D'Addario Foundation's education project sets out to help schools throughout the country and kicks off with an online auction.
The D’Addario Foundation will host a virtual auction from November 9 to November 30, 2022, with the overarching goal of raising $30,000 for the D'Addario Foundation’s Immersive Music Challenge.
Inspired by a new study published in the Journal of Youth Development, the D'Addario Foundation recently launched the Immersive Music Challenge. This ambitious project will help school districts and charter systems throughout the country boost academic achievement by implementing effective, multi-day-per-week music-based mentoring programs that include training, administration, and evaluation. The D’Addario Foundation has invested in an incredible team of consultants that include school superintendents, public health experts, and data analysts to ensure sound results. In addition, D’Addario is actively seeking corporate partners to support the establishment of these programs and champion their success.
Thanks to the generosity of D'Addario artists and industry partners including Gibson, PRS Guitars, D'Angelico, Taylor Guitars, and more, one-of-a-kind items & experiences are up for bidding. Some of the items include:
- Evans Drumhead signed by Anderson Paak
- ESP Mirage Deluxe '87 Signed by Bruce Kulick of KISS and Grand Funk Railroad
- Gibson Les Paul Custom electric guitar
- D'Addario bass string set signed by Bryan Beller of the Aristocrats
- PRS S2 McCarty 594 Singlecut
- Virtual Lesson with Marty Schwartz
U2’s The Edge and producer Bob Ezrin, Co-Founders of Music Rising, (musicrising.com) have announced Guitar Icons: A Musical Instrument Auction to Benefit Music Rising to take place December 11th, 2021, starting at 10:00 a.m. PST. Hosted by Van Eaton Galleries (vegalleries.com) in Los Angeles, the live and online auction will offer a significant collection of guitars and other music memorabilia by some of the world’s most prominent musicians and friends of Music Rising. The auction will take the charity back to its roots and help support the musicians of the NOLA region after a long period being without income.
Guitar Icons: A Musical Instrument Auction to Benefit Music Rising includes an exclusive collection of important instruments donated by friends of the charity. All of the instruments have a unique and special story and provenance and together make up an extraordinary example of some of the greatest moments in music history.
“The music of New Orleans has influenced various styles of music borrowed from early traditions. It is the birthplace of jazz and represents a musical culture which bears great significance to most every genre today. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to lose my ability to do what I love – making music. Unfortunately there are many musicians and crew members who continue to struggle since the pandemic. If this multigenerational chain is broken, we lose more than just a few concerts we lose an entire culture that stretches back centuries. Some of the world’s greatest musicians and friends of Music Rising have generously donated their personal instruments to raise money for Music Rising. We hope you have a chance to bid on one or more of the beautiful instruments in the auction. The monies raised goes to musicians and crew. Your support continues to be invaluable to Music Rising.” - U2’s The Edge
The auction will take place at Van Eaton Galleries located at 13613 Ventura Blvd in Sherman Oaks, California beginning at 10:00 a.m. PDT on Saturday, December 11, 2021. The auction will also stream live and be online via various auction platforms all available through https://vegalleries.com/musicrising. A public exhibition of the collection will begin Monday, November 22, 2021 at the gallery and can be visited by collectors and fans by appointment. Proceeds from the auction will be administered by the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation on behalf of Music Rising.
Christie's announces Les Paul's own personal 'Number One,' the very earliest approved production model of the famed Gibson Les Paul electric guitar which monumentally changed the development of Rock'n'Roll in the 20th Century will be featured in The Exceptional Sale on October 13 in New York. Along with Mr. Paul, Gibson Incorporated developed this innovative sold body electric guitar circa 1951-1952 to meet the demanding standards of guitar virtuoso and inventor, Les Paul, who designated this his Number One; the first solid electrified guitar that met with his approval and was the culmination of his lifelong dream.
Kerry Keane, Christie's consultant and Musical Instruments Specialist, remarks, "In any creation narrative there are always multiple protagonists, but the name Les Paul ranks at the pinnacle when discussing the electric guitar. His development of multi-track recording, and audio effects like delay, echo, and reverb all profoundly influenced how music is reproduced and heard. Yet his lifelong search and development in perfecting the electric guitar would forever change the instrument. That transformation is responsible for the successful careers for generations of guitarists that performed on the Les Paul guitar. This guitar physically embodies his endless passion that produced the most iconic musical instrument in popular culture."
Les Paul was a GRAMMY award-winning musician and a prolific inventor responsible for the development of multitrack recording and the development of the solid-body electric guitar; the significance of his pioneering inventions on the history of music cannot be overstated. Les Paul is the only person to have been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
Photo courtesy of CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD. 2021
In 1950, faced with the loss of market share after the successful launch by Fender of an electric solid-body guitar, the management team at Gibson realized that the electric guitar phenomenon was here to stay. To develop one that would be both unique and excel in fulfilling the needs of musicians they sought the help of Les Paul in both the design and marketing of this new product. In 1952, Les Paul and wife Mary Ford were household names; their recording How High the Moon had reached Number 1 on the Pop Charts with thirteen other recordings charting in the Top Ten. Thanks to radio and then television, Les Paul's prowess as a guitarist was known globally. The 'Number One' Gibson Goldtop was one of Paul's most- prized possessions. It represented the culmination of his lifelong dream to electrify the guitar, and it validated his life's work in his search for tone.
As a result, the name Les Paul became a proper noun forever linked to one of the most iconic electric guitars in popular culture, and inspired the creativity for generations of musicians worldwide. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Peter Frampton, Pete Townsend, Keith Richards, and Slash, represent just a tiny sample of the artists who credit Les Paul and this guitar as their muse.
Les Paul's "Number One" Goldtop guitar is being sold by Les Paul's son, Gene Paul, and Tom Doyle, Paul's long-time guitar builder, engineer, and producer.
Gene Paul comments, "This was the most historically significant, valuable, pivotal, and important guitar to my father, his crowning achievement."
"Les brought his idea to Gibson and they initially dismissed it outright, but Les was dogged. 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… and the rest, as they say, is history", says Tom Doyle.
For more information:
Christies