Grandson Still Playing Grandpa’s 1939 Gibson Guitar, Chasing Fame

This 1939 Gibson guitar made in Kalamazoo is a beauty, and may be the ticket to stardom for a Youngstown, Ohio musician who plays his grandfather's old six-string.

"The Rain Song" from Houses of the Holy is Led Zeppelin's only ballad. Robert Plant considers it his one of his best vocal performances. The story is that George Harrison inspired the song when he told John Bonham that the trouble with Led Zeppelin was that they didn't do any ballads. The song means many things to many people. Hearing his grandfather play "The Rain Song" instilled a love of music in Maximillian Terranova that lasts to this day. He is still connected to his grandfather through this beautiful Gibson Kalamazoo guitar.

Maximillian shared photos in the Cool and old guitars Facebook group and it caught our attention. It is a gorgeous instrument and the story is even better. His grandfather bought the guitar, a 1939 Gibson Kalamazoo, second hand and played it throughout his youth in his bands during the late 1960s and early '70s in the Warren/Youngstown area of northeast Ohio. Self-taught, like his grandfather, Maximillian is still playing that beloved guitar and has started a band of his own: lovatrop. Check out more photos of this timeless instrument made in Kalamazoo below.

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