Something to think about..

[Darth Stang]

What if Keith Richards didnt his his 59 Burst in 1964 and get the ball rolling to the resurgence of the Les Paul? I know that Jimmy Page and even Albert Lee were playing customs before Richards, but neither of them were superstars yet like Richards at the time. Do you think Gibson would have some day brought the guitar back anyway, maybe under a different name? And what would you guess an original 58-60 would be valued today?

 

[marcarco]

That seems like a pretty big "if" to me.

 

[Darth Stang]

That seems like a pretty big "if" to me.

Yeah it is. But thats the point. How one event no matter how small can totally change history. What if he had picked up a 125T instead? Think we would be on a board now talking about them? And would they be worth six figures?

 

[defcrew]

When the world ends three things shall remain--Keith Richards, cock roaches and Brett Favre. At that time the answer to this question will be revealed.

 

[acstorfer]

When the world ends three things shall remain--Keith Richards, cock roaches and Brett Favre. At that time the answer to this question will be revealed.

If I were a cockroach, I would be pretty pissed off about you lumping me in that group.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I think Clapton still would have tried one out and gone with it ... and I think that his use was what made a 'Paul the guitar of choice for blues-rockers who became the backbone of classic rock.

 

[Dino Velvet]

Clapton freely admits it was all hero worship. He bought the LP because he saw pictures of Muddy and the Kings playing them. Same with Keith. They thought if we had those guitars we would be just like those guys. Teenage hero worship.

 

[JMB1984]

Im with the others. I just don't know that it was Keith Richards that inspired them to pick up a Les Paul.

 

[defcrew]

If I were a cockroach, I would be pretty pissed off about you lumping me in that group.

Well, you don't get to choose family.

 

[splatter]

IMHO while the rolling stones were a big influence on rock and roll I don't think that Keith Richards was that big of an influence on guitar players . So I don't thin it would have mattered

 

[Ansen]

Speculations about speculations..

 

[Shawn Lutz]

does Kieth Richards play guitar? Learn something new every day

Sorry but I believe you are way overstating the importance of Keef on the Les Paul model fiddle. Not many people buy Les Pauls because of Keef. Clapton, Bloomfield, Page and yeah the man Les Paul.

 

[Darth Stang]

I dont think of Richards first when I think of the Les Paul. But he was the first Hugely Famous guitarist to pick one up after Gibson Stopped production. And tons of folks have said that after seeing The Stones on the Ed Sullivan Show in 64 that they had to have a Les Paul. So here we have the first rock star guitarist, playing a guitar that nobody would buy, on arguably the biggest tv show on the air. And that didnt have an affect on the resurgence? I didnt say it was all Richards doing, simply said he got the ball rolling. But what if he hadnt?

 

[defcrew]

I always associate the LP with the Allman Brothers who were, obviously,a little further down the time line but I have always heard about Richards being the one who pulled it out of mothballs and popularized it. did someone above really say that he has not influenced that many guitarists? Holy Smoke! You've got to be kidding. I would almost wager he has influenced more than anybody. Is he a virtuoso? No. He is better than that. He is a stylist who you can recognize immediately upon hearing him. The man is a genius.

 

[TheNoodler]

Gibson bringing back the Les Paul had to do with Bloomfield and had nothing to do with Richards.