The company began in 1936 but Gibson guitars took hold of the 1960's with both hands. With the phenomenal growth of rock 'n' roll the solid body electric guitar which evolved in the fifties became the ultimate accessory for the young guitarist wishing to achieve fame and fortune.
The era produced many famous Gibson guitar models like the Double Cutaway SG, the Firebird and the Flying V. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Peter Green, Chet Atkins all big names of the guitar, played Gibson guitars. And one of Gibson's triumphs - the Les Paul model was, and still is, in the hands of a boatload of guitar playing pioneers. The Les Paul model was the company's response to public enthusiasm for the electric guitar. Les Paul was arguably the most popular electric guitar player in the world who had previously invented his own solid body electric guitar. He was signed up by the Gibson company to lend his name to their new guitar and actually made some design suggestions which may or may not have been followed up, according to who you listen to.
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Famous Les Paul players include: Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), Bumblefoot (Guns N' Roses), Lindsey Buckingham, Vivian Campbell (Def Leppard), Chris Chasse (Rise Again), Graham Coxon (Blur), Eric Clapton, Steve Clark (Def Leppard), Sheryl Crow, Al Di Meola, Andy Dunlop (Travis), Elliot Easton (Cars), David "The Edge" Evans (U2), Don Felder (Eagles), John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Noel Gallagher (Oasis), Jerry Garcia (The Grateful Dead), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam), Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac), Steve Hackett (Genesis), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), George Harrison, Jimi Hendrix, James Hetfield (Metallica), Noel Hogan (The Cranberries), James Honeyman-Scott (The Pretenders), Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones), Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Terry Kath (Chicago), Frank Lero (My Chemical Romance), Kerry Livgren (Kansas), Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Bob Marley, Joe Perry (Aerosmith), Tom Scholz (Boston), Neal Schon (Santana, Journey), Earl Slick (David Bowie),Brad Whitford (Aerosmith), Nancy Wilson (Heart), and Neil Young
