Les Paul, A.K.A. "The Wizard of Waukesha", died today, he was 94.
Paul was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible." He called his invention "The Log".
This design was marketed by the
Gibson Guitar Corporation as the "
Gibson Les Paul" and is still one of the most popular electric guitars ever made.
Here's an example of a 1959 Les Paul and a Les Paul Studio model
A few years ago when I decided to learn guitar I picked the "Paul" because it was the guitar
Eric Clapton played on the "
Beano" album, it was the guitar of choice for most of the musicians I was currently listening to and it looked really cool!
I ended up with a 1991 Black Les Paul Studio.
In addition to guitars, Les Paul's many recording innovations include overdubbing, delay effects such as "sound on sound" and tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording. He is often credited as being the 'father of modern music'.
Les Paul is the only individual to share membership into 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.
For over twelve years, until just recently, Paul continued to perform two weekly New York shows with the Les Paul Trio, at The
Iridium Jazz Club in New York City
I had planned to see him play if I ever made it to the Big Apple but I guess I waited too long.
R.I.P.
Les Paul you will be missed.
