Gibson Guitar along with the Gibson Foundation have announced a very special tribute to the late, great Les Paul to be held at the historic Ryman Auditorium, former home to the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville on Thursday, November 19, 2009. The tribute concert program will be free to the many fans of Les Paul and Gibson Guitar. Les Paul, the innovator and inventor who passed away at 94 years old this past August was known throughout the world as the man who created multi-track recording and the father of the electric guitar. Many musicians pay homage to Les Paul and credit their careers and musicianship directly to him.
Gibson Guitar along with some of music’s most respected celebrities will join together to celebrate the life of Les Paul during a night of music, special announcements, video tributes and testimonials and storytelling. The event marks the first tribute held by the guitar maker in honor of Les Paul. Many other programs and special events will continue to take place throughout the year and early 2010 to mark anniversary dates significant to Les Paul’s life and in an effort to preserve the legacy of the man who made modern music what it is today. The Ryman Auditorium is located at 116 Fifth Avenue North, Nashville, Tennessee, 37219
Les Paul’s son, Russ Paul, along with Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President Terry Stewart will emcee the 90 minute program which will begin at 8pm at the Ryman (doors open at 7pm CT). The Les Paul Trio, widely known for their Monday night performances with Les Paul at the Iridium in New York while Les was alive, will serve as house band and be joined on stage by musical great Steve Miller, also Les Paul’s godson. The evening will be a mix of Les Paul’s music and instrumentals and supported by chart-topping musical acts own memories of Les Paul and their own performances in tribute to the man, the music and the guitar.
Joining Steve Miller for the show will be rock’s elite including Joan Jett, Ace Frehley, Zakk Wylde and Jennifer Batten. Joining them will be contemporary artist Josh Kelly and Nashville’s own country hit-makers John Rich, Emerson Drive, JD Souther and Steve Wariner. NY Jazz artist Sarah Partridge will perform a special rendition of Les’ own version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow while Anna Wilson will take the stage to perform her personal jazz remembrance.
In addition to the musical performances, legendary artists including Scotty Moore (Elvis Presley) and Lou Pallo of the Les Paul Trio will give personal stories from the stage about their experiences with Les Paul. Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz will tell a very special story that relates back to Les Paul’s early childhood and his experience at the Ryman Theatre while President of Gibson Guitar, Dave Berryman shares some entertaining tales of working with Les Paul. The audience will also be treated to exclusive video testimonials from globally recognized artists including Slash, Billy Gibbons, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter and many more. Additional surprises will be planned and announced throughout the show. Seating is limited and interested fans who would like to register for free tickets are advised to consult www.gibson.com for a future announcement on how to obtain these tickets. Gibson Guitar expects to announce this system no later than October 26, 2009. Tickets will be limited to 4 per person per household.
For more information, please visit www.gibson.com
This is a Press Release
Tickets for the Les Paul Tribute Concert are free and open to the general public. Seating is limited and interested fans must visit http://www.gibson.com/LesPaulTribute/ for a special link and password in order to obtain tickets.
Tickets are limited to 4 per person per household. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to verify that they will be in Nashville on November 19th before reserving tickets.
I’m so sad that I only got to visit with Les once in 1950 but sold his guitars when they were first introduced in 1952 Of all the pictures I have of other artists only Les gets the royal treatment of the only one on my wall of the autographed 8 x 10 he gave me at that visit with him in 1950.