Les Paul’s iconic ‘Number One’ Gibson guitar heading to auction

NEW YORK — “Number One” is headed to the auction block.

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The earliest approved model of the Gibson guitar owned by music legend Les Paul will be part of Christie’s “Exceptional Sale,” the auction house announced in a news release Wednesday.

The sale will be held on Oct. 13 at Christie’s in New York City, the release stated.

The guitar, affectionately known as “Number One,” was developed in the early 1950s, Rolling Stone reported. Gibson asked Paul to help the company develop a guitar that could compete with Fender’s Telecaster, the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitar.

“Number One” is being sold by Paul’s son, Gene Paul, and Tom Doyle, who was Les Paul’s longtime guitar builder, engineer and producer, Christie’s said in its release.

“This was the most historically significant, valuable, pivotal, and important guitar to my father, his crowning achievement,” Gene Paul told Christie’s.

Les Paul and his wife, Mary Ford, reached No. 1 in the pop charts in 1952 with “How High the Moon.” They would have 13 other songs hit the top 10 through the years.

Les Paul, who died in August 2009, was nominated for four Grammy Awards and won three times.

“Les brought his idea to Gibson and they initially dismissed it outright, but Les was dogged,” Doyle told Christie’s. “He held strong to his ideas and his beliefs, knowing that someday they would see the light. Les kept tinkering and inventing and making his concept better and better. Then finally after about 10 years, and after lots of trial and error, the good folks at Gibson presented this very guitar to Les.”

“He was smitten, and he was overjoyed,” Doyle added. “And the rest, as they say, is history.”

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