To be part of the upcoming Exceptional Sale at Christie's in New York City in October, the iconic instrument is being offered up at auction by Paul's son, Gene, and engineer and producer Tom Doyle.
- Aug 23, 2021
AceShowbiz - The earliest approved model of the Gibson Les Paul guitar, owned by Les Paul, is going under the hammer at auction.
The instrument, which the guitar god called "Number One", will be part of the upcoming Exceptional Sale at Christie's in New York City in October.
Paul and Gibson bosses developed the guitar in the early 1950s as a rival to Fender's new Telecaster, the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar. The Gibson Les Paul would become the most popular guitar ever made.
"Number One" is being offered up at auction by Paul's son, Gene Paul, and engineer and producer Tom Doyle, who tells Rolling Stone, "Les brought his idea to Gibson and they initially dismissed it outright, but Les was dogged. He held strong to his ideas and his beliefs, knowing that someday they would see the light."
"Les kept tinkering and inventing, and making his concept better and better. Then finally, after about 10 years and after lots of trial and error, the good folks at Gibson presented this very guitar to Les. He was smitten, and he was overjoyed... and the rest, as they say, is history."
Gene Paul adds, "This was the most historically significant, valuable, pivotal, and important guitar to my father, his crowning achievement."
Christie's consultant and Musical Instruments Specialist, Kerry Keane, also weighs in on the iconic guitar. "In any creation narrative there are always multiple protagonists, but the name Les Paul ranks at the pinnacle when discussing the electric guitar," he states.
"His development of multi-track recording, and audio effects like delay, echo, and reverb all profoundly influenced how music is reproduced and heard. Yet his lifelong search and development in perfecting the electric guitar would forever change the instrument," Keane continues.
"That transformation is responsible for the successful careers for generations of guitarists that performed on the Les Paul guitar. This guitar physically embodies his endless passion that produced the most iconic musical instrument in popular culture."
