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Country pickers who play LPs?

Koko Brown

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Jan 30, 2008
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I know we're mostly rockers here, but I sure like me some good real country picking. The Tele is the primary weapon of choice, obviously, but what country pickers have been known to use a Les Paul? I've seen Roy Nichols and Clint Strong with LPs and saw some old footage of one of Jimmy Dickens' pickers using a LP, but who else?
 

mmcquain

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The guys in Montgomery Gentry play Les Pauls some times. Keith Urban has been know to strap one on. Watch CMT for a while and you'll actually see several Gibsons. Of course, today's "Country" was called "Southern Rock" 20 years ago... :)
 

Koko Brown

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...except Southern rock was good back in the day!
Steve Gaines was a fine country picker, but I'm talking more about pickers from back in the day. Did Jerry Reed ever play a LP in public? I've seen him with Gretsches, Fenders, Peaveys but never a Les Paul.
Just remembered that I've seen the late, great Grady Martin with a Les Paul.
 

honkytone

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I've seen Jerry Reed on youtube playing a late 60's LP Standard through some old Ampegs. It was on Porter Wagner's show. Unbelieveable! I think I accessed the link from a thread on here actually.
 

27sauce

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I know Pete Anderson uses/used all kinds of Gibsons over the years in places where I swore it was Fender. He has a nice R8 and recent ES-345, as well as a herd of P-90 guitars.
 

GuitarDean

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Lee Roy Parnell (with Ira Stanley in the background) @ the Les Paul Jam 2008
P1050568.jpg
 

mmcquain

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I've seen Jerry Reed on youtube playing a late 60's LP Standard through some old Ampegs. It was on Porter Wagner's show. Unbelieveable! I think I accessed the link from a thread on here actually.
Yep, I can't seem to find the link now but I've seen the same one.
 

Señor Verde

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When I've been to Nashville, none of the musicians I saw played Les Pauls, or any Gibsons for that matter.
 

pmdriver965

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Saw Montgomery Gentry recently, and the whole show was Gibsons through Peaveys - the lead guitar was a Firebird through a 5150, everything else was Les Pauls.

Jerry Reed's Youtube clips got yanked a few weeks ago, but Jerry picked the living daylights out of a standard on Porter Wagoner's show.

I've seen them onstage with Rascal Flatts, Gentry, Toby Keith's band, Keith Anderson, Kellie Pickler, Craig Morgan and Kenny Chesney. Watch the awards shows or CMT and you'll see plenty of Les Pauls, but Fender is still very well represented in the genre.
 
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05hummer

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I've seen Jerry Reed on youtube playing a late 60's LP Standard through some old Ampegs. It was on Porter Wagner's show. Unbelieveable! I think I accessed the link from a thread on here actually.



I believe it was a deluxe with goof hiders... I'm trying to find the link..Very good video of his talant...:salude
 

DannyBoy

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Clint Strong played with Merl Haggard for a long time. I only saw him use Les Pauls back then.
 

DannyBoy

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Roy Clark used lots of Gibsons. Man- that guy could really PLAY when he wanted to.
 

oldog

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I've seen the late Grady Martin several times with Willie Nelson and he always played a Les Paul Custom
 

keef

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Charlie Daniels (with his renecked burst I guess) and Tommy Crain.

Charlie_Daniels_Tommy.jpg



Country singer Thelma had a burst...seen here, but not with Thelma...

tomkeifer130.jpg
 

Bluefinger

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When I've been to Nashville, none of the musicians I saw played Les Pauls, or any Gibsons for that matter.

There are mostly hat acts coming out of Nashville these days. Wranglers, Stetson hats ... they all look and sound the same and so do their musicians. To me it seems like the more musicians you got, the less variety there is.

I remember the movie "Smokey and the Bandit". They go to a dancehall and the guy in the house band plays a goldtop. It was a long time ago so I can't remember if it was a cameo by some famous player or just "somebody". Funny, that's the only thing I can remember from the whole movie ... do you think I'm a gearaholic :)
 

Hammerhead

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I've seen Jerry Reed on youtube playing a late 60's LP Standard through some old Ampegs. It was on Porter Wagner's show. Unbelieveable! I think I accessed the link from a thread on here actually.

I believe this is the thread:

http://www.lespaulforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128205

But the video is gone. :(

I watched some of the CMA awards show last year and just about everybody was playing Gibsons.

Unfortunately the music was crappy and about as far from country as you can get IMO.
 

27sauce

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There are mostly hat acts coming out of Nashville these days. Wranglers, Stetson hats ... they all look and sound the same and so do their musicians. To me it seems like the more musicians you got, the less variety there is.

I remember the movie "Smokey and the Bandit". They go to a dancehall and the guy in the house band plays a goldtop. It was a long time ago so I can't remember if it was a cameo by some famous player or just "somebody". Funny, that's the only thing I can remember from the whole movie ... do you think I'm a gearaholic :)

That could'nt be further from the truth, new "hat acts" have been gone for about the last fifteen years, with the exception of Brad Paisley. Like it said in an earlier post, mainstream, pop, radio country is pretty close to southern rock, lots of Gibson tones played by session guitarist Tom Bukuvac among others. Watch CMT for a bit, you'll be suprised at what is "country" now. Nashville is trying really hard to be hip lately, its coming across pretty cheesy IMO.
 

RiverRatt

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That could'nt be further from the truth, new "hat acts" have been gone for about the last fifteen years, with the exception of Brad Paisley.

Are you saying Brad Paisley can't play? I'm no country fan, but I give credit where credit is due. That boy can play the hell out of a guitar. Go check out some of his soundclips on the Dr. Z website.
 

Bluefinger

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That could'nt be further from the truth, new "hat acts" have been gone for about the last fifteen years, with the exception of Brad Paisley. Like it said in an earlier post, mainstream, pop, radio country is pretty close to southern rock, lots of Gibson tones played by session guitarist Tom Bukuvac among others. Watch CMT for a bit, you'll be suprised at what is "country" now. Nashville is trying really hard to be hip lately, its coming across pretty cheesy IMO.

I have to admit that I have lost what was left of my interest in country music quite a while a go. Things may have changed meanwhile. Last thing I knew was when every singer tried to be a George Strait or Allan Jackson clone and the lineup on almost every cd was, Brent Mason, Larry Franklin or Stuart Duncan, Paul Franklin, Mark Casstevens, Matt Rollings, Glenn Worf and a couple of others. If you put all the musicians together you could hardly form two complete bands. They are all great but everything sounded the same.
I know a little Montgommery Gentry, Keith Urban and such but that's guitar pop to me. When I think Southern Rock I think Skynyrd and the Allmans. That's more like it ...
I still prefer old Hank, Bob Wills and Bill Monroe ... the cheesy new stuff bores me to death ...
 

27sauce

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Are you saying Brad Paisley can't play? I'm no country fan, but I give credit where credit is due. That boy can play the hell out of a guitar. Go check out some of his soundclips on the Dr. Z website.


Oh no, didnt mean for it to come across that way. Brad Paisley is up there on my top 10 list, I am a huge fan. What I meant by hat act was the traditional country acts like Paisley, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, George Straight, and so on. The guitar playing is great on the new stuff, like Trace Adkins, Big and Rich and a bunch of others I cant think of, but the songs are really bad IMO.

Just wanted to clear that up, no hate at all to Paisley, quite the opposite.
 
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