Les Paul, Legendary Guitar Extraordinaire Dead at 94
Les Paul, whose innovations with the electric guitar and studio technology made him one of the most important figures in recorded music, has died, according to a statement from his publicists. Paul was 94.
Paul died in White Plains, New York, from complications of severe pneumonia, according to the statement.
Paul was a guitar and electronics mastermind whose creations -- such as multitrack
More..recording, tape delay and the solid-body guitar that bears his name, the Gibson Les Paul -- helped give rise to modern popular music, including rock 'n' roll. No slouch on the guitar himself, he continued playing at clubs into his 90s despite being hampered by arthritis.
"If you only have two fingers [to work with], you have to think, how will you play that chord?" he told CNN.com in a 2002 phone interview. "So you think of how to replace that chord with several notes, and it gives the illusion of sounding like a chord."
"The world has lost a truly innovative and exceptional human being today. I cannot imagine life without Les Paul," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "He would walk into a room and put a smile on anyone's face. His musical charm was extraordinary and his techniques unmatched anywhere in the world."
Lester William Polfuss was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on June 9, 1915. Even as a child he showed an aptitude for tinkering, taking apart electric appliances to see what made them tick.
"I had to build it, make it and perfect it," Paul said in 2002. He was nicknamed the "Wizard of Waukesha."
In the 1930s and '40s, he played with the bandleader Fred Waring and several big band singers, including Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters, as well as with his own Les Paul Trio. In the early 1950s, he had a handful of huge hits with his then-wife, Mary Ford, such as "How High the Moon" and "Vaya Con Dios."
His guitar style, heavily influenced by jazzman Django Reinhardt, featured lightning-quick runs and double-time rhythms. In 1948, after being involved in a severe car accident, he asked the doctor to set his arm permanently in a guitar-playing position.
Paul also credited Crosby for teaching him about timing, phrasing and preparation.
Crosby "didn't say it, he did it -- one time only. Unless he blew the lyrics, he did one take."
Paul never stopped tinkering with electronics, and after Crosby gave him an early audiotape recorder, Paul went to work changing it. It eventually led to multitrack recording; on Paul and Ford's hits, he plays many of the guitar parts, and Ford harmonizes with herself. Multitrack recording is now the industry standard.
But Paul likely will be best remembered for the Gibson Les Paul, a variation on the solid-body guitar he built in the early 1940s -- "The Log" -- and offered to the guitar company.
"For 10 years, I was a laugh," he told CNN in an interview. "[But] kept pounding at them and pounding at them saying hey, here's where it's at. Here's where tomorrow, this is it. You can drown out anybody with it. And you can make all these different sounds that you can't do with a regular guitar."
Gibson, spurred by rival Fender, finally took Paul up on his offer and introduced the model in 1952. It has since become the go-to guitar for such performers as Jimmy Page.
Paul is enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Inventors Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is survived by three sons, a daughter, five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Until recently he had a standing gig at New York's Iridium Jazz Club, where he would play with a who's-who of famed musicians.
He admired the places guitarists and engineers took his inventions, but he said there was nothing to replace good, old-fashioned elbow grease and soul.
"I learned a long time ago that one note can go a long way if it's the right one," he said in 2002, "and it will probably whip the guy with 20 notes."
"Gibson Les Paul guitars are have values ranging from thousands to priceless.." -Maxisminion
RIP Less..
Added: Aug 13 2009 In: news_politics,celebrity
Recorded on: Aug 13 2009
By: Maxisminion
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Comments - sort by newest to oldest
RIP, Les. You are a true legend.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "vicsemprini" (R)
R.I.P. Rest assured you made the world a better place.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "driedjello" Premium
RIP Les. A musical genius.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "impulse_function" (R)
RIP good sir, thank you for the finely crafted instruments
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "DoctorHambone" (R)
Jimmy Page must be sad.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "CapedieMan" (R)
RIP les paul..frrggn guitar legend..Hendrix
and Stevie Ray are making dinner for him
right now.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "liberalferever" (R)
Great stuff and voted. Thanks.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "john731863" (R)
Les Paul played guitars on the How High the Moon - rhythm guitar, a bass guitar part (played on a standard guitar.) and a lead part, some of which were recorded at half speed.
The four part vocals were achieved by crude multitracking, but made easier by the presence of Mary Paul's sister who sang some vocal parts. Uncredited.
It still sounds a lot better than than the contagion of "autotune."
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "shashi2005" (R)
Damn! I own a Les Paul. Fabulous guitars.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "mlivsey" (R)
Les Paul guitars are very heavy in sound and weight
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "thunderbear" (R)
i come from a whole family of musicians, the only one not gifted with it. i remember when my brother got his first les paul. r.i.p. my friend, you brightened a lot of lives. and blew out a couple ears on the way... :)
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "freeway67" (R)
R.I.P Great creator.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "Kempe" (R)
A real talent. RIP
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "stan2285" (R)
RIP to the guitar god Les Paul. I owned many of his fine instruments over the years.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "wet501" (R)
Kyle Bush is an asshole.
Posted Aug-13-2009 by "sprunk" (R)