THE STORY BEHIND THE GIBSON LES PAUL "LUCY" OWNED BY ERIC CLAPTON AND GEORGE HARRISON
Here's the story about George Harrison's Les Paul "Lucy" as it appears in the book "Beatles Gear, All the Fab Four's Instruments, From Stage to Studio" by Andy Babiuk. Don't mind the British spellings: Quote: George's Lucy, the Gibson Les Paul
By the summer of 1968 more new guitars and other gear had crept into The Beatles camp. In August, Harrison acquired a guitar with a unique history, his now famous Gibson Les Paul, known as Lucy. Later, as we shall see, Harrison would have to chase Lucy half way around the world in order to bring her back from hiding. But the first public indication of the new arrival in the guitar collection had come in Mal Evan's (Beatles roadie) monthly column for "The Beatles Monthly Book".
Evans, discussing the recording of Harrison's new song 'Not Guilty', wrote: "This is one of two August recordings you won't hear on the album because they were dropped at the last minute in favour of more recent numbers . . . Interesting note - he used Lucy for the first time on this session. Lucy is the fantastic solid red Gibson guitar that was given to George at the beginning of August by Eric Clapton. Recording began on August 7th at EMI Studios." The Beatle roadie's report puts to rest the myth that Clapton ceremoniously gave the Les Paul to Harrison after Clapton had played the lead guitar on 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps'. Clapton would not record his celebrated solo on that track until September 6th.
Gibson had first offered a solid body Les Paul model for sale in 1952, just two years after Fender's shock introduction of the brand new solidbody-style electric guitar. Gibson's instrument was typically well crafted, offering fine playability and good workmanship, and was soon being offered with a pair of the company's powerful noise-cancelling humbucking pickups. By 1968 many guitarists, particularly those playing in blues-rock or similar style, were alert to the Les Paul's ability to provide a fat, sustaining sound well suited to their musical requirements, and the instruments - older 1950s models as well as new "reissues" - were enjoying a fresh burst of popularity.
Source: B&B Guitars
