40 Gibson Players Through The Years
Published on 14 November 2024
Gibson guitars have been played by some of the most loved, respected and admired musicians in history. In the past, I’ve looked at players who lean towards particular models (see the Top Les Paul and Top SG Players blogs for more!) but today, I wanted to celebrate these people in one place. Acoustic, electric, solidbody and hollow, here’s a list of great musicians who have chosen GIbson again and again to make their art.
It’s not exhaustive - because how could it be? Gibson have been popular for 70 years! - but it’s hopefully diverse and inclusive, with a mix of inspiring people from all styles and genres. It’s in rough chronological order, so it’s not in order of merit or perceived greatness, either: everyone on this list is a stunning talent!
Robert Johnson
The most mythical guitar player of all time, Robert Johnson was indeed a real guy but you’d never know it, with all the tales of crossroads, soul selling and jealous husbands that supposedly filled up his short life.
His actual life remains somewhat mysterious, and we only have a few photos to go by, but those photos do show Johnson posing proudly with his Gibson L-1 acoustic. A man of taste indeed.
Les Paul & Mary Ford
Singer Mary Ford and husband Les Paul were the pop stars of their mist-enshrouded era of the past. Their jazz-inflected songs were as inventive as they were popular, and their influence was massive in the postwar pre-rock ‘n’ roll years. 16 top tens in a four year period? Not bad! As you’d expect, both parties rocked Les’s signature axe, the (wait for it) Gibson Les Paul.
Chuck Berry
The man who made an art out of showmanship, Chuck Berry made his statements with a series of showy looking Gibson ES models, most often the ES-355. He influenced all of the classic rock stars like Keith Richards and Johnny Thunders. Chuck Berry took blues licks and presented them in a fresh context, inventing 50s rock n roll in the process. Praise be!
Peter Green
He was the original owner of Greeny, the famous Les Paul subsequently owned by Gary Moore and now Kirk Hammet. He was the original co-guitarist in Fleetwood Mac, and his work with them (Oh Well, Albatross, Black Magic Woman etc) are still revered today as classics.
Robby Krieger
The Doors were a unique sounding band by anybody’s definition, and their guitarist Robby Krieger had an incredible slide technique that still sounds unique over 50 years later. An SG devotee from the band’s early days, Kriger also had a background in flamenco that added to his unique sound and approach to guitar. Read more about this in our exclusive Doors interview!
Outside of their iconic frontman’s (somewhat undeserved) infamy, is it actually fair to say that the multimillion-selling, super-influential Doors are actually quite an underrated band?
Eric Clapton
He’s mainly associated with a black and white Fender Strat these days, but Clappo was once a confirmed Gibson nut. In fact, perhaps his most influential phase was his early years output, where he played in The Yardbirds, Cream and Bluesbreakers. Not bad! His second ever guitar was a 1964 ES335, and he also played a single pickup Firebird and a ‘64 SG, decorated famously by art collective The Fool.
Jimmy Page
Led Zep’s creative mastermind is obviously a significant figure in the world of Gibson guitars. As long as people play electric guitars, the figure of a tall, skinny Page dressed in his Zoso suit and striding around Madison Square Garden with his ‘Number One’ ‘59 Les Paul Standard will be an indelible and inspiring one.
Neil Young
The mercurial Neil Young has enjoyed a fairly eclectic career, from his early days with Buffalo Springfield and CSNY to an evergreen solo career. Along the way he has played a large range of guitars, but one of his clear favourites is ‘Old Black’, a heavily modified Les Paul Goldtop resprayed black. It has been his main tool for improvised solos for the mainstay of his career.
Steve Howe
Yes’ guitar star Steve Howe is perhaps the best known user of the fabulous ES-175. It has been his main squeeze throughout his entire career with Yes, Asia, GTR and other projects. Fond of using particular guitars for particular albums, Howe has still always preferred his ES175 over everything else, and he’s got a few to choose from: Balafon Books even published a hardcover book in the 90s called The Steve Howe Guitar Collection!
Tony Iommi
In the early days of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi actually played a Stratocaster. Can you even picture that? It’s obscene! For riffs as mighty as his, it’s obvious that something louder, heavier and more devil-shaped was required, so thank goodness he saw sense and picked up a Gibson SG. The world of heavy music would’ve been massively different otherwise!
Angus Young
For most SG fans, it’s normally a question of ‘red or black?’ and that really refers to your preference of Angus Young or Tony Iommi. Really, there are many SG stars out there, but nobody comes close to these two! Of them both, the AC/DC man is perhaps the most immediately recognisable, thanks to his distinctive outfit and stagecraft. The fact that both men have written about 40% of the world’s greatest riffs between them is lost on no one either!
Bob Marley
It’s not always about hard rock and guitar solos with Gibson electric guitars. Jamaican reggae superstar Bob Marley pointedly eschewed guitar histrionics of any kind and still became one of the most influential musicians (and people) the world has ever known.
That said, his guitar of choice was a pretty distinctive brown Gibson Les Paul Special, which he played on Exodus and most of his subsequent work.
Billy Gibbons
Best Les Paul tone ever? That’ll be ‘Reverend Willy’ on his famous ‘59 Les Paul Pearly Gates. Tone, taste and a laid back coolness is what’s on offer here, and that’s enough to make him one of the most beloved rock performers in history. Lord have mercy!
Joan Jett
Armed with attitude, swagger, a ton of charisma and a Gibson Melody Maker, Joan Jett became an enduring pre-punk rock icon. Proving that it wasn’t just the boys who could be legit guitar heroes, Jett became a figure of inspiration for girls and guys across the world who wanted to strike out on their own, on their own terms.
Slash
The very definition of ‘iconic guitar player’, all you need to say is ‘top hat’ and ‘les paul’ and every music fan will understand the reference to Slash. He’s the poster boy for 80s hard rock, and he’s an actual ambassador for Gibson guitars. Welcome to the jungle, baby! You’re gonna diiiiiiiiieeeee!
Lucinda Williams
Songwriting giant Lucinda Williams sadly doesn’t play guitar anymore as a result of illness, but she remains a songwriting force, both on her own and as a collaborator. Her mix of countrified confessionals and rootsy Americana stylings have made her a particularly influential songwriter in the alternative ‘outside of Nashville’ circles.
Throughout her career, Lucinda has preferred the versatility of the Gibson J-45.
Zakk Wylde
Ozzy Osborne’s longest-serving six-stringer, Zakk Wylde is an iconic player in his own right. Bullseye graphic Les Paul Custom? Check. Lightning fast lead lines, with every single note picked? Check. Enduring rock legend status? Double-check!
Jerry Cantrell
Grunge’s darkest riffmonger, Jerry Cantrell has a brutal and punishing sound that is as off-kilter as it is on-point. As lead guitarist, co-vocalist and principal songwriter of Alice in Chains, Cantrell has sown seeds on a dark and beautiful path for decades. With his brand new solo album I Want Blood, he shows no signs of stopping.
Cantrell is a Les Paul Custom man, and also loves a Flying V. Gibson have also honoured him with a signature acoustic model in recent years too, cementing his associations with the brand.
Sheryl Crow
She has one of the best voices in rock, and she does the Rolling Stones better than they’ve done it for about 40 years. She’s Sheryl Crow, and she has enjoyed a stellar career that’s taken her from Michael Jackson backing singer to arena-filler on her own merit.
Sheryl often plays acoustic guitar, as well as electric and bass. She’s even had a successful Gibson Sheryl Crow signature acoustic guitar, which was a painstaking recreation of her favourite 1962 Country & Western.
Billie Joe Armstrong
Green Day frontman Billie Joe may have come through the punk rock ranks playing a sticker-festooned blue Fernandes S-type, but he’s been almost exclusively associated with Gibsons for well over 20 years now.
Whether strumming a J-45 or smashing out chordal riffs on his battery of Les Paul Juniors, Armstrong implicitly understands the power of a good Gibson.
Dave Grohl
Head Foo Fighter and ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl is the acceptable face of rock. Everybody knows him, and everybody can hum at least a few choruses of his songs. He’s in the fabric of modern guitar music, and his guitar of choice is…well, nowadays it’s an Epiphone Dave Grohl Signature, but before that happened, it was better known as a Gibson Trini Lopez signature.
Lzzy Hale
Lzzy Hale is a proper rockstar in an age when there aren’t too many of them around. Dressing the part, assuming the poses and unleashing hard rock fury on her Explorer and Firebird guitars. Halestorm are flying the flag for good old-fashioned rock n roll, and for that, we salute them!
Kirk Hammett
Metallica’s lead guitarist has been into GIbsons longer than it seems. It’s because his graphic-finish ESP guitars are so famous, I suppose, but Hammett was playing a black Gibson Flying V in the mid 80s for sure.
These days, of course, he’s the custodian of the world-famous Greeny Les Paul (get your own Gibson or Epiphone replica!), which he routinely takes on tour with him. Personally, my favourite Hammett-Gibson is the EMG-equipped black 80s Custom, which is the perfect blend of beauty and the beast, if you ask me!
Miranda Lambert
Country superstar Miranda Lambert is a huge proposition around the world. In a career that’s now over two-decades strong, Lambert has gone from TV show singing competitions to winning Grammy and Country Music Association awards.
A longtime Gibson acoustic user, she has recently released a signature acoustic model with Epiphone.
Honourable Mentions
As previously mentioned, this list could go on and on, such is the number of high quality players who love and use Gibson guitars. Even as I’ve been writing this last paragraph, I’ve been jumping back in to add more names to the seemingly never-ending list! Here, then, are equally brilliant Gibson-toting musicians that I don’t quite have the time to write a piece about…
- BB King
- Duane Allman
- Mick Ronson
- Nancy Wilson
- Lenny Kravitz
- Randy Rhoads
- Trent Reznor
- Emmylou Harris
- Joey Santiago
- Paul Landers
- Brandi Carlile
- Buck Dharma
- Adam Jones
- Gary Moore
- Steve Jones
Hopefully some of your favourites made it onto the list! And of course keep playing away: you never know, one day you might one day be joining them on this list!
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