Jimi Hendrix’s 1956 Gibson Les Paul Custom (Fillmore West, Miami Pop)
Jimi started using this guitar around April 1968. The earliest photos date to April 5, 1968 [Newark (Symphony Hall): April 5, 1968], suggesting that Jimi may have acquired it from Manny’s Music shop, which is only a 30-minute drive from the Symphony Hall. At the time, the guitar seemed to have been used exclusively for Red House.
The Les Paul was most famously used at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East venue in New York on May 10, 1968, as well as at the Miami Pop Festival on May 18. Beyond these two notable appearances, Jimi didn’t seem to use the guitar extensively, as it was only spotted at a handful of gigs during this period.
Jimi’s Les Paul Custom today
The guitar is currently owned by Hard Rock Café International and is displayed at their restaurant in Chicago on 63 West Ontario Street.. According to information on their website, the guitar was produced in 1956. At this time, we’ve reached out to their memorabilia staff for more details but have not yet received a response.
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Where’s its case? It could tell some things about it.