“As I came off the stage I said ‘How much do you want for it?' He wanted the princely sum of 600 pounds”: Bernie Marsden plays the blues on “The Beast,” his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and reveals its origin story

Bernie Marsden plays his legendary 1959 Gibson Les Paul, The Beast

Last Thursday (August 24), we sadly lost Bernie Marsden, a top-tier guitarist whose contributions to the blues and rock genres have influenced generations of six-stringers.

Marsden's playing wasn't showy – it had plenty of bite, for sure, but it was also imbued with a songwriter's touch (Marsden's skill in the latter department can be heard in the original version of Whitesnake’s timeless classic, Here I Go Again, which he co-wrote).