“An essential member of one of the greatest American bands of all time”: Joe Bonamassa pays tribute to an unsung Les Paul legend

My latest record, Blues Deluxe Vol. 2, features a song called Hope You Realize It, written by me and my good friend Tom Hambridge. We were looking to create an uptempo song in the vein of Tower of Power and decided to go all the way, right up to the lyric, “Are they going to sue us or not?” 

All kidding aside, one of my favorite guitarists, especially in regard to a Les Paul player, is TOP’s Bruce Conte. Man, he was killer! Bruce played an all-mahogany ’57 goldtop, so much so that he’d worn through the cover of the neck pickup! 

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