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1910 - "Yankee Doodle Backwards," by vaudeville star Jimmie Johnstone, played on an F-2 mandolin. Johnstone would announce this number, then put his Gibson behind his head, turn his back to his audience and play, "Yankee Doodle." Later, as a Gibson employee, Johnstone kept a high profile as the leader of the Gibson's mandolin ensemble. 1929 - "Tip Toe Through the Tulips," by Nick Lucas. Lucas was featured with his custom-made Nick Lucas Special in Gold Diggers of Broadway and had a number-one hit with this song from the stage show. 1936 - "Terraplane Blues," by Robert Johnson. The only picture of the blues legend with a guitar shows a '20s L-1. Johnson's running mate, Johnny Shines, remembers him having a fondness for Kalamazoos, the Gibson-made budget brand. 1954 - "That's All Right Mama," by Elvis Presley, with Scotty Moore on an EKS-295. Scotty played Gibsons - later a black L-5CES and a natural Super 400CES - for as long as he was with Elvis. 1965 - "My Girl," by the Temptations. The song featured the distinctive opening guitar lines played on an L-5CES. 1969 - "Whole Lotta Love," by Led Zeppelin, which featured Jimmy Page on a Les Paul Standard. 1970 - "The Thrill Is Gone," by B.B. King, playing his ES-355. B.B. had been playing Gibsons for more than 30 years, starting with an L-30 and moving on to an ES-5 and then semi-hollowbodies. B.B. got his own Gibson model, the Lucille, in 1980. 1977 - "Life in the Fast Lane," by the Eagles, with Joe Walsh's lead on a Les Paul Standard. Walsh and his Les Paul took the Eagles out of soft country and into rock 'n' roll. 1992 - "No Matter If You're Black or White," by Michael Jackson, featuring lead guitar riffs by Slash of Guns N' Roses on a sunburst Les Paul. Source: Gibson Guitar Corporation Web site. |
