Les Paul passes away

Les Paul, acclaimed guitar player, entertainer and inventor, passed away on 13^th August from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York.

Guitar player, entertainer and inventor… Those three things only hint at the breadth of Les Paul’s genius. As guitarists we are all conscious of the instrument that bears his name, and that his (and Leo Fender’s) development of the solidbody guitar has shaped the way that music has been made since the mid twentieth century. Many are aware of his other inventions, including tape echo and overdubbing, not to mention an early form of live looping. Fewer know that after a serious car accident that shattered his right arm and elbow, Paul had his arm set permanently in a position that would allow him to continue to play the guitar. Fewer still know that in the forties he ran one of the first pirate radio stations, out of an apartment basement in Brooklyn, broadcasting live shows by Glen Miller, the Dorseys, and Benny Goodman. And the list goes on…

Born Lester Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, he was encouraged by his mother to entertain and by his auto mechanic father to tinker. A music teacher told his mother not to waste her money on lessons because he wasn't "musically inclined," but by age 13, as Red Hot Red, the Wizard of Waukesha, Lester was a local star. Soon after, he was performing hillbilly music as Rhubarb Red and Django Reinhardt-influenced jazz as Les Paul. His trio and Jazz at the Philharmonic series records are required listening for anyone wishing to hear how he influenced rock guitar, from rockabilly to Jeff Beck; his rapid-fire tremolo picking, pull-offs, and open string work have become an integral part of the electric guitar lexicon.

Ever the tinkerer, Paul created his first electric guitar by jabbing a phonograph needle into his acoustic and wiring it to his mother's radio. He built his own microphone, using the mouthpiece part of a telephone and his father's radio. His first recording machine was constructed from the flywheel from a Cadillac and a belt from a dentist's drill.

Backing Bing Crosby in the forties, Paul had his first million-seller, “It’s Been a Long, Long Time.” He acquired an Ampex tape recorder from Crosby in 1949, adding a fourth head to the machine to enable sound-on-sound recording. Using this overdubbing technique, as well as some of his other innovations—tape delay and close micing vocals—he recorded the masterpiece “How High the Moon.” Performed as a duo with future wife Mary Ford, it was the first of what was to be a string of hits for Capitol Records and it changed the face of studio production.

Dissatisfied with the thin tone, lack of sustain, and feedback problems inherent in commercial big box electric guitars, Paul sought a new concept. “I was interested in proving that a vibration-free top was the way to go,” he has said. “I even built a guitar out of a railroad rail to prove it. What I wanted was to amplify pure string vibration, without the resonance of the wood getting involved in the sound.” In 1941, Paul used Epiphone’s plant machinery to realize this vision, dubbing the resulting guitar “The Log.” In the early 1950s, Gibson Guitar helped him refine this idea into the guitar of his dreams. Beginning with the 1952 release of the Les Paul Goldtop, Gibson and Paul began a line of instruments that would become objects of desire for generations of guitarists.

Later, he produced 11 number one singles and 36 gold discs with his wife Mary Ford.

He was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978 and the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

"Les Paul was a shining example of how full one's life can be. He was so vibrant and full of positive energy. I'm honoured and humbled to have known and played with him over the years," the BBC News quoted Slash, Guns N Roses guitarist as saying.

G3 member Joe Satriani called him "the original guitar hero," and added that "Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed."

Gibson president Dave Berryman: "As the 'father of the electric guitar', he was not only one of the world's greatest innovators but a legend who created, inspired and contributed to the success of musicians around the world."

Paul's career is not just marked by the electric guitar; he was also a highly appreciated musician.

News Courtesy: Premier Guitar & DNA