Looking Back at the Les Paul Tribute at Full Sail Live
The event featured rock legend Pat Travers, a guitar giveaway, and more
(l-r) Full Sail University President Garry Jones, Guitar Center manager Mickey Greer, musician Jeff DeHollander, prize recipient Debbie Carlson, musician Pat Travers, Hard Rock Cafe historian Jeff Nolan
Full Sail University students, staff, and special guests recently gathered to pay tribute to guitar legend and musical innovator Les Paul in a ceremony put together with Guitar Center and Gibson Guitar Corporation at Full Sail Live.
With a career that spanned over 80 years, Les Paul played a key role in the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music, acting as a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar (a credit immortalized through Gibson’s iconic Les Paul model). Beyond his influence on the six-string, he was also the man behind recording innovations that irrevocably changed the way that music is made, including overdubbing, phasing effects, tape delay, and multitrack recording.
“Some of us knew him, and some of us were acquainted with him, but I think all of us are here because we greatly respect a man by the name of Les Paul,” Full Sail University President Garry Jones said in the event’s opening remarks. “He did so much for so many, not just with his great guitar work, musicianship, songwriting, and recording, but also with his great technological innovations that did so much for our industry. He bridged the gap between musicians and studios, and tonight is a great evening to take a moment to pay tribute to a legend.”
The night included speeches from those who had the privilege of working with Paul, as well as those who were greatly influenced by his accomplishments, including Hard Rock Cafe Historian Jeff Nolan, Full Sail Recording Arts Course Director Mike Reaves, Winter Park Guitar Center Manager Mickey Greer, and Michael Wagner, Managing Director for Gibson’s Global Strategic Alliances.
Of course, a tribute to a legend like Les Paul would be incomplete without music, and attendants got plenty of it courtesy of the evening’s house band Roadblock, who rocked out on a stage adorned with (what else?) Les Paul guitars. Local musician J.J. Cooper was also brought onstage to display his 1956 goldtop Les Paul, an instrument passed down to him by his father and estimated by Greer to be worth at least $75,000. The audience was later able to hear the vintage sound of that guitar, courtesy of rock guitar legend Pat Travers.
The ceremony ended with a raffle for a 2009 Gibson Les Paul studio guitar. The event raised $3190 in the drawing, with all proceeds benefiting the MusiCares Foundation, an organization set up to support musicians during times of financial, personal, or medical crisis. Following the announcement of the winner, Les Paul – Chasing Sound!, a documentary on the life of the guitarist, was shown.
With a career that spanned over 80 years, Les Paul played a key role in the evolution of rock ‘n’ roll music, acting as a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar (a credit immortalized through Gibson’s iconic Les Paul model). Beyond his influence on the six-string, he was also the man behind recording innovations that irrevocably changed the way that music is made, including overdubbing, phasing effects, tape delay, and multitrack recording.
“Some of us knew him, and some of us were acquainted with him, but I think all of us are here because we greatly respect a man by the name of Les Paul,” Full Sail University President Garry Jones said in the event’s opening remarks. “He did so much for so many, not just with his great guitar work, musicianship, songwriting, and recording, but also with his great technological innovations that did so much for our industry. He bridged the gap between musicians and studios, and tonight is a great evening to take a moment to pay tribute to a legend.”
The night included speeches from those who had the privilege of working with Paul, as well as those who were greatly influenced by his accomplishments, including Hard Rock Cafe Historian Jeff Nolan, Full Sail Recording Arts Course Director Mike Reaves, Winter Park Guitar Center Manager Mickey Greer, and Michael Wagner, Managing Director for Gibson’s Global Strategic Alliances.
Of course, a tribute to a legend like Les Paul would be incomplete without music, and attendants got plenty of it courtesy of the evening’s house band Roadblock, who rocked out on a stage adorned with (what else?) Les Paul guitars. Local musician J.J. Cooper was also brought onstage to display his 1956 goldtop Les Paul, an instrument passed down to him by his father and estimated by Greer to be worth at least $75,000. The audience was later able to hear the vintage sound of that guitar, courtesy of rock guitar legend Pat Travers.
The ceremony ended with a raffle for a 2009 Gibson Les Paul studio guitar. The event raised $3190 in the drawing, with all proceeds benefiting the MusiCares Foundation, an organization set up to support musicians during times of financial, personal, or medical crisis. Following the announcement of the winner, Les Paul – Chasing Sound!, a documentary on the life of the guitarist, was shown.
