Adrian Smith has become the latest in a growing list of superstar players to have become infatuated with the illustrious “Greeny” Les Paul.
When Kirk Hammett became the third high-profile owner of the legendary Gibson, he had no intention of keeping it as an ornament. The electric guitar, famous for its quirky and quacky middle position – and for its starring role on a host of classic blues rock tracks – is a key part of his touring rig, and he’s also been keen to share the love.
Already, Jack White’s played it, Al Di Meola has taken it for a spin, and Jake E. Lee said that when he played it at Back to the Beginning, he didn’t want to put it down.
Greeny's charm, it seems, is infectious, and Hammett’s willingness to let other guitarists play it has afforded Iron Maiden’s Smith the chance to test it out, too.
“I bumped into him [Hammett] in a hotel in Canada,” he explains to eonmusic. “We were just waiting for the lift. We're just checking in, and Metallica were there. The first thing I said to him was, ‘Oh, you bought Greeny.’ He goes, ‘Yeah. I've got it. You want to play?’”
Suffice to say, Smith – who’s just released a new signature guitar as part of a band-wide Fender drop – eagerly took Hammett up on his offer.
“I went to his room. Ross Halfin [photographer] was there as well, because he's a mutual friend, and he gave me the guitar and a little practice amp, and of course, I did [Fleetwood Mac’s] Oh Well.”
The blues rock classic is one of the most iconic tracks to be associated with “Greeny”. Gary Moore bought the guitar after its original owner, Peter Green, left Fleetwood Mac. Hammett then bought it for an undisclosed fee.
But Smith’s playing session didn’t end there. When Hammett and Halfin left for a photoshoot, Smith was left to babysit.
“He said, ‘Take the guitar’, so I took it to my hotel room, and I had a little practice amp in there,” Smith says. “I played it all afternoon. It plays great. It's the intonation, the feel, the sound.
“There's no doubt about it, that is a special guitar. The mojo is off the charts. I'm glad somebody's using it, and it's not on a wall in somebody's climate-controlled guitar locker. It's out there being played, as it should be.”
Gibson produced a reissue of the guitar in 2023, with an Epiphone version arriving shortly after. Smith is just the latest star to fall head over heels for “Greeny.” He certainly won’t be the last.
