ZZ Top guitarist recalls first Les Paul

ZZ Top's Billy F. Gibbons is among the all-star guests on the new collection, Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played. He joins the guitar legend on a rendition of Moon Mullins' "Bad Case Of Lovin' You." But long before they met, Gibbons was a fan of Paul's guitars and told us he bought his first one after seeing a photo of Eric Clapton playing a Les Paul in the mid-1960s:
[ click here to listen if you have a Backstage Pass] "A buddy of mine said, 'There's a farmer that used to play guitar and he's got one of those guitars that you've been looking for.' Turned out to be a 1959 Les Paul, the sunburst model. We went and checked it out and he said 'Well, I'd like to get $250 for it.'"

Gibbons paid for the guitar with money from a female friend, who had driven his 1936 Packard to Los Angeles and sold it when she got there.

ZZ Top perform on Saturday, September 10th, at the Clay County Fair in Spencer, Iowa.

Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played debuted on Wednesday, September 7th, at Number 154 on the Billboard Top 200 chart with first-week sales of 6,554.
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