“The original owner died while playing this very guitar”: Jared James Nichols resurrects another vintage Les Paul from a devastating storm – named Katrina, it has one heck of a story to tell

Jared James Nichols with his storm-salvaged 1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom.

They say it is an ill wind that does not blow someone some good, and that could not be more true for Jared James Nichols, the blues-rock fingerstylist and affable Gibson brand ambassador who has just taken ownership of another storm-ravaged Les Paul with an incredible story to tell.

First it was Dorothy, a 1952 Gold Top, thought to be one of the very first Les Pauls ever made, that was tossed around in the hurly burly of a Kansas tornado to be found neckless in a heap before an epic restoration brought it back to life for Nichols.