Steve Miller, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Warren Haynes, Joe Bonamassa and More Play "I'm Tore Down"
On June 9, 2015—in celebration of what would've been Les Paul's 100th birthday—a truly impressive cast of six-string personalities gathered in New York City to pay tribute to the late guitarist, songwriter and inventor.
In fact, the guitar community threw one hell of a party right in Times Square, not far from the Iridium, the club where Les Paul regularly performed during the last years of his life.
The full day of star-studded events and programs kicked off what was billed as a year-long celebration of the guitarist's life and music.
Among the events was an all-star show featuring Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, Joe Bonamassa, Warren Haynes, Steve Miller, G.E. Smith, Johnny A, Lou Pallo, the Les Paul Trio and many more.
You can check out a performance of Freddie King's "I'm Tore Down"—by pretty much the whole gang—below, complete with Miller on vocals. The song, which was written by Sonny Thompson, got a huge boost in the mid-Nineties when Eric Clapton covered it on his From the Cradle album.
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Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
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