1983 GIBSON LES PAUL "SPOTLIGHT" SERIES
SOME INTERESTING HISTORY ON THIS GUITAR
OUR SHOW BAND "BODY AND SOUL" WAS PLAYING IN TOWN AT THE SHERIDAN HOTEL IN JOHNSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA WHEN A GUY NAMED DREW APPROACHED ME AND SAID HE OWNED A SMALL MUSIC STORE IN TOWN AND HAD HUNDREDS OF GUITARS THERE... SOME IN HIS ATTIC THAT HAVE NOT EVEN BEEN OPENED.... HE INVITED ME OVER TO LOOK AT SOME GUITARS AND PROMISED TO GIVE ME ONE AT HIS COST. WELL I WAS TRAVELING AT THE TIME AND DID NOT HAVE A LOT OF CASH ON HAND AND REALLY WASN'T LOOKING FOR ANOTHER GUITAR BUT I FIGURED "WHAT THE HECK" I MIGHT AS WELL HAVE A LOOK AT WHAT HE HAD. SO I WENT THERE ON OUR NIGHT OFF SINCE WE WERE THERE FOR 2 WEEKS AND HIS STORE WAS SMALL WITH GUITARS AND STUFF HANGING EVERYWHERE. YOU COULD HARDLY WALK DOWN THE ISLE THERE WERE SO MANY GUITARS THERE.... MOST OF THE GUITARS ON THE FLOOR WERE OFF BRANDS NOT OF ANY INTEREST TO ME.... DREW TOLD ME HIS GOOD STUFF WAS UP IN THE ATTIC SO WE WENT UP THERE AND HE HAD DOZENS OF GUITAR CASES STILL IN THE SHIPPING BOXES BUT LABELED ON THE SIDE.... HE HAD EVERY FENDER YOU COULD IMAGINE. STRAT's TELE's, MUSTANGS, JAGUARS's AND ANY COLOR YOU WANTED. HE HAD GIBSON FLYING "V's" .... GIBSON FIREBIRD's. I KNEW THEN I WAS GETTING ONE BUT NOW I COULDN'T MAKE UP MY MIND...I DECIEDED TO COME BACK THE NEXT DAY EARLIER AND COULD TAKE MY TIME WITH PICKING ONE OUT. HE TOLD ME HE HAD TO ORDER AT LEAST 5 FENDER AND GIBSON GUITARS A MONTH IN ORDER TO KEEP HIS FENDER FRANCHISE GOING SO HE WOULD BUY THEM AND KEEP PUTTING THEM IN THE ATTIC. SO AS I WAS LEAVING THE STORE THAT EVENING THE UPS MAN CAME BY WITH ANOTHER GUITAR FOR DELIVERY. DREW SAID IT LOOKS LIKE A GIBSON SO LETS TAKE A LOOK... WELL WE PUT IT ON HIS FRONT COUNTER AND OPENED UP THE CASE AND THERE IT WAS...A 1983 BRAND SPANKIN NEW GIBSON CUSTOM SHOP LES PAUL SPOTLIGHT MODEL WITH GOLD PLATED HARDWARE AND AS YOU CAN SEE IN THESE PICS BELOW, IT WAS BEAUTIFUL..... I WANTED THAT ONE, IT WAS $960 PLUS TAXES... SO I WENT TO THE LEADER OF OUR SHOW "TOM BIRKETT" AND ASKED FOR AN ADVANCE IN MY PAY SO TOM GAVE ME THE CASH AND I WAS NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF 2 GUITARS.. CHECK THE NEXT STORY BELOW ABOUT HOW I ALMOST LOST THIS GUITAR ABOUT A YEAR LATER....
AGAIN OUR SHOW BAND "BODY AND SOUL" WAS BOOKED FOR A TOUR IN EUROPE.. LUXEMBOURG-FRANCE-GERMANY-BELGIUM AND HOLLAND. I REALLY LIKED THIS GUITAR BUT WAS STILL MAINLY A FENDER GUY SO I THOUGHT I WOULD BRING IT OVER TO EUROPE AND TRY TO SELL IT THERE AND DOUBLE MY MONEY SINCE IT WAS STILL BASICLY BRAND NEW AND I COULD ALWAYS BUY ANOTHER WHEN WE RETURNED TO THE STATES. SO WE MET THIS REALLY HOT JAZZ BAND IN LUXEMBOURG AND GOT TO KNOW THEM PRETTY WELL. THE BASS PLAYER "ROM" LOVED IT AND THOUGHT HE KNEW A GUY THAT WOULD BUY IT. SINCE WE WERE THERE FOR 3-4 MONTHS I LET HIM TAKE THE GUITAR TO HIS FRIEND. WELL TIME WENT BUY AND WE ONLY HAD 2 WEEKS LEFT BEFORE RETURNING TO THE STATES AND I COULD NOT GET A HOLD OF ROM. I HAD HIS PARENTS PHONE NUMBER AND DID TALK WITH HIM BUT HE WAS ALSO TOURING EUROPE AND HIS 1ST CONTACT THAT WANTED THE GUITAR JUST DIDNT HAVE ANY CASH. ALL I COULD DO WAS EXCHANGE ADDRESSES WITH ROM AND HOPE HE WOULD SEND ME THE CASH OR THE GUITAR BACK... WE FLEW BACK TO THE STATES AND NOW HAD A GIG IN ST THOMAS FOR 9 MONTHS SO ONCE A MONTH I WOULD TRY TO CALL ROM AND OCCASIONALLY WE SPOKE BUT HE DID NOT SELL THE GUITAR AS OF YET. I ASKED HIM TO KEEP IT HOME INSTEAD OF LETTING HIS GUITARIST USE IT AND WHEN WE FINALLY LEFT "BODY AND SOUL" ABOUT A YEAR LATER, WE MOVED BACK TO SOUTH FLORIDA AND ROM SHIPPED THE GUITAR TO ME... HE PAID THE SHIPPING SINCE HE HAD THE GUITAR OVER A YEAR.. I GOT A CALL FROM CUSTOMS IN MIAMI TO COME DOWN AND RECIEVE MY GUITAR AND BESIDES THE GUITAR SHOWING A FEW SCRATCHES ON THE BACK FROM BELT BUCKLES, IT WAS STILL IN LIKE NEW GOOD CONDITION.. I LEARNED MY LESSON AND WILL NEVER LET SUCH A VALUABLE GUITAR OUT OF MY SITE AGAIN... THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT I STILL HAVE IT...