When Gibson announced the Murphy Lab reissue of Eric Clapton’s 1958 Gibson Les Paul Custom last month, the story behind the iconic guitar was only partially revealed.
While it was Clapton’s beloved triple-humbucker Les Paul, the instrument has had a far longer and more fascinating journey, including decades in the hands of legendary guitarist Albert Lee, who received it from Clapton in 1979.
Lee’s connection to the Les Paul Custom dates back to his early years, when he frequently visited Selmer, a well-known guitar shop on London’s Charing Cross Road.
“Every Saturday, I’d come up on the train to see what was in Selmer’s,” Lee recalls. “So they opened up this guitar case, and there’s a brand-new Les Paul Custom. I thought, ‘Yeah, I’ll join your band!’”
He played the guitar throughout the early ’60s before selling it to a persistent buyer, a decision he regretted for years.
In 1978, Lee joined Eric Clapton’s touring band. During a casual conversation, he showed Clapton a picture of his old Les Paul Custom and mentioned how much he missed it.
Clapton casually responded, “Oh, I’ve got one of those at home somewhere.”
Lee thought nothing of it, but Clapton didn’t forget.
“The next day at rehearsals,” Lee recalls, “the roadie walked in with this big case, opened it up, and it’s Eric’s Les Paul Custom for me to play. I guess it was mine.”
Lee went on to use it for the entire tour, and Clapton never asked for it back. “He was happy that I was enjoying it and using it onstage,” Lee says.
Under Clapton’s ownership, the Les Paul Custom was instrumental in shaping rock history. It was used on Disraeli Gears, where Clapton crafted his famous “woman tone” by switching to the bridge pickup and rolling down the tone control.
The guitar passed through the hands of several rock icons, including Paul Kossoff, John Lennon, and George Harrison. Clapton even used it with Derek and the Dominos, setting it up for slide guitar due to its skinny frets.
The guitar resurfaced in 1969 when Clapton performed with John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band at the Toronto Rock n’ Roll Revival. Later that year, he and George Harrison used it while touring with Delaney & Bonnie. Evidence suggests that during these performances, Clapton and Harrison even swapped guitars, with Clapton playing Harrison’s Stratocaster.
Clapton later removed the pickguard and pickup covers before restoring the Les Paul to its original condition. But instead of keeping it for himself, he gifted it to Albert Lee—a move that added yet another legendary chapter to the guitar’s history.
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