1957
Gibson Les Paul
Gibson
guitars are long known as the bitter rival of
Fender. Indeed, these two guitar manufacturers
have been trying to outdo each other till today..
The Fender
Stratocaster was a bit hit in the 50s. Gibson,
not willing to surrender to the Strat, introduced
its first solidbodied electric guitar in 1952,
the Les Paul.
The guitar was named
after the best-known guitarist in the world at
that time, Les Paul (born Lester
William Polfus). He was not only one of
the early designers of the solidbodied guitar,
but also a pioneer in overdubbing and multi-track
recording.
In
the late 30s, Paul invented one of the first solidbodied
guitars by attaching pickups on a vivisected Epiphone
hollowbodied guitar. Later he took his invention
to Gibson, trying to persuade them to mass-produce
his prototype. However, he was rejected, and only
when the Stratocaster became a big thing in the
50s did they reconsider his idea.
The original Les
Paul had a gold-painted top, but was replaced
with the Les Paul Standard in 1958. The guitar
was popularized by guitar greats like Duane Allman,
Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin),
and Slash (Guns N' Roses), who by the way has
over 100 guitars, mainly Les Pauls.
1958 was the sixth
year of the Gibson Les Paul model. Whether through
cosmic forces, rational thought or just dumb luck,
Gibson hit the proverbial nail on the head. Within
a few months, the 1959 Les Paul Standard, the
same as the 1958 model guitar but with jumbo frets,
quietly became a legend.
At first, the Les
Paul Standard was just another solidbody guitar
in a sea of emerging instruments. In the late
1960s and '70s, popular guitar heroes Jimmy Page,
Mike Bloomfield and Duane Allman sought the original
late '50s Les Pauls for their tone and feel. Soon
those models became an overnight success in a
little less than 20 years.
Today, the original
1959 Les Paul Standard has become the most sought
after model of solidbody guitar in the world,
with vintage prices soaring well into six-figures.
