This is kind of a very personalized and specific blog posting. I just update the page I have on this site devoted to my friend Kris Derrig, RIP. I originally posted that page twenty years ago in 2006. As I just added some new info to it, I thought that the few of you, (who care), may find it interesting.
 
I have posted both the previous and the new writings here in this blog for your pleasure.
 
Here's the Link to the original article: The Kris Derrig Les Paul.
 
Kris Derrig
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.
 
Follow Up:
 
I initially wrote this piece twenty years ago, in 2006. It’s now 2026 and the interest in Kris Derrig and the guitars he created has remained a strong topic.
 
I thought I would take a moment and speak just a little bit more about Kris and his life here in L.A. for those of you who have developed an interest.
 
When he first moved to the Los Angeles area, he was sharing an apartment with a roommate in Hermosa Beach. This is where he lived when he first began working for Jim Foote at his store, The Music Works. The original Music Work location was situated on Artesia Blvd., in Redondo Beach.
 
Kris came to work for Jim during a time when many musicians, including myself, were having all kind of modifications and refinishing work done to their guitars. Thus, Jim was deluged with work.
 
At that time, Jim had his main assistant, Ken Hitsman by his side. Plus, there were a couple of other temporary workers who came and then went. When Kris arrived, he told Jim about his expertise and the history of how he had created his Les Pauls. Jim hired him.
 
From the moment Kris arrived, he showed his prowess as a master luthier and guitar technician. He did a lot of work on a lot of guitars in association with creating a few of his Les Pauls.
 
As mentioned in the previous discourse, he did some fantastic work on reworking and refinishing some of my guitars. Plus, he worked on guitars for some of the top players of the era. Plus, a lot of others.  
 
Once he was established at the Music Works, he and Ken drove across the country to where he had been previously living in Atlanta. Once there, the pair gathered his possession and brough them to California. 
 
As time went on, and his relationship with Jim grew closer, Kris was not only restoring and converting the Tempest into a GTO, but he had also purchased an Airstream trailer which he was restoring. Upon buying that trailer, he parked it in the rear of the Music Works, and moved in. This was his new home. This is where he lived until his sickness took hold of him.
 
The thing about this trailer was, it was in barebones condition. It was basically gutted and there was no insolation or heating or anything like that. As Kris began to show signs of his illness, I could not help but wonder did his living condition aid in its rapid approach. By the time he went to a doctor, his condition was already in an advanced stage.  
 
Kris returned to his hometown for a period of time to receive treatment. When his condition seemingly went into remission, and as soon as he was able, he returned to California. Once here, he stayed with Jim, and his then wife Jill, at their apartment in Beverly Hills.
 
I remember speaking to Kris one day, and he lamented how the chemo had made him lose all of his very long locks of hair. I made the joke, no matter how many times you cut it, your hair will always grow back.
 
Sadly, his condition did not remain in remission for very long. Shortly thereafter, he succumb to his cancer in May of 1987.
 
For those of us who knew him, we understand that he was a super nice, very reserved, master craftsman. Just a good guy! For everyone else, he left the world with a few guitars that have help to shape musical history long after his passing.

I trust this will provide you with a bit more information about the life and times of Kris Derrig.