I was saying that through the whole video. What about Tom Scholz?

Well said !

Agree! 👍

True…

The opening riff sounded like it was lifted from Boston or Journey..

Yup, he was one of the first names that popped into my head.

Pete Townshend, very interesting musician !

@@louisbelanger8792 chec out his drummer !

I think that's what first got me interested in Les Pauls!

I believe Townsend used a Deluxe with the mini humbuckers. A lot of folks complain about the 70's Deluxes, but I have one and it plays and sounds great, but it's a backbreaker at close to 12 lbs!

Ronson's playing and tone with the panned slapback on Ziggy was incredible. Great vibrato too, as good as Kossof's, but different. He looked as cool as Page, maybe cooler.

I wholeheartedly agree. Mick Ronson’s Moonage Daydream solo was pure magic

Didn’t he play his Les Paul on Blow by Blow?

Mr Beck did use a Les Paul, but, my opinion, he is a legend with the Fender Stratocaster 🎸

Beck used Les Paul since 1966 on Yardbirds records also. Layed great psych pop tracks of ‘66 sadly not a lot records of him from 1967 but all his JBG albums sounded great.

Definitely. Jeff used a Les Paul on Truth, Blow by Blow, and on the BBA album.

@@markmalanaphy3374over time,yes, as he played a Strat for a lot longer, but his playing on Truth was influential to a lot of guitar players, especially newer ones and also those who started playing at least in part due to Truth. And Blow by Blow also did something similar So he would deserve a place on a list such as this, no matter how Strat he was.

I absolutely agree! 💯 %!

Mick Taylor changed MY world when I heard him play on the Stones, "Get Yer Ya Ya's Out !"

And his 59 Les Paul was bought from Stones band mate Keith Richards who played it on many of their early TV appearances.

True dat

💯 on that one. Mick Taylor is one of the greatest les Paul players ever

His cousin, Linda Keith, brought Jimi Hendrix to the attention of Chas Chandler, who brought Jimi to the attention of the world!

Kosoff's Vibrato was amazing!

Have to agree, tone, vibrato and playing were all outstanding and gave leftva phenomenal legacy

Kossoff ? ... Absolutely !!!

Koss could make his burst sting, sing, weep, wail, he was along with God, (on the 8th Day he created his Stairway), Koss was the most emotive passionate player i personally have ever heard. He didn't need a million notes in one bar to make you feel. He could wring his guitars neck!

Much of Moore's recordings were him using Peter Green's epic 'Burst. Just sayin'.

​@@DavidSmith-ss1cgNot really, he did use the PG LP on a chunk of his blues based albums, but he primarily used other Les Paul's such as the so-called "Stripe" LP on many albums and live performances.

Amen brother!

I agree,,his 59 or now called "GREENY" is absolutely an iconic guitar. Peter Green,Gary Moore,now Kirk Hammett

@@JAWS-7675Yes far too little mention of Gary Moores contribution to the Blues. Also Peter Green and far too much time on Crapton (no no a misspelling, just an overrated musician.)

Dude, you beat me to it. Gary was the man for Les Pauls. I play a Les Paul through a Marshall because of Gary Dean Richrath, not Jimmy fucking Page or anyone else. Gary truly made it talk and sing like nobody else could. I really appreciate you mentioning him so early in the comments. RIP Gary.

​@@kevinstaggs5048the best, I agree

He certainly could wring notes out of his GibbStones

nailed it

I was about to suggest Fripp. He made almost as great an impact on my teen mind than Page did and, with Keith Emerson for keys, he basically laid the blueprint for prog on the first King Crimson album. Fripp used his 3 pickups black beauty in a completely different way than any other player I'd heard before. But my nickname in high school was Led Zep so that tells you where my main loyalties were ;) But in spite of all that, I remain a dedicated Strat player to this day ;) That's due mainly to Hendrix and Gilmour but also Edge, Adrian Belew, SRV and many others in the 80s but especially Andy Summers who's Tele/Strat single cold tones really resonated deeply for me like few other players ever did. The Police is the sound of my late teens and early 20s so it's part of my musical DNA as much as my earlier influences are. It would be great if you did a list like this for Strat then Tele players. I know that many view the Les Paul as the most iconic rock guitar but I disagree and would place the Strat first.

Crip layed down the law on 21st century schizoid man.

Also mellow on in I talk to the wind.

YEAH !

Just because there is NO doubt ;)

Kossoff was an absolute master and deserves to be up there.

Agreed .. Kossoff’s playing style, tone and riffs pretty much influenced the whole rock genre at the time (and beyond).. everyone wanted to be like Kossoff.

I am hesitant to use a word that gets overused in these conversations, but Kossoff is one of the most underrated guitarists. He is almost always left off these lists. That footage of him leaning back on a Marshall stack at the Isle of Wight during the Mr Big solo is as iconic as it gets

Agreed… also the whole of the Isle of White performance, Kossoff’s playing is truly sublime..

And let's not forget fire and water live performance

Harpo was the real musical showman among the brothers. Harpo had no formal harp training and as a result his playing techniques were unique unto themselves. BTW - I can't play harp, but a good friend was a much in demand professional harp player who did decades of research into harp, movie music and various harp players throughout time.

Astute remark.

And his Epiphone signature guitar is a Les Paul.

To be fair, Alex Lifeson has played quite a few different guitars over the course of his career. He was playing PRS guitars at the time I caught my first Rush concert (in '94 during the Counterparts tour), and I won't say that didn't influence my decision to buy a PRS in the late '90s. :)

He loves his Les Pauls too. That’s what he played when I saw him a couple of years ago.

Joe W. has always been a tone-ologist like Jimmy page. Joe always gets the short end of guitarist ratings. Sounds like this guy chose his favorites of his era over who actually deserves to be there. And what about the current Joe who is hugely influential today? Joe B.

Joe was on my list. He got me playing after hearing Funk #49 and the whole Rides Again album.

Right - I would take Joe Perry over the Thin Lizzy guys.

X2 !! Perry should have been in the top 3 !!. Behind Gibbons and Page.

​@@mikedr1549 over Gary Moore? Joe Perry was adequate for Aerosmith, but he's no Gary Moore.

@@bokononx4606 True - but I feel like Aerosmith (Joe Perry) was more influential.

On a interview with Sammy Hagar he said his playing is comparable to Joe Parry. @@bokononx4606

Justin, I’m with you. No other player has created such a full catalog of timeless, tasteful, emotionally relevant and technically brilliant songs as diverse as Jimmy Page. He’s the main reason I play and why the Les Paul is my favorite guitar.

Agreed 150% Page , is a musical genius.

​@@foesfly3047I feel the same , Page influenced me to pickup the guitar, especially the Les Paul . 😅

Everything you've written - i could have written myself. Mr. Page is the GOAT.

@@saint.vitus.7775 every Page fan 😉 know's and every Page hater know's 😭 that Page is the GOAT undisputed hands down .

I agree. I was thinking of making about the same comment, but read yours, so I'll just agree with you. I want to add that; It's probably just me, but I had rather listen to Dickey Betts than any on his list, including his number one. To each his own.

Absolutely, Toy was phenomenal

The album cover by itself should be on this list, let alone the music.

⬆️ Ditto to both of you guys here. Jeff exhausted the Les Paul and the use of a pick in RECORD TIME. He was in a hurry to get to the “grown up” Fender…. That creamy dreamy Strat with a whammy to wake yer old Grammy. Then he promptly exhausted the Fender too.🎸🎸🎸🎸 Saw it all happen live over the years and back to back shows on his last tour. Roll ovah Les Paula and let Beckola take Ovah‼️🎼🎸

I'm pretty sure FZ was playing a Les Paul Goldtop during the Hot Rats sessions, which for me was the real start of his seriousness with guitar.

I saw FZ play his LP from the fifth row (with binoculars) in1979. It was like watching an instructional video on TV.

I love his playing on the first three Focus albums especially

Goed dat je Jan noemt. Santana is beïnvloed door Jan. Dit zegt Santana zelf in een interview. Dus Jan reikt idd worldwide!!!!

Not sure Aakermans guitar was Gibson .

@@MrSmegfish When Focus hit the charts I the UK in 1973 he was playing a Les Paul. He's played various Gibsons and other guitars over the years, not to mention the lute. Last year Gibson released an Akkerman signature Les Paul but it was a very short run and only available in the Netherlands and France.

@MrSmegfish just going by live performances, he used a Les Paul Custom a lot in the early years (my favourite era is until the Focus III). Check the great BBC Old Grey Whistle Test performances. I know he used and had a signature Framus, among other things.

Absolutely! I saw Leslie West with Jack Bruce and I believe it was Carmen Appice on drums but I don't remember it's been so long. What I do remember is Leslie playing that Les Paul junior through three hiwatt stacks! His playing was phenomenal but it was so brutally loud my hearing would go out when he would play those really high notes!

I lost my brain the first time I heard “Elegant Gypsy”.

I agree. Dickie Betts was one of the greats.

I didn't see your comment until i posted and you nailed it, I bought a gold top Les Paul in 1974 because of him and learned "Blue Sky" years later. Dickey loved his E major scale. -- I still am not that good but I try.

I agree. Betts number one, for me, though.

I agree; Bloomfield influenced the old British guys at LEAST as much as any old Blues guitar hero - many of them criminally under - exposed by racist US music industry policies.

Mike Bloomfield is one of the most under-appreciated guitarists of all time. His tone alone on the "Live Super Sessions" recording is sublime.

I agree on both guitars,when Bloomfield was "on" I don't think anyone could touch him, control of his instument,ahead of his time as far as noth playong cliche licks and that tone,you knew it was him

I would agree except for the fact that everything Scholz recorded sounded the same. It sounded great, but a little diversity would've been interesting to hear.

@@820hurleyj Gibbons hasn't changed his guitar tone in 50 years.

@@thespacealienssmogandgrog4283 I disagree, 80's Era ZZ Top is vastly different tonally in contrast to the first 3 albums.

@@Torquemonster440 I'm talking a his guitar tone. All they did was add keyboards and commercial choruses in the 80s.

@@thespacealienssmogandgrog4283 I won't argue that, but why mess with perfection. Head's in Mississippi has the perfect ZZ Top tone IMHO.

I searched to see if anyone else had mentioned Paul Kossoff, for me one of the iconic Les Paul players. Robert Fripp used Les Pauls until the 1980's and his playing has been incredibly influential

Totally. You beat me to it. Hey Keith, you might want to do a list of punk guitarists. And there's also your namesake Keith Richards as a brief but influential LP slinger.

Too right! I saw him play a Custom on the reunion tour at Brixton a while back. I hear he played a Jnr on the Pistols album, but not entirely sure.

True and perhaps Gibson got as much of a lifeline from him as much as Slush. Took me a long time to realise how brilliant he was in his simplicity.

Steve Jones recorded the album with a P90s equipped Junior Les Paul and the sound also came from producer Chris Thomas and recording engineer.Bill Price.

@brutallyremastered4255 "Slush", love it 😄

Peter Green, Joe Perry, Slash… 🤔

Neil wrote and performed some great classic songs. But in a 1-10 scale, I'd rank him as a 3 on playing skill. And his best stuff was usually on acoustic.

I do agree, I think Neil definitely earned a spot

If you're talking about influence Neil is the "Godfather of Grunge"... maybe not technical, but that's hardly the point of music. Shame he didn't get a mention.

@@grantstewart6079 To be the godfather of two musical genres, grunge and country-rock, whilst forging his own winding path through the business is enough to stick him on this list. His technique may be primal but he is one of my most influential Les Paul players,

Peter Greens burst is a legend. Also his pick up configuration

@@MrSmegfish oh yeah 😃👍👍❤🤟🤙🎸🤙really , and I don't know how young guitarists don't like him or simply knowing him !!! It's a shame and a Sin 😔😔🙋🏻‍♂️Hi

Mick Ronson alongside Bowie.

Dickey Betts

Man thx For Mentioning Brother Duane Allman.

Yes, Ronson and Page are the reason I bought a Les Paul with hard saved paper route money in the mid 70's. Schon is a decent enough player I guess, but I never liked Journey or purposely listened to them for even a second. I never got to see Mick Ronson with Bowie unfortunately, but I did get to see him in Ian Hunter's band a couple times and he was fantastic.

I don't know if If pull Neal out of the list but I'm in agreement that Mick was a Les Paul maestro.

I was there; in Europe, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Thin Lizzy hugged much of the exposure time allocated to "old-timey" Rock groups, and also, there was a distinct "Eddie Who?" movement.

He played a special though didn’t he? I think Keith was focusing on standards and customs

My bad. I must have skipped over that one.@@danielhoskins4690

Everbody does , he was ahead of his time…….. just look at the guitar named after him

He was literally the first person mentioned in the video, though?

@@hudsonja the video wasn't available yet

@fredman727 fair enough. No way I would have known that though.

Hey Jeff, I just saw this post from you. Man you really have magic touch and wonderful phrasing. By the way, phenomenal rendition of, well we both know. Much love brother!

And, ironically, Santana inspired me to get a PRS, and yet, many of his iconic songs were recorded on a Les Paul (besides the ones on his SG, Yamaha and PRs guitars)…

Thanks Pierre

I too was wondering about Leslie West, surely he deserved an honorable mention!

Ol' Black

Bet ol Neil is cringing day and night after writing keep on rocking in the free world then taking his music off Spotify cos he. didn’t like Joe Rogan who has 1000% been proved right .

Freddie is my favourite of the 'Kings'

Listening to Freddie King’s catalog continues to amaze me. Suddenly you realize that Jimi Hendrix didn’t appear out of nowhere. How many of Freddie’s licks have become part of later, great guitar players’ basic vocabulary? And he had a way of phrasing, touch rhythm- heck I don’t know what to call it - that had a very vocal quality to it. Maybe that’s the magic of a Les Paul: it can sing notes no human can reproduce.

Unforgettable Marc Bolan ❤

That’s coming

@@fivewattworld and thats why you guys are the best!!

Will there be a 3.5 hour director’s cut?

I too, was pleased to see Billy in this list. He has never gotten as much credit as he deserves. I think Martin Barre also deserves a LOT more credit than he receives.

same here I get what you mean and it does something I play with more percussion idk if that's spelled right anyway I get it

@@rayfabris2512Les Pauls does mind & body good! 😎

@@fordhammie yes I agree 👍