10 Famous Les Paul Players

A slab of mahogany, a carved maple top, a set neck, and two pickups — to put it simply, the 20th century’s musical trajectory simply wouldn’t be the same without the Gibson Les Paul. Gibson’s first solidbody instrument has made waves ever since it debuted in 1952, and few models have become as synonymous with the words “electric guitar.” Originally designed for jazz and country guitarists, it’s safe to say that the Les Paul’s true purpose was found when rock hit its stride, arming guitarists with a powerful tone that ultimately defined decades of hard-hitting guitar playing.

As important as the Les Paul has been to the evolution of music, that’s only half of the story. In other words, where would the guitar be without the player? From Les Paul’s jazz-infused rock ‘n’ roll to Eric Clapton’s bluesy licks and Zakk Wylde’s aggressive crunch, the Les Paul has graced every— and we do mean every — style of guitar music. Of course, it would be an impossible task to list every famous Les Paul player, but we have rounded up 10 musicians who are key to the story of the world’s premier set-neck electric guitar!

Jimmy Page

Telecaster, Danelectro, double-neck SG — Jimmy Page used quite a few different guitars while redefining the sound of rock music with Led Zeppelin. However, his 1959 Les Paul is arguably his most iconic instrument. A natural fit for Jimmy’s raucous riffs and iconic solos, the Les Paul’s sheer power and near-endless sustain are directly responsible for much of Zeppelin’s catalog. A true guitar aficionado, Jimmy has described the group’s first two classic albums in terms of their guitar inspirations, telling Guitar World that “the first album was totally based around the Telecaster.... And as it went on, the second album was clearly going to be all about the Les Paul.”

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The Les Paul-into-Marshall sound wasn’t invented by Jimmy (he actually credits that to Eric Clapton — more on him later!). That said, it’s an iconic sound that he took to its fullest potential on songs like “Whole Lotta Love” and “Rock and Roll,” providing the template for hard-rock guitar tone in the process.

Slash

Rewind back to the glorious late ’80s: hair metal was king, neon spandex was cool, and no one in their right mind would be caught playing anything other than a Superstrat with points sharp enough to be considered a lethal weapon. That is, until Slash’s not-actually-a-real-Les Paul changed everything on Guns N’ Roses’ landmark album, 1987’s Appetite for Destruction, and led to a veritable Les Paul renaissance. It’s one of the truly organic stories of guitar lore, and it is now only fitting that few guitarists are as strongly associated with the Les Paul as Slash.

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The Les Paul’s muscular tone served as the driving force behind Appetite‘s grinding sonics. After all, where would rock music be today without the sweet, singing sustain of riffs like “Sweet Child O’ Mine”? As a man with a serious guitar collection (he has estimated he has over 400 now), Slash still considers the ’59-inspired replica he used on Appetite for Destruction to be his favorite axe. If you’re feeling inspired to dish out some classic Guns N’ Roses riffs, be sure to check out Sweetwater’s range of Slash signature Les Pauls!

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Les Paul

It’s no surprise that this legend made the list, right? While Les Paul was the original endorsee of Gibson’s first solidbody creation, funnily enough, it was almost completely designed without his input. As an inventor and an inveterate tinkerer, Les was fine with that — pretty much every one of his Les Pauls was heavily modified. Even on his earliest models, Les would fashion homemade vibratos, dummy coils, and strange wiring configurations until his guitars barely resembled a Les Paul as we know it today.

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While he might be best known for his namesake guitar, Les Paul’s influence is truly immeasurable. To put it into perspective, the man is widely credited with developing one of the world’s first solidbody electric guitars (more than a decade before Gibson and Fender’s first models), in addition to inventing multitracking, arguably the most important advancement in recorded music. Somewhat tragically, Les’s mechanical and engineering innovations tend to overshadow his playing and musical influence, which helped take the electric guitar to new technical heights. Along with contemporaries like Chet Atkins, Les showed the world what true virtuosity was like on the electric guitar, playing rapid-fire, jazz-infused rock ‘n’ roll licks with his wife, accomplished guitarist in her own right, Mary Ford.

Duane Allman

Duane Allman’s career was tragically cut short at the age of 24 in a motorcycle accident, but his output with groups such as the Allman Brothers Band and Derek and the Dominos represents an important chapter in the history of rock music.

Ed Berman, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Duane’s lyrical playing and singing slide lines are still studied by countless guitarists even today, and his tool of choice to lay down these licks was typically a dual-humbucker Gibson Les Paul through a Marshall. The late legend’s unparalleled improv skills are on full display on the classic Allman Brothers live album At Fillmore East. Duane’s country-inflected bluesy twang, along with his signature sustaining Les Paul tone, is an undisputed foundational block of the Southern rock vocabulary.

Billy Gibbons

Assuming that you’re acquainted, what comes to mind when you picture Texas blues legend Billy Gibbons? Beard? Hat? Spinning fuzzy guitars? Cheap Sunglasses? As iconic as those stylish accoutrements are, the first thing we think of is his 1959 Gibson Les Paul, affectionately known as Pearly Gates.

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A man of many guitars, it would nevertheless be difficult to imagine ZZ Top’s raunchy blues-rock stew without Billy’s favorite Les Paul. This instrument has graced songs on each of the trio’s albums — from the Texas-tinged stylings of Tres Hombres all the way to their transition into synths and poppy rock on Eliminator. Pearly Gates has developed such a mystique and reputation in Gibbons’s hands that Gibson Custom periodically offers replications of the instrument, right down to the buckle rash!

Neil Young

Another Les Paul player with a highly modified instrument, Neil Young has brandished his 1953 Les Paul Goldtop, christened Old Black, as his primary guitar since 1968. This guitar started out with a standard dual P-90 pickup configuration, but somewhere along the way, Neil swapped out the bridge pickup for a Gibson Firebird pickup, and it’s been that way ever since. While P-90s in a Les Paul is not out of the ordinary, Old Black’s Firebird pickup infuses Neil’s playing with a bright, cutting tone that takes center stage on classic songs such as “Cortez the Killer.”

The Les Paul is the perfect match for Neil’s meandering legato playing style, providing a limitless well of sustain that complements his tendency to hang onto notes and phrases for emphasis. While it’s impossible to pigeonhole Neil’s half-century-plus career into a single sound, the Les Paul (however modified) is certainly essential to his plugged-in tone.

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Eric Clapton

While we often think of him as one of the most prominent Strat slingers (Fender Signature model and all), Eric Clapton’s formative years saw him playing an ES-335 and an SG. Most famously, Slowhand played a 1960 sunburst Les Paul on the seminal Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton LP with John Mayall and co. The album’s crunchy combination of Clapton’s Les Paul and Marshall amplifier is arguably the epitome of authentic blues-rock tone, and it unquestionably stands as a monumental milestone in the electric guitar’s history.

Post-1970, Eric began to favor Fender instruments, though he has been known to occasionally pull out a Les Paul. “The thing with Gibsons has always been their warmth,” Clapton told Christie’s. “I’d go to them for the bottom end, the midrange and so on.” This admission makes it all too evident why Eric chose a Gibson to fill out the sonic space during his power-trio days in Cream!

Zakk Wylde

As Ozzy Osbourne’s 6-string sidekick and the frontman of Black Label Society, it’s hard to argue with Zakk Wylde’s metal résumé. From highly technical, alternate-picked runs to his signature pinch harmonic squeals, Zakk’s playing is truly all his own. Not strictly limited to metal, Zakk’s playing combines a wide variety of influences, from bluesy pentatonic riffs to chicken-picked Southern twang. Check out our exclusive Nick Bowcott interview with Zakk during which he discusses some of his favorite players — quite a few of them are on this very list!

Considering his love of Page’s and Clapton’s playing, it’s no surprise that Zakk’s weapon of choice for much of his career was a Les Paul. Prior to forming his own guitar company, Zakk’s #1 was a 1981 Gibson Les Paul Custom in his signature bullseye finish, which was chosen to visually distinguish himself from Randy Rhoads — his foremost musical influence and fellow former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist. (Coincidentally, Randy was often found playing a Les Paul Custom during his tragically brief career.) Loaded with a pair of EMG humbuckers, Zakk’s ferocious Les Paul playing is more than proof that the grandfather of solidbody instruments can still hang with even the pointiest of modern metal guitars!

Billie Joe Armstrong

A Les Paul Junior is still a Les Paul! For over 30 years, Billie Joe Armstrong’s sneering attitude has formed the core of Green Day’s 3-piece pop-punk formula. And more often than not, you’ll see him slinging a Les Paul Junior. While perhaps not as technical as some of the other players on this list, Billie Joe’s furious power-chord energy is a force to be reckoned with, serving as the catalyst behind classics such as “Basket Case” and “American Idiot.”

Lloyd Morgan, https://www.flickr.com/photos/lloydm/, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Billie Joe’s main Les Paul Junior, a sunburst 1956 model named Floyd, sports a slab body, a single pickup, and a 1-piece bridge. It’s about as utilitarian as guitars get, and it’s the perfect complement to Billie Joe’s no-nonsense rhythm playing. If you’re interested in chunking out some classic Green Day riffs, Sweetwater’s Epiphone Billie Joe Armstrong Les Paul Junior is tailor-made for brash pop-punk power!

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Jared James Nichols

A disciple of many of this list’s blues-rock virtuosos, Jared James Nichols is bringing the Les Paul’s powerful tone to a whole new generation of listeners. As the leader of his own power trio (Cream-era Clapton would surely be proud), Jared’s emotive vocals and rough-and-ready pick-less guitar playing have made him a formidable force in modern rock music.

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While he can often be found playing his vintage 1953 Les Paul, dubbed Ole Red, Jared is the sole player on our list that’s famous for playing an Epiphone Les Paul! Old Glory is a single pickup Goldtop model with a wraparound bridge, and its old-school P-90 bite is a key to Jared’s garage-infused blues rock. In fact, he even partnered with Gibson to introduce Old Gloryto the world with the Epiphone Jared James Nichols Gold Glory Les Paul Custom, and you can get one right here at Sweetwater!

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Lester’s Legend Lives On

While this article covers some of our favorite Les Paul slingers, the world’s most iconic set-neck solidbody’s influence is so great that an entire book could be written on its most famous players. If you’d like to get set up with your own Les Paul (or if you simply want to argue with us about the article’s lack of Peter Green, Ace Frehley, Joe Perry, Peter Green, or Joe Bonamassa), make sure to give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700!
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