Slash grew up wanting to play guitar like Jimmy Page in Led Zeppelin.
The Guns N’ Roses axe-slayer has revealed he was inspired to pick up the Les Paul after seeing guitar gods including Jimmy, Eric Clapton and Rolling Stone Keith Richards playing the revered instrument.
The ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ rocker was just seven years old when he first heard Zeppelin’s 1976 hit ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and he still regards their album ‘Zeppelin II’ to be “one of the coolest records ever made”.
Speaking to the April issue of Total Guitar magazine, he said: “There were a few guys who influenced me when it came to playing Les Pauls.
“I’d seen Eric Clapton holding one, as well as Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Billy Gibbons … A lot of players who had a great sound using those guitars.
“I specifically remember hearing ‘Whole Lotta Love’ from ‘Led Zeppelin II’ when I was seven years old. And I attributed that sound – from what I felt was the coolest record I’d ever heard at that point in my life – to the Les Paul. Still, to this day, I’d say it’s one of the coolest records ever made. And I knew it was a Les Paul making those guitar tones because I saw pictures of Jimmy Page holding one – so that’s what made me associate the Les Paul with that kind of sound. Looking back now, I think that connection was pretty accurate! So I knew I was attracted to the sound of a Les Paul. I had that copy for a while and eventually it broke. I went through a myriad of different guitars to see what they sounded like, just exploring when it came to my tone. I ended up going back to the Les Paul and I’ve been with that ever since.”