Slash became this year’s recipient of the Les Paul Spirit Award, making a heartwarmingly humble but affectionate speech as he accepted the honor. The Guns N’ Roses guitarist was presented with a trophy made out of wood shaped by Paul for use as acoustic shaping in his own studio.
The annual honor, presented by the Les Paul Foundation in association with Gibson Gives, has previously been bestowed upon Steve Miller, Peter Fampton, Bob Weir, Nile Rodgers and The Edge – but it’s unlikely anyone has made a speech like Slash’s.
“It’s really cool; it’s very surreal, and it’s going to take a while to sink in,” he said at a ceremony which followed a tour of Paul’s studio and a preview playback of Slash’s upcoming album, then ended with a performance for the small audience.
He continued: “This is a huge honor… I was like, why me? I’ve been trying to think, if Les was around, if he would agree that I deserve this thing. But I loved Les, so I’d like to think that he’d give it to me just to see me smile.”
He added: “Les was much more than a great guitarist and innovator. He was a true inventor who changed the instrument itself and completely changed the way musicians could record music. It’s a great honor to receive an award that bears his name and reflects his spirit.”
“For Les Paul, music was never just about what you played. It was about what you dared to imagine,” the Foundation said in a statement. “Les changed the sound of modern music forever, and in Slash, he found a kindred spirit: a guitarist with an unmistakable sound, a deep respect for the instrument and a lifelong love of rock ’n’ roll.
“The Les Paul Spirit Award honors artists who carry Les’ spirit of creativity, innovation and musicianship forward. This year we celebrated that spirit in Slash. And somewhere, Les is most certainly smiling.”
The foundations executive director, Michael Brownstein, noted: “Not only does Slash demonstrate the creativity and curiosity that Les had throughout his life, he is also an extraordinary talent. If Les were alive today, the two of them would surely be playing together on stage on a regular basis.”
Paul died in 2009 at the age of 94. Slash’s upcoming album, titled Flying Blind and once again featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, is set for release via Gibson Records on February 28.
