CMT Blog: Archive

I found this recent story on Gibson's website about how their acoustic guitars are the ones that create the most country sound. And I thought, "Well, of course they'd say that about their own guitars." But as I kept reading, I realized that the Gibson people are not the only ones who are crazy about Gibson guitars. Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, Kristian Bush of Sugarland, Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban and Darius Rucker all tend to gravitate towards their acoustics.

Haywood plays an Ebony Gibson SJ-200 just like Gene Autry, Tex Ritter and Roy Rogers before him. Bush plays a Gibson J-45 most of the time, as well as Gibson and Epiphone mandolins and Gibson Hummingbirds occasionally. The little-girl Lambert in the video for "The House That Built Me" is playing a Songwriter Deluxe when she's on her bedroom floor, but the real grown-up Lambert says the J-45 was her go-to guitar when she was making her most recent album, Revolution, and that onstage she prefers the Black Hummingbird and her custom pink Songwriter acoustic.

Keith Urban plays a lot of guitars, too, even a couple handmade ones from Australia, but does seem to favor his Gibsons: a 1952 J-55 and a 1936 L-00. Rucker's got a thing for the Gibson J-45. Paisley isn't always an acoustic guy, but when he does play in that way, he also likes that J-45. "A J-45 can be a great rhythm guitar. It's got a character and, what I would call, aggressiveness ... You think of the Beatles playing [Gibson Acoustics]. I always envision John Lennon standing there with one."

It's a cool story, especially if you like guitars. But I'm guessing these six artists are just the tip of the iceberg. I know there are plenty of other country stars who play Gibsons. John Prine and Emmylou Harris do. Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts does. Newcomer Jaron & The Long Road to Love does. Who else am I missing?