Guitars
Gibson EB1 1956 Little Richard and The Upsetters
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Behind every musical movement is a pioneer figure who set the first milestones for entire generations of artists. Little Richard is one of them. A founding figure of rock'n'roll, he marked the 1950s with his exuberant style and timeless hits. As skilled as he was energetic behind his piano, Little Richard also had a sensitive ear for surrounding himself with musicians who provided the melodic structure for his hits. In 1956, he surrounded himself with the Upsetters, a group of American musicians, with whom he recorded some of his greatest hits (including the song "Long Tall Sally"). This 1956 Gibson EB1 bass belonged to Olsie Robinson, the Upsetters' bass player. It is the one that accompanied Little Richard on most of his hits, and appears in the video of the timeless "Tutti Frutti" a few steps away from Little Richard standing behind his keyboard.
Behind each hit are attentive and dedicated musicians who build the melodies step by step. Behind Little Richard, Olsie Robinson structured his songs with his impressive Gibson violin bass. This EB-1 was introduced to the market in 1953. It was Gibson's first electric bass, in response to the success of Fender's Precision Bass. Rather than opting for a body similar to an electric guitar, they modeled this EB-1 after a double bass - even going so far as to paint a gill on the body. This bass has a violin-like mahogany body with a brown plastic pickguard, clear control knobs and mother-of-pearl inlays on the fingerboard. Its shape is in keeping with the blues and jazz of the 20th century, where the sound was driven by double basses.
This exceptional bass was used on many of Little Richard's recording sessions, as well as appearing in the video for "Tutti Frutti" and in the feature films "Don't Knock the Rock" released in 1956 and "Mister Rock and Roll" released in 1957. It's a bass used by a master player on arguably some of the greatest rock and roll tunes ever! A real piece of history to discover at Matt's Guitar Shop!
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