on guitar on most tracks)

If You Love These Blues by Wolkin & Keenom (Miller Freeman Books, 2000)contains a CD of early recordings made by Norman Dayron

References

[ "Michael Bloomfield"]. Allmusic.com (accessed September 30, 2006).

Me and Big Joe of Mike Bloomfield

Michael Bloomfield, the rise and fall of an American guitar hero of Ed Ward

External links

Official Mike Bloomfield Site

Mike Bloomfield, An American Guitarist

Bloomfield's Doomed Field by Al Kooper

Michael Bloomfield Chronology & Analysis

Category:1943 births Category:1981 deaths Category:Lead guitarists Category:American blues guitarists Category:Musicians from Chicago, Illinois Category:Jewish American musicians Category:American male singers Category:American session musicians Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in California

Name	Jimmy Page
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	James Patrick Page
Born	January 09, 1944Heston, Middlesex, England
Instrument	Guitar, mandolin, dulcimer, theremin, bass, banjo, harmonica, dobro, sitar, keyboards, tambourine, tamboura, hurdy gurdy, pedal steel guitar
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues-rock, rock and roll, folk rock
Occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
Years active	1962–present
Label	Swan Song, Atlantic, Geffen, Fontana, Mercury
Associated acts	The Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, The Honeydrippers, The Firm, Coverdale and Page, Page and Plant, Herman's Hermits, XYZ
Notable instruments	Gibson Les PaulGibson EDS-1275Fender TelecasterDanelectro ShorthornGibson J-200Gibson RDGibson Hummingbird

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE (born 9 January 1944) is an English guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Often viewed by critics and fans alike as one of the most influential and important guitarists and songwriters ever in rock music, Page was described by Allmusic as "unquestionably one of the all-time most influential, important, and versatile guitarists and songwriters in rock history", and by Rolling Stone magazine as "the pontiff of power riffing & probably the most digitally sampled artist in pop today after James Brown." and, in 2007, #4 on Classic Rock Magazine's "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Page was ranked ninth in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2003. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; once as a member of The Yardbirds (1992), and once as a member of Led Zeppelin (1995).

Early years

Jimmy Page was born to parents James and Patricia Page in the West London suburb of Heston, which today forms part of the London Borough of Hounslow. His father was an industrial personnel manager and his mother was a doctor's secretary. In 1952 they moved to Feltham, and later again to Miles Road, Epsom in Surrey, which is where Page came across his first guitar. "I don't know whether [the guitar] was left behind by the people [in the house] before [us], or whether it was a friend of the family's — nobody seemed to know why it was there." First playing the instrument at the age of twelve years, he took a few lessons in nearby Kingston, but was largely self-taught:

When I grew up there weren't many other guitarists ... There was one other guitarist in my school who actually showed me the first chords that I learned, and I went on from there. I was bored so I taught myself the guitar from listening to records. So obviously it was a very personal thing.

Among Page's early influences were rockabilly guitarists Scotty Moore and James Burton, who both played on recordings made by Elvis Presley. Hearing the Elvis Presley song "Baby Let's Play House" is cited by Page as being his inspiration to take up playing the guitar. Although he appears on BBC1 in 1957 with another guitar, Page states that his first guitar was a second-hand 1959 Futurama Grazioso, which was later replaced by a Telecaster.

Page's musical tastes included skiffle (a popular English music genre of the time) and acoustic folk playing, particularly that of Bert Jansch and John Renbourn, and the blues sounds of Elmore James, B.B. King, Willie Dixon, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin. "Basically, that was the start: a mixture between rock and blues." Although he had an interview for a job as a laboratory assistant, he ultimately chose to leave Danetree Secondary School, West Ewell, to pursue music instead. and singer Red E. Lewis, he was asked by singer Neil Christian to join his band, The Crusaders, after Christian had seen a fifteen-year-old Page playing in a local hall.

Page was the favoured session guitarist of producer Shel Talmy, and therefore he ended up doing session work on songs for The Who and The Kinks as a direct result of the Talmy connection. Page's studio output in 1964 included Marianne Faithfull's "As Tears Go By", The Nashville Teens' "Tobacco Road", The Rolling Stones' "Heart of Stone" (released on Metamorphosis), Van Morrison & Them's "Baby Please Don't Go" and "Here Comes the Night", Dave Berry's "The Crying Game" and "My Baby Left Me", Brenda Lee's "Is It True," & and Petula Clark's "Downtown." Under the auspices of producer Talmy, Page contributed to The Kinks' 1964 debut album and he played six-string rhythm guitar on the sessions for The Who's first single "I Can't Explain"

In 1965 Page was hired by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham to act as house producer and A&R; man for the newly-formed Immediate Records label, which also allowed him to play on and/or produce tracks by John Mayall, Nico, Chris Farlowe, Twice as Much and Eric Clapton. Page also formed a brief songwriting partnership with then romantic interest, Jackie DeShannon. He also composed and recorded songs for the John Williams (not the classical guitarist) album The Maureeny Wishful Album with Big Jim Sullivan. Page worked as session musician on Donovan Leitch's Sunshine Superman (album) 1966 & the Johnny Hallyday albums "Jeune Homme" (1968) and "Je Suis Né Dans La Rue" (1969), the Al Stewart album Love Chronicles in 1969, and played guitar on five tracks of Joe Cocker's debut album, With a Little Help from My Friends.

When questioned about which songs he played on, especially ones where there exists some controversy as to what his exact role was, Page often points out that it is hard to remember exactly what he did given the huge number of sessions he was playing at the time. On 16 May 1966, drummer Keith Moon, bass player John Paul Jones, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, Jeff Beck and Page recorded "Beck's Bolero" in London's IBC Studios. The experience gave Page an idea to form a new supergroup featuring Beck, along with The Who's John Entwistle on bass and Keith Moon on drums. During the Scandinavian tour the new group appeared as "The New Yardbirds", but soon recalled the old joke by Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Page stuck with that name to use for his new band. Peter Grant changed it to "Led Zeppelin", to avoid a mispronunciation of "Leed Zeppelin."

Led Zeppelin

Page has explained that he had a very specific idea in mind as to what he wanted Led Zeppelin to be, from the very beginning:

Legacy and influence

Page's past experiences both in the studio and with the Yardbirds were very influential in contributing to the success of Led Zeppelin in the 1970s. As a producer, composer, and guitarist he helped make Led Zeppelin a prototype for countless future rock bands, and was one of the major driving forces behind the rock sound of that era, influencing a host of other guitarists. Allmusic states that "just about every rock guitarist from the late '60s/early '70s to the present day has been influenced by Page's work with Led Zeppelin". was an inspiration for The Ramones guitarist Johnny Ramone's downstroke guitar style. Ramone, who has described Page as "probably the greatest guitarist who ever lived", stated in the documentary "Ramones:The True Story" that he improved at his down-stroke picking style by playing the song over and over again for the bulk of his early career. Brian May of Queen, who was also influenced by Page, has said "I don't think anyone has epitomised riff writing better than Jimmy Page - he's one of the great brains of rock music". Tom Scholz of Boston was heavily influenced by Jimmy Page and credits the dual guitar harmonies in Led Zeppelin's "How Many More Times" as the inspiration for Boston's distinctive sound. Page's guitar solo from the song "Heartbreaker" has been credited by Eddie Van Halen as being the inspiration for his two-hand tapping technique after he had seen Led Zeppelin perform in 1971. Similarly, Steve Vai has also commented about the song in a September 1998 Guitar World interview: "This one [Heartbreaker] had the biggest impact on me as a youth. It was defiant, bold, and edgier than hell. It really is the definitive rock guitar solo."

Many other rock guitarists were also influenced by Jimmy Page, such as Ace Frehley, Joe Satriani, John Frusciante, James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Zakk Wylde, Yngwie Malmsteen, Ritchie Blackmore, Tony Iommi, Joe Perry, Angus Young, Slash, Dave Mustaine, Mike McCready, Jerry Cantrell, Stone Gossard, Mick Mars, Paul Stanley, Alex Lifeson, and Dan Hawkins.

Page has been described by Uncut as the "rock's greatest and most mysterious guitar hero". According to MSNBC Jimmy Page "played some of the most fundamental and memorable guitar in rock history—from the heaviest crunch to the most delicate acoustic finger picking." Page's solo in the famous epic "Stairway to Heaven" has been voted by readers of Guitar World and Total Guitar as the greatest guitar solo of all time, and he was named 'Guitarist of the Year' five times during the 1970s in Creem magazine's annual reader poll. Guitar World wrote: "Truly a guitar god, Jimmy Page is one of the most captivating soloists the rock world has ever known." In 1996 Mojo Magazine ranked him number 7 on their list of "100 Greatest Guitarists Of All Time". In 2002 he was voted the second greatest guitarist of all time in a Total Guitar magazine reader poll. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him number nine on their list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". In 2007, Classic Rock Magazine ranked him #4 on their list of the "100 Wildest Guitar Heroes". Gigwise.com, an online music magazine, ranked Page #2 on their list of the "50 greatest guitarists ever" in 2008. In August 2009, Time Magazine ranked him the 6th greatest electric-guitar player of all time. In 2010, Jimmy Page was ranked #2 on Gibson's "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Roger Daltrey of The Who has been a longtime fan of Page and expressed his desire to form a supergroup with Page in 2010 saying: "I’d love to do something, I’d love to do an album with Jimmy Page." Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones has described Jimmy Page as "one of the best guitar players I've ever known." Jimmy Page was the first inductee onto the British Walk of Fame in August 2004. Page was awarded "Living Legend Award" at Classic Rock Magazine Roll of Honour 2007. In June 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey for his services to the music industry. Page was inducted into Mojo Hall Of Fame at the magazine's award ceremony on 11 June 2010.

In August 2010, Auburn University graduate student Justin Havird named a new species of fish "Lepidocephalichthys zeppelini" after Led Zeppelin, because the fish's pectoral fin reminded him of the double-neck guitar used by Jimmy Page.

Equipment

Gibson guitar]] For the recording of most of Led Zeppelin material from Led Zeppelin's second album onwards, Page used a Gibson Les Paul guitar (sold to him by Joe Walsh) with Marshall amplification. A Harmony Sovereign H-1260 was used in-studio on Led Zeppelin III and Led Zeppelin IV and on-stage from 5 March 1971 to 28 June 1972. During the studio sessions for Led Zeppelin, and later for recording the guitar solo in "Stairway to Heaven", he used a Fender Telecaster (a gift from Jeff Beck). He also used a Danelectro 3021, tuned to DADGAD, most notably on live performances of "Kashmir". He usually recorded in studio with a Vox AC30, Fender, and Orange amplification. His use of the Sola Sound Tone Bender Professional MKII fuzzbox ("How Many More Times", "Whole Lotta Love"), MXR Phase 90 ("The Wanton Song", "Achilles Last Stand"), MXR Blue Box ("Fool In The Rain"), Danelectro Coral electric sitar ("Ten Years Gone"), slide guitar ("You Shook Me", "Dancing Days", "In My Time of Dying", "What Is and What Should Never Be", "Hats Off To Roy Harper", "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp"), banjo ("Gallows Pole"), pedal steel guitar ("Your Time Is Gonna Come", "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You", "Tangerine", "That's the Way" and for effect at the very end of "Over the Hills and Far Away"), and acoustic guitar ("Black Mountain Side/White Summer", "Going To California", "Bron-Yr-Aur",& "The Rain Song") also demonstrated his versatility and creativity as a composer.

Page is famous for playing his guitar with a cello bow, as on the live versions of the songs "Dazed and Confused" and "How Many More Times". This was a technique he developed during his session days, although he was not the first guitarist to use a bow, since Eddie Phillips of The Creation had done so prior to Page. many of which he had initially developed as a session musician:

This apprenticeship ... became a part of [learning] how things were recorded. I started to learn microphone placements and things like that, what did and what didn't work. I certainly knew what did and didn't work with drummers because they put drummers in these little sound booths that had no sound deflection at all, and the drums would just sound awful. The reality of it is the drum is a musical instrument, it relies on having a bright room and a live room ... And so bit by bit I was learning really how not to record. but he eventually made a return to the stage at a Jeff Beck show in March 1981 at the Hammersmith Odeon. Also in 1981 Page joined with Yes bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White to form a supergroup called XYZ (for ex-Yes-Zeppelin). They rehearsed several times, but the project was shelved. Demos of these sessions have turned up on bootleg and they reveal that some of the material emerged on later projects, notably The Firm's "Fortune Hunter" and Yes songs "Mind Drive" and "Can You Imagine?". Page would later join Yes on stage in 1984 at Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany, playing "I'm Down".

In 1982 Page collaborated with director Michael Winner to record the Death Wish II soundtrack. This, and several subsequent Page recordings including Death Wish III soundtrack (1985), were recorded and produced at his own recording studio, The Sol in Cookham, which he had purchased from Gus Dudgeon in the early 1980s.

In 1983 Page appeared with the A.R.M.S. (Action Research for Multiple Sclerosis) charity series of concerts which honoured Small Faces bass player Ronnie Lane, who suffered from the disease. For the first shows at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Page's set consisted of songs from the Death Wish II soundtrack (with Steve Winwood on vocals) and an instrumental version of "Stairway to Heaven". A four-city tour of the United States followed, with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company replacing Winwood as vocalist. During the US tour, Page and Rodgers also performed "Midnight Moonlight" which would later be recorded for The Firm's first album. All of the shows featured an on stage jam of "Layla" that reunited Page with Yardbirds guitarists Beck and Eric Clapton. According to the book Hammer of the Gods, it was reportedly around this time that Page told friends that he'd just given up heroin after seven years of use. On 13 December 1983, Page joined Robert Plant on-stage for one encore at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.

Page next linked up with Roy Harper for the 1984 album (Whatever Happened to Jugula?) and occasional concerts, performing a predominantly acoustic set at folk festivals under various guises such as the MacGregors, and Themselves. Also in 1984 Page recorded with former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant as The Honeydrippers on the album, and with John Paul Jones on the film soundtrack Scream for Help.

Page subsequently collaborated with Paul Rodgers to record two albums under the name The Firm. The first album, released in 1985, was the self-titled The Firm. Popular songs included "Radioactive" and "Satisfaction Guaranteed". The album peaked at number 17 on the Billboard pop albums chart and went gold in the US. It was followed by Mean Business in 1986. The band toured in support of both albums but soon split up.

Various other projects followed, such as session work for Graham Nash, Stephen Stills and The Rolling Stones (on their 1986 single "One Hit (to the Body)"). In 1986, Page reunited temporarily with his ex-Yardbirds band members to play on several tracks of the Box of Frogs album Strange Land. Page released a solo album entitled Outrider in 1988 which featured contributions from Robert Plant, with Page contributing in turn to Plant's solo album Now and Zen, which was released the same year. Page also embarked on a collaboration with David Coverdale in 1993 entitled Coverdale and Page.

Throughout these years Page also reunited with the other former members of Led Zeppelin to perform live on a few occasions, most notably in 1985 for the Live Aid concert with both Phil Collins and Tony Thompson filling drum duties. However, the band members considered this performance to be sub-standard, with Page having been let down by a poorly tuned Les Paul. Page, Plant and Jones, as well as John Bonham's son Jason, performed at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on 14 May 1988, closing the 12-hour show.

In 2005, Page was awarded the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his Brazilian charity work for Task Brazil and Action For Brazil's Children's Trust, made an honorary citizen of Rio de Janeiro later that year, and was awarded a Grammy award.

In November 2006, Led Zeppelin was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame. The television broadcasting of the event consisted of an introduction to the band by various famous admirers (including Roger Taylor, Slash, Joe Perry, Steven Tyler, Jack White and Tony Iommi), a presentation of an award to Jimmy Page, and then a short speech by the guitarist. After this, rock group Wolfmother played a tribute to Led Zeppelin, playing the song "Communication Breakdown".

In 2006, Page attended the induction of Led Zeppelin to the UK Music Hall of Fame. During an interview for the BBC for said event, he expressed plans to record new material in 2007, saying "It's an album that I really need to get out of my system... there's a good album in there and it's ready to come out" and "Also there will be some Zeppelin things on the horizon".

On 6 January 2007, Page was featured at #19 on Channel 4's The Ultimate Hellraiser, a countdown of music's top 25 who "lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle". The show's reason for featuring Page was almost exclusively attributed to the groupies who toured with Led Zeppelin. In addition, many of John Bonham's shenanigans (for example driving a motorcycle down a hotel corridor) were falsely blamed on Page.

On 2 December 2007, Contactmusic.com confirmed that Page was "Too traumatised for Zeppelin reunion" until now. He states in the article, "After John Bonham's death I spent 15 years not even wanting to think about Led Zeppelin. But I also have difficulty thinking it's all over. Now at least one concert is planned and I'm incredibly happy about that."

On 10 December 2007, the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, as well as John Bonham's son, Jason Bonham played a charity concert at the O2 Arena London.

For the 2008 Olympics, Jimmy Page, David Beckham and Leona Lewis represented Britain during the closing ceremonies on 24 August 2008. Beckham rode a double-decker bus into the stadium, and Page and Lewis performed "Whole Lotta Love", representing the change in Olympic venue to London in 2012.

In 2008 Page co-produced a documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim entitled It Might Get Loud. The film examines the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of Page, The Edge, and Jack White. The film premiered on 5 September 2008 at the Toronto Film Festival. Page also participated in the 3 part BBC documentary London Calling: The making of the Olympic handover ceremony on 4 March 2009. On 4 April 2009, Page inducted Jeff Beck into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Page has announced his 2010 solo tour while talking to the Sky News on 16 December 2009.

In January 2010, Jimmy Page announced he is publishing an autobiography through Genesis Publications, in a hand-crafted, limited edition of 2,500 copies. Page has also been honoured with a first-ever Global Peace Award by the United Nations' Pathways to Peace organisation after confirming reports that he would be among the headliners at a planned Show of Peace Concert in Beijing, China on 10 October 2010.

Legal action

In July 2007 Page gave testimony and observed evidence on behalf of Led Zeppelin at a court case in Glasgow against an alleged bootlegger. Robert Langley was charged with, and denied, 12 counts of producing and selling products without copyright permission. Page was shown hundreds of CDs and DVDs, ranging from his solo material to his time in Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds, which Langley was allegedly selling in Scotland during 2005. Many contain footage and audio from Page's personal collection, stolen from his home in the early 1980s.

The goods were found on sale as far away as New York, where shop-owners thought they were official. Page later said "If you have something like this that appears legitimate then it is just not right". Page concluded his day in court by greeting waiting fans and signing autographs.

Personal life

Page's daughter, Scarlet Page, (born in 1971) is a photographer. Her mother is French model Charlotte Martin, who was Page's partner from 1970 to about 1982 or 1983. Page called her 'My Lady'.

Page also had relationships with a number of rock groupies in the 1970s, including Pamela Des Barres, Bebe Buell and Lori Maddox.

From 1986 to 1995 Page was married to Patricia Ecker, a model and waitress. They have a son, James Patrick Page III (born April 1988). Page later married Jimena Gómez-Paratcha, whom he met on the No Quarter tour in Brasil. He adopted her oldest daughter Jana (born 1994), and they had two children together; Zofia Jade (born 1997) and Ashen Josan (born 1999).

In 1972 Page bought, from Richard Harris, the home which William Burges designed for himself in London, The Tower House. "I had an interest going back to my teens in the pre-Raphaelite movement and the architecture of Burges", he said. "What a wonderful world to discover." The reputation of William Burges (1827–1881) rests on his extravagant designs and his contribution to the Gothic revival in architecture in the nineteenth century.

From 1980 to 2004 Page owned 'The Mill House', Mill Lane, Windsor, UK - formerly the home of actor Michael Caine. Fellow Led Zeppelin band member John Bonham died at the house in 1980.

From the early 1970s to well into the 1980s, Jimmy Page owned the Boleskine House, the former residence of occultist Aleister Crowley.

Sections of Page's fantasy sequence in the film The Song Remains the Same were filmed at night on the mountain side directly behind Boleskine House. Page sold the house in the early 1990s. He currently resides in West Sussex.

Recreational drug use

Page has acknowledged heavy recreational drug use throughout the 1970s. In an interview with Guitar World magazine in 2003, he stated:

After the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States, Page told Nick Kent:

In 1975, Page began to use heroin, a fact attributed to Richard Cole, who stated that Page (in addition to himself) was taking the drug during the recording sessions of the album Presence in that year, and that Page admitted to him shortly afterwards that he was addicted to the drug.

By Led Zeppelin's 1977 tour of the United States, Page's heroin addiction was beginning to hamper his guitar playing performances. By this time the guitarist had lost a noticeable amount of weight. His on-stage appearance was not the only obvious change: his addiction caused Page to become so inward and isolated it altered the dynamic between him and Plant considerably. During the recording sessions for In Through the Out Door in 1978, Page's diminished influence on the album (relative to bassist John Paul Jones) is partly attributed to his ongoing heroin addiction, which resulted in his absence from the studio for long periods of time.

Page reportedly kicked his heroin habit in the early 1980s. In a 1988 interview with Musician magazine, Page took offence when the interviewer noted that heroin had been associated with his name, and insisted "Do I look as if I'm a smack addict? Well, I'm not. Thank you very much."

In an interview he gave to Q magazine in 2003, Page responded to a question as to whether he regrets getting so involved in heroin and cocaine:

Interest in the occult

The appearance of four symbols on the jacket of Led Zeppelin's fourth album has been linked to Page's interest in the occult. The four symbols represented each member of the band. Page's own so-called "Zoso" symbol originated in 'Ars Magica Arteficii' (1557) by J Cardan, an old alchemical grimoire, where it has been identified as a sigil consisting of zodiac signs. The sigil is reproduced in "Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils" by Fred Gettings.

During tours and performances after the release of the fourth album, Page often had the "Zoso" symbol embroidered on his clothes, along with zodiac symbols. These were visible most notably on his "Dragon Suit", which included the signs for Capricorn, Scorpio and Cancer which are Page's Sun, Ascendant and Moon signs, respectively.

The artwork inside the album cover of Led Zeppelin IV is from a painting by William Holman Hunt, influenced by the traditional Rider/Waite Tarot card design for the card called "The Hermit". Page has maintained a strong interest in Crowley for many years. In 1978, he explained:

Page was commissioned to write the soundtrack music for the film Lucifer Rising by another occultist and Crowley admirer, underground movie director Kenneth Anger. Page ultimately produced 23 minutes of music which Anger felt was insufficient because the film ran for 28 minutes and Anger wanted the film to have a full soundtrack. Anger claimed Page took three years to deliver the music, and the final product was only 23 minutes of droning. The director also slammed the guitarist in the press by calling him a "dabbler" in the occult and an addict, and being too strung out on drugs to complete the project. Page countered that he had fulfilled all his obligations, even going so far as to lend Anger his own film editing equipment to help him finish the project.

Although Page collected works by Crowley, he has never described himself as a Thelemite nor was he ever initiated into the O.T.O. The Equinox Bookstore and Boleskine House were both sold off during the 1980s, as Page settled into family life and participated in charity work.

Pre / Post Led Zeppelin discography

Single

"She Just Satisfies"/"Keep Moving" (February 1965)

Albums

Pre-Led Zeppelin (1963-1969)

Many pre-Led Zeppelin session recordings have been released on various labels and compilation packages, including:

No Introduction Necessary (1968), Recordings feat. John Paul Jones, Albert Lee, Nicky Hopkins, Clem Cattini and Keith de Groot

Jimmy Page and Friends - Wailing Sounds (2006). Includes Lord Sutch & Heavy Friends album (1970) + six tracks from the 1968 sessions for Keith De Groot's debut album.

Guitar Boogie (1971) Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton blues album

Special Early Works (1972), 1965 session recordings with Sonny Boy Williamson

Smoke and Fire (1984), session recordings with Jeff Beck, Noel Redding and Nicky Hopkins

(1989) (unofficial)

(1990) (unofficial)

Jimmy Page and His Heavy Friends: Hip Young Guitar Slinger (2000, double cd)

This Guitar Kills: More 60s Groups & Sessions - remastered by Jimmy Page (2007, the 2003 ed. is not remastered) (double cd)

Jimmy Page and Friends (2006, double cd)

Please note that there are several duplicates amongst all these albums.

Post-Led Zeppelin

Equipment details

;Electric guitars

1959 Fender Telecaster (given to Page by Jeff Beck and repainted with a psychedelic dragon design by Page) played with the Yardbirds. Used to record the first Led Zeppelin album and used on the early tours during 1968-1969. It was later used to record the "Stairway To Heaven" solo.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 1) (Sold to Page by Joe Walsh) modified with a shaved neck and the addition of a push/pull pot to put the humbuckers out of phase while the toggle is in the middle position. English luthier Roger Giffin re-produced an exact replica of this guitar for Page in 1991 (nicknamed No. 3, Jimmy had a deal with Gibson that he would receive the first guitar from the 26 custom guitars that were designed). Giffin's work was later copied for Gibson's original run of Jimmy Page Signature model Les Pauls in the mid-1990s. This guitar was also used by Gibson as the model for the company's second run of Page signature models in 2004. Produced by Gibson and aged by veteran luthier Tom Murphy, this second generation of Page tribute models was limited to 25 guitars signed by Page himself; and only 150 guitars in total for the aged model issue.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (No. 2) with a shaved down neck to match the profile on his #1; He added four push/pull pots to coil split the humbuckers as well as phase and series switches which were added under the pick guard after the break-up of Led Zeppelin.

1971 Gibson EDS-1275 (used for playing "Stairway to Heaven", "The Song Remains the Same", "The Rain Song", "Celebration Day" during live concerts and the Knebworth, "Tangerine" at the 1975 Earls Court shows, and "Sick Again" throughout the 1977 U.S. tour)

1978 Gibson Les Paul Standard.

1959 Danelectro 3021 AKA 59-DC (tuned to DADGAD and used live for "White Summer", "Black Mountain Side", "Kashmir", and "Midnight Moonlight" with The Firm).

Danelectro 3021 (tuned to open G and used on the Outrider tour for "In My Time Of Dying". This one has a smaller pickguard, as opposed to the large "seal" pickguard on his first Danelectro.

1967 Vox 12-String used during the recording for the Yardbirds Little Games album and for on-stage appearances.

1960 Black Gibson Les Paul Custom (with Bigsby Tremolo) - stolen in 1970. An ad was placed by Page for the recovery of this highly modified instrument but the guitar was never recovered. In 2008 the Gibson Custom Shop produced a limited run of 25 re-creations of the guitar, each with a Bigsby Tremolo and a new custom 6-way toggle switch.

Rickenbacker 12 String.

1969 Gibson Les Paul Standard (seen in "The Song Remains The Same" during the theremin/solo section of "Whole Lotta Love" and for "Kashmir" at the O2 reunion concert. This guitar was later fitted with a Parsons-White B-string bender and used extensively by Page from the mid-to-late 1980s onward, including the Outrider tour, and the Page/Plant "Unledded" special on MTV. During Whole Lotta Love in the "The Song Remains The Same" movie, you can see the back of the head and there is no volute (meaning it is pre-1970), and other close up pictures have revealed a pancake body (those came along in mid 1969 and went away after 1976); thus with no volute and a pancake body, it must be a mid-1969 Les Paul.

1964 Lake Placid Blue Fender Stratocaster (Used during recording sessions for In Through the Out Door at Earls Court 1975 and in 1979 at Knebworth for In the Evening).

1966 Cream Fender Telecaster (Used on Physical Graffiti and on All My Love during the Tour Over Europe 1980).

1953 Brown Fender Telecaster featuring a Parsons and White B-string bender, and neck salvaged from the "Dragon Telecaster". Seen primarily during the 1980s The Firm and Outrider era. Also used at Knebworth in 1979, notably on "Ten Years Gone" and "Hot Dog". (Its deep chocolate paint scheme was once dubbed "Botswana Brown" by a journalist in the early 1980s, a throwaway joke that's stuck with the guitar since.)

1965 Fender Electric XII (12-String) used to record Thank You and Stairway to Heaven.

1977 Gibson RD Artist (used at Knebworth in 1979, on "Misty Mountain Hop").

Gibson SG (seldom used on the 1980 tour).

1957 Selmer Grazioso, a copy of a Fender Stratocaster.

1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard (with Bigsby Tremolo) borrowed from Keith Richards while recording with the Rolling Stones during their Heart of Stone sessions.

1957 Fender Stratocaster (seen at Sol Studios and played at a Bad Company concert).

White Fender Stratocaster (used to record Thank You).

Gibson ES5 Switchmaster (used in the Death Wish II soundtrack).

1956 Gretsch 6120

2006 Gibson Custom Shop ES-350 (used at the O₂ Arena during In My Time Of Dying).

Another Gibson doubleneck guitar was given to him after he agreed to allow the company to reproduce his original EDS-1275. The guitar was picked by Page out of numerous others after he struck one chord. Page declared "This is it, this is the one!" The guitar was marked (beforehand) #1.

2007 Gibson Black Beauty custom (remake of his original stolen in 1970, has modifications concerning pick-up configurations which include a 6-way pick-up selector, and coil-tap on the bridge pick-up).

Les Paul Goldtop w/ Transperformance tuning device Used on Atlantic 40th reunion, Coverdale/Page recordings, and Page/Plant tours.

Mid 80s Black Kramer guitar with a tremolo arm Used for Outrider.

Paul Reed Smith (used on the Outrider tour, notably on "City Sirens" and "Wasting My Time").

2010 Gibson Jimmy Page "Number Two" Signature. The "Number Two" Les Paul was based on his second 1959 Les Paul purchased in 1973. The Gibson Jimmy Page "Number Two" signature guitar was released in January 2010. ;Amplifiers

Marshall SLP-1959 100-watt amp which was modded with KT-88 tubes, which boosted its output to 200 watts.

Vox AC30

Hiwatt Custom 50 and Custom 100 heads

Fender Dual Showman

Fender Vibro-King (used on the Page/Plant "Unledded" special on MTV)

Fender Tone Master

Orange amps (used with the Theremin, as seen on The Song Remains The Same)

Supro unidentified combos (used in the studio for Led Zeppelin I and the Stairway To Heaven guitar solo)

;Effects

Vox wah-wah

Jen Cry-Baby Wah

Sola Sound Tonebender fuzz

Roger Mayer Voodoo Fuzz

Maestro Echoplex

MXR Phase 90

MXR Blue Box (used for the guitar solo in "Fool In The Rain")

Boss CE-2 Chorus

Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive

DigiTech Whammypedal

Yamaha CH-10Mk 2 Chorus

;Acoustic guitars

Gibson J-200

Martin D-28

Gibson Everly Brothers

Giannini GWSCRA12-P Craviola 12-String

Eko Ranger 12

Harmony Sovereign H-1260

Washburn 12 String

Ovation 1994 Double Neck

Fender 1981 F-03

;Other instruments

1960's Epiphone Rivoli EB232 Bass (played by Page, Paul Samwell-Smith and Chris Dreja during different times with the Yardbirds).

1920 Gibson A2 Mandolin

Gibson Harp Guitar

Vega 5-string Banjo (now owned by John Paul Jones)

Roland GR-500 Guitar Synthesizer

Roland GR-700 Guitar Synthesizer

Fender 10-String 800 Pedal steel guitar

Violin bow

Theremin

Mellotron MKV (Prototype)

;Guitar Picks

Herco Flex 75 (Heavy gauge, grey)

;Accessories Ernie Ball electric guitar strings

;Collection Jimmy Page is reputed to own over 2,000 guitars. Page revealed this rough estimate to BBC Radio 2 presenter Stuart Maconie in June 2005.

Due to the fact the guitar was too heavy, one of Jimmy Page's Les Paul Custom Black Beauty guitars is now owned by Dan Hawkins of The Darkness. It is not the same Black Beauty that was stolen from him in 1970.

;Signature models Gibson released Jimmy Page Signature Les Paul which was discontinued in 1999, then released another version in 2004, which has also been discontinued. The 2004 version included 25 guitars signed by Page, 150 aged by a former Gibson employee (an acknowledged aging 'master'), and 840 'unlimited' production guitars. The Jimmy Page Signature EDS-1275 has been produced by Gibson. Recently, Gibson reproduced Page's 1960 Les Paul Black Beauty, the one stolen from him in 1970, with modern modifications. This guitar was sold in 2008 with a run of 25, again signed by Page, plus an additional 500 unsigned guitars.

In December 2009, Gibson released the 'Gibson Jimmy Page #2 Les Paul'. This is a re-creation of Page's famous number 2 Les Paul used by him since about 1974 until present. The model includes the same pick-up switching setup as devised by Page, shaved-down neck profile, Burstbucker pick-up at neck and 'Pagebucker' at bridge. A total of 325 were made in three finishes: 25 Aged by Gibson's Tom Murphy, signed and played by Page ($26,000), 100 aged ($16,000) and 200 with VOS finish ($12,000).

References

Published sources

Mylett, Howard (1984) Jimmy Page: Tangents Within a Framework, London: Omnibus Press, ISBN 0-7119-0265-8.

Welch, Chris (1985) Power & Glory: Robert Plant & Jimmy Page, London: Zomba Books, ISBN 0-946391-74-2.

External links

Official Led Zeppelin site

ASCAP titles

ABC Trust - UK-based charity for Brazilian children set up by Jimmy's wife, Jimena Page

Jimmy Page by Jimmy Page - Genesis Publications Limited Edition Book

Category:English blues guitarists Category:English heavy metal guitarists Category:English rock guitarists Category:English session musicians Category:English songwriters Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kerrang! Awards winners Category:Lead guitarists Category:Led Zeppelin members Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Pedal steel guitarists Category:People from Heston Category:Musicians from London Category:People from Windsor, Berkshire Category:Slide guitarists Category:The Yardbirds members Category:Atlantic Records artists Category:Skiffle Category:1944 births Category:Living people Category:Bomp! Records artists