Gibson guitar

8 Stories

It's Chapter 11 for Guitar Maker to the Stars

Les Paul maker Gibson to 'refocus' on musical instruments

(Newser) - It made what VH1 calls "arguably the most famous guitar in rock," the Les Paul Standard cradled by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. Now Gibson needs help churning out its guitars also favored by David Bowie and John Lennon . The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Tuesday,...

John Lennon's 'Love Me Do' Guitar Sells for $2.4M

Gibson J-160E had gone missing for 50 years, was expected to fetch $800K

(Newser) - An acoustic guitar that John Lennon used to record and write "Love Me Do," ''I Want to Hold Your Hand," and other hit songs sold for $2.4 million at auction. Julien's Auctions said the Gibson J-160E guitar was sold Saturday to an undisclosed...

John Lennon's Lost Guitar Turns Up in Weird Way

Gibson instrument expected to fetch up to $800K

(Newser) - John Lennon last saw his prized J-160E Gibson guitar—the instrument he played when recording "Love Me Do"—in December 1963, during a Beatles Christmas show in a London park. The guitar went missing and stayed that way for about 50 years, when an amateur guitarist realized he'...

10 'Made in America' Items Still Actually Made Here

These iconic brands haven't moved their manufacturing out yet

(Newser) - Who says America is losing its touch? Well TheStreet did earlier this year, listing 10 iconic American brands now made overseas—like Levi's Jeans, Converse sneakers, and even American Girl dolls. But things aren't all bad, and it is Independence Day. So in the spirit of patriotism, TheStreet...

Logging a $15B Racket for Organized Crime
 Logging a $15B Racket 
 for Organized Crime 
report says
Mar 21, 2012 2:46 PM CDT

Logging a $15B Racket for Organized Crime

World Bank says illegal forest operations are big business

(Newser) - Ah, those classic gangster rackets: drugs, prostitution, gambling, and, of course, wood. Illegal logging has become a major endeavor for organized crime, raking in as much as $15 billion a year, according to a new report from the World Bank. Scofflaws with chainsaws are running wild in places such as...

Gibson Guitar Raid Turns Political

Feds investigate possible imports of endangered wood

(Newser) - Allegations of illegal wood imports prompted the Justice Department to raid Gibson Guitar facilities in Tennessee last week. NPR aired the complicated story involving the 100-year old Lacey Act, which prohibits imports of endangered species, including plants, into the US. No formal charges have been pressed, but it appears the...

Les Paul's Genius Will Be Missed
 Les Paul's 
 Genius 
 Will Be 
 Missed
appreciation
Aug 13, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

Les Paul's Genius Will Be Missed

(Newser) - Les Paul's death today at age 94 has the accolades pouring in:
  • Lou Carlozo, True/Slant: "The solid-body Les Paul guitar that Lester developed with Gibson in the early 1950s is rock and roll. Like the Fender Stratocaster, its shape is so synonymous with the genre that any musician can
...

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94
 Music Legend  
 Les Paul Dead at 94 
obituary
Aug 13, 2009 1:05 PM CDT

Music Legend Les Paul Dead at 94

Inventor, guitarist 'changed the course of 20th-century popular music'

(Newser) - Musical innovator and guitar legend Les Paul died today in White Plains, NY. He was 94. A “virtuoso guitarist” himself, in the early 1940s Paul pioneered the “log” guitar, “probably the first solid-body electric guitar," writes Jon Pareles of the New York Times. His popular Gibson...

8 Stories