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ALL-STAR LES PAUL 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

dennis

June 13th, 2015

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ALL-STAR LES PAUL 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Gibson Guitar invited me and my wife Millie to attend the All-Star Les Paul 100th Anniversary Celebration last Tuesday night at the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC. Some of the best rock guitarists in the world were there to honor and remember Les Paul. I had the chance to play with Les at the Playhouse Theater in Cleveland. He invented the electric guitar and created the Gibson Les Paul model.
“Some guys like Les Paul, confinement couldn’t hold them so they had to invent stuff,” said blues guitar veteran Joe Louis Walker from outside Manhattan’s Hard Rock Café, where he and dozens of other musicians gathered on June 9th for the Les Paul 100th Anniversary Celebration event. “If it wasn’t for Les Paul, what would we all be playing?” Walker continued. “Acoustic boxes don’t do too good at Madison Square Garden.”
Some of the guitarists who performed at the Hard Rock Café were Lou Paulo as part of the Les Paul Trio with special guest guitarist Frank Vignola, Neal Schon (Journey), Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Hayes (Govt. Mule), and Steve Miller. When I heard these guys play, I realized that Les would have been proud of their skills and the sounds they got from his invention. Great guitar playing is alive and well in spite of computers. I really liked Joe Bonamassa. He is a great player and can really sing the blues. I was surprised that half of the guitarists didn’t sing. They just played amazing guitar solos and the audience loved it! Here is a picture of me at the event and YouTube videos of some of the guitarists.

Guitarist Dennis Coffey at Les Paul Event

Dennis Coffey at Les Paul Event

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Dennis Coffey