Les Paul 1915 - 2009
Instrumentalist, entertainer, and inventor of the guitar model that bears his name, Les Paul passed away today in White Plains, New York, at the age of 94.
Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on June 9, 1915, Paul began performing in public as a "honky-tonk" guitarist at the age of 13. In the 1930s and '40s, he played with bandleader Fred Waring and many popular singers, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and The Andrews Sisters. It was Crosby that gave Paul an early tape recorder that he began to modify, allowing him to pioneer the art of multi-track recording.
An electronics enthusiast since his youth, Les Paul began experimenting with new guitar designs in the ‘30s. As ensemble sound levels were growing with amplification, his goal was to improve tone and sustain, while minimizing feedback, so he designed an instrument with a solid body, reducing vibration in the frame and concentrating it in the string.
His initial design was given the unflattering name "The Log" because of the solid construction. It was 10 years before a manufacturer picked up a refinement of this design, and the first Les Paul was produced by Gibson in 1952. Since that date the "Les Paul" has gone on to be one of the most recognizable sounds in rock, famed for its dominance and versatility of tone.
In 2008, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid tribute to Les Paul in a week-long celebration of his life, which culminated with a live performance by Paul himself. He is the only individual to share membership of the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Until recently he continued to perform two weekly New York shows with the Les Paul Trio, at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. -- Hugo Munday
disques dur on September 11, 2009 at 01:54 AM
A few puzzling parts in the actual story however: Anyone remember seeing Eddie Van Halen playing a Les Paul? He probably has at one point or another, but he sure isn't known for it. And, of course, the Public Enemy recording was made using multi-track recording techniques (as pretty much everything has since the 60s) but it seems a bit of a stretch to link it directly to Les Paul - great as it may be - unless there's some other connection that I'm not aware of. Also, most historians say that Les' contributions to the design of the Les Paul guitar were minimal. It was more an endorsement deal. Indeed, the guitar that Les actually played had little to do with the production LP other than the body and neck style. The only production guitar that came close was the Les Paul Recording model (with its low impedance pickups) which came out in the 1970s. As far as being "loud," that was more a function of the Marshall amps that Clapton and the other British musicians used when they created the sound that brought the almost forgotten guitar back into popularity in the mid-60s. Indeed, Gibson had even stopped making them at that time. I won't argue with the "pretty" part -- it's a lovely instrument (I have three).
Don on August 14, 2009 at 09:19 PM
I live in Waukesha and we are lucky to have such a great musician from our city. My hope my daughter Jenna Lynne is the next most famous someday.
dennymack on August 14, 2009 at 01:07 AM
For every kid who has picked up a Les Paul, and gone on to give us great music, thank you.
We should all leave such a mark on the world.
RIP
Dennymack
Richard on August 13, 2009 at 04:13 PM
When I turned 3, my Grandma gave me a 45 RPM record player and one of my first records was Les Paul's Nola. It still sounds good to me. RIP
gil. o. on August 13, 2009 at 03:12 PM
I can't believe that they don't even mention Mary Ford. Admittedly they divorced a long time ago, and she's been dead for a long time, but still Les and Mary had many top hits. Did someone decide to erase all memory of her?