I have had a push-pull relationship with music for most of my life and have had a hankering to play guitar since high school. I have tried at various times with various levels of determination and many a hard realisation that I have far more love for music than talent for playing music.
In my twenties, round about the mid 1970's, I bought a second hand gold top Gibson Les Paul. I wish I knew then what I know now about guitars. I also wish I had some photographs of that guitar. It seems I might have had a '59. In those days nobody had realised how legendary those guitars were going to be.
That guitar was far more of an instrument than I was able to use but friends who were better musicians were constantly asking to play it or borrow it for gigs.
Then life happened. I became less involved in the music world and I ended up in a tight financial situation where I sold many of my belongings, including the Les Paul, a Vox AC15 amplifier and a Gibson EB2 bass guitar.
It is only many years later as, my love of music has grown and I have also absorbed so much of the lore of music and appreciate the significance of a number of key instruments, that I grasp what I had.
The Gibson Les Paul is one of those key instruments that changed musical history. And Les Paul is one of those key people who changed musical history.
Here are some of the outpouring of tributes that followed his death on 13 August this year.
Rolling Stone magazine
Vanity Fair
Los Angeles Times
Gibson Guitars
Gibson Guitars second article
GuitarNoize
PBS
PBS - Les Paul Career Timeline
And some general information from Wikipedia
Les Paul, the world and music are better for your life.
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