The Kris Derrig Les Paul
By Scott Shaw
Note: The Kris Derrig created Les Paul is the guitar on the right.
I have noticed that there has been a lot of discussion about the evolution of the Kris Derrig Les Paul on the Internet. Much of this discussion is speculation and incorrect. As such, I thought I would write a few words on the subject as I was an actual friend of Kris. I knew him when he was happy and healthy and I sadly watched him fade away into sickness and death.
For the record, Kris' name is sometimes spelled Chris in the media and on the Internet. But, this is incorrect.
The Kris Derrig Les Paul
The story of Kris' Les Paul creations, (in California), occurred when he was hired in the mid 1980s by my long-time friend, Jim Foote, (who is every bit the luthier that Kris was and, no, Jim is not dead as Slash mistakenly stated in his autobiography). At that time, customizing and creating custom guitars was a common order of business. Jim, who was then working on guitars for many of the top rock stars of the era, hired Kris to help him refinish and customize guitars. In fact, many superstar bands of the era, such as Ratt, Great White, Dokken, and Guns and Roses, commonly rehearsed at Jim’s shop, the Music Works, which had a rehearsal studio set up in the back building. From this, many of the bands had much of their guitar work done at the Music Works in association with their rehearsals. Aside from the Les Paul Kris created for me he also refinished and customized a number of my guitars, as well.
Kris’ Les Pauls have become somewhat legendary in the industry as he only made a few before his untimely passing, from lung cancer, at the age of thirty-two. Most notably, Slash plays one, as does Lenny Kravitz and Charlie Daniels. There are only about seven or eight other California made Kris Derrig Les Pauls out there that I am aware of. When he was making them at the Music Works he had more than one client who would further age the guitar, once it was created, and then sell it as an original 1958 Gibson Les Paul. So, some of his creation may never be found—as they are thought to be a true Gibson Les Paul. But, for the aficionado, if you look at the routing and the pickup cavities, Kris created them slightly different from the Gibsons of the late 1950s and there are a few other things that can be noticed by the trained eye. Jim Foote is the only person that I know of who can truly authenticate a Derrig Les Paul.
Side Note: A little known fact about Kris is that, aside from being a luthier of guitars, he was also a hairstylist. He had been trained and practiced this craft when he lived in Atlanta. As such, when he moved to California and began working at the Music Works, he would periodically cut the hair of staff members, customers, and friends of the shop.
The 1960 Kris Derrig Les Paul
The history of the guitar he made for me began when Kris had some free time and began to create a new Les Paul to sell—as he was always in need of money. In association with making guitars and customizing others, he was busy converting a vintage Pontiac Tempest into a GTO. Each week he would go to the pick-a-part junk yard seeking parts for his automotive creation. One afternoon, at about four o'clock, he called me up. He had found a part he really needed. I forget what it was. But, he needed money fast. $950.00 to be exact. This is what he asked me to pay him for the Les Paul, though he normally charged in excess of $1,500.00. I went to the bank and gave him the money later that afternoon.
As it was still not complete, I wanted Kris to take the guitar in a slightly different direction from the other Les Pauls he had crated while at the Music Works. So, I brought him a set of, “Patent Applied For,” gold Grover tuning keys that I had laying around, a set of Gibson PAFs with gold posts and pickup covers, and a vintage gold Gibson ABR bridge. He finished the guitar the next week, grabbing some of the remaining needed parts from the wall of the Music Works, which annoyed Jim. "Someone has to pay me for those parts!" I guess it was Kris, because it wasn't me.
Kris made the guitar with the inspiration of the 1960 Gibson Les Paul. The neck is thin like a 1960 Les Paul and the Serial Number reflects 1960 Gibson. All of Kris' other Les Pauls are based on the late 1950s Les Pauls, which makes the one he created for me a very unique piece of Kris' heritage.
When Kris created the guitar he tried to match the sunburst of the 1960 Les Paul that he saw in books, but the color was somewhat off. I knew this because I owned an actual 1960 Gibson Les Paul. In the early 1990s, long after Kris' passing, I had Jim Foote refinish it for me. He did a great job and matched 1960 Gibson coloring perfectly. He then let it hang in his shop for a couple of years, as he was distracted by other projects. Though I would have preferred to have it put together, the time did sun-age the finish perfectly.
And, that is the story of the creation of the 1960 Kris Derrig Les Paul.
Sadly, Kris passed away before he ever knew that the guitars he created were to become the legendary instruments that they became.
Mostly, Kris was a great guy and a close friend. He has been missed since his passing over twenty years ago. He was one of those unique individuals who left this place we call LIFE way too soon.
Here's a photo of Kris holding a Les Paul he created.
Here’s a photo of me with my other Kris Derrig Les Paul. Sorry for the cheesiness of the photo. It was the 1980s.
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