Chris Stapleton is one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of the last decade. He moved to Nashville in 1996, initially to study Biomedical Engineering, before Music City eventually got its claws in him, and as Stapleton tells it, a bargain ’50s Gibson has been his constant companion throughout.
Recently, Billboard recruited none other than Josh Brolin (presumably he needed the gig) to go and interview the country star – and filmed a tour of Stapleton’s impressive gear warehouse, in the process.
The space, as Stapleton explains, was rented for performances during the pandemic but he and his wife Morgane have kept it ever since.
Contrasting the glittering highlights of the tour – ’76 Gibson Firebird, previously played by Tom Petty, a ’69 shoulder-high Rickenbacker Transonic which Jimmy Page used touring America and an amplifier that belonged to John Lennon – is the battered spectacle of Stapleton’s ride or die guitar: a ‘50s acoustic Gibson LG-2 steel string he says he picked up for just $380.
The bruised looking acoustic was purchased from the city’s now-defunct Chambers guitar store (which closed its doors in the early 2000s).
“This is the guitar that I bought when I moved to town, when I moved to Nashville,” recalls Stapleton [at approx. 5.55, in the clip above].
“If I had to walk out of here with one thing, it would be this. All the other stuff – I would be sad about it – but whatever I’ve done, whatever I’ve made, whatever I’ve turned into has pretty much been built on this thing.”
Brolin, in turn, looks suitably awed by the characterful underdog, commenting “the roots are here...”
“I would say 90% of the things I've ever written in my life have been written on this guitar,” expands Stapleton.
“It's not precious in a collector way to anybody. It was in a flood at some point, there's mud inside it – somebody used it as a canoe paddle. There's a million crack repairs... [but] if you want to know what's the most important thing in here it's probably this .”
Perhaps best known for his cover of Tennessee Whiskey, Stapleton has written extensively for other artists, including the likes of Kenny Chesney, Kelly Clarkson and Adele – to name a few – and chalked up an astronomical 11 Grammy Awards, 11 ACMs and 15 CMAs. He was also named ACM’s Artist-Songwriter of the Decade in 2019.
Amid these achievements, it seems his old acoustic is the sort of thing that keeps him suitably grounded.
That LG-2 bargain might not be on the cards, but fans can still turn their attention to Epiphone’s Chris Stapleton signature Frontier – though as one of the USA-made Epiphone builds, it comes in a little bit pricier, at $4,499.
For Stapleton’s full conversation with Josh Brolin, head to Billboard.
