In 1952, the Gibson Guitar Corporation introduced the Gibson Les Paul, a solid body electric guitar. Les Paul, a musician, provided feedback and support for the design work done by plant manager John Huis and his staff. A mahogany set-in neck with a rosewood fretboard, two pickups with independent volume and tone controls, a stoptail bridge, and a carved maple top with a single cutaway characterize its standard design, however there are variations.  

Initially, the Les Paul was available with two P-90 pickups and a gold finish. Sunburst finishes were offered in 1958 and humbucking pickups were added in 1957. Despite having poor manufacturing and sales, the 1958–1960 sunburst Les Paul—now one of the most well-known electric guitar models worldwide—was regarded as a commercial failure. The Gibson SG was created by redesigning the Les Paul for 1961. 1968 saw the return of the original single-cutaway, carved top bodystyle. Since then, the Les Paul has been created in numerous iterations and editions. It was one of the first electric solid-body guitars to be mass-produced in large quantities, along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster. Les Paul electric guitars have found widespread application in several musical genres such as rock, country, pop, soul, rhythm and blues, blues, jazz, reggae, punk, and heavy metal, owing to its versatile nature. 

• Les Paul - Ironically, Les Paul was not involved in the design of Gibson's first solidbody instrument, despite being its first endorser. Les was cool with that because, being an innovator and ardent tinkerer, almost all of his Les Pauls had been extensively altered. 

• Jimmy Page - With Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page redefined the sound of rock music using a variety of guitars. But his most famous instrument is perhaps his 1959 Les Paul. Jimmy's loud riffs and famous solos were a perfect match for the Les Paul's raw power and seemingly unending sustain, which are directly responsible for a large portion of Zeppelin's discography. 

• Slash - Go back to the amazing late '80s when neon spandex was in style, hair metal was the thing, and Superstrats with points so sharp they could be used as deadly weapons were the only games anybody would ever be seen playing. That is, until Slash's impersonation of Les Paul on Guns N' Roses' seminal 1987 album Appetite for Destruction altered everything and sparked a true Les Paul resurgence.