RIP Les Paul - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

ShaniFaye · 08-13-2009, 08:52 AM

Guitar, studio wizard Les Paul dies at 94

Quote:

(CNN) -- 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 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 Eric Clapton.

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.

Martian · 08-13-2009, 08:58 AM

Sad, but inevitable. He'll be remembered for generations by the guitar that bears his name.

When it's my time to go I can only hope to have a list of accomplishments half as long as the one Les Paul managed.

Cynthetiq · 08-13-2009, 08:59 AM

just saw this one the news as I was waiting for my bahn mi.... shame. this riff's for you!

percy · 08-13-2009, 06:10 PM

Tried to get into the Iridium for the Monday night second show about a year ago but it was sold out. Too bad, that close to greatness yet so far

mixedmedia · 08-13-2009, 06:13 PM

94. sheesh, that's about right. see ya, brother!

Punk.of.Ages · 08-13-2009, 11:58 PM

I was just discussing how old he was with a friend of mine the other day...

The words "He'll be dead soon and it will be a sad day for the guitar world." came out of my mouth.

Sad day indeed, but he shall be remembered every time I strum a chord on my Les Paul. They're my guitar of choice.

jewels · 08-14-2009, 02:36 AM

Many weeping guitarists ... RIP

Fly · 08-14-2009, 03:28 AM

RIP Les............

PulpMind · 08-14-2009, 01:10 PM

YouTube - Les Paul & Mary Ford on Omnibus (7min version with jokes)

Fly · 08-14-2009, 04:16 PM

fuck yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

nice score pulp........

08-13-2009, 08:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	Sad, but inevitable. He'll be remembered for generations by the guitar that bears his name. When it's my time to go I can only hope to have a list of accomplishments half as long as the one Les Paul managed. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

08-13-2009, 08:59 AM	#3 (permalink)
Cynthetiq Tilted Cat Head Administrator Location: Manhattan, NY	just saw this one the news as I was waiting for my bahn mi.... shame. this riff's for you! __________________ I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not. What's the best nation in the world? DO-NATION!

08-13-2009, 06:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
mixedmedia has all her shots. Location: Florida	94. sheesh, that's about right. see ya, brother! __________________ Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce

08-13-2009, 11:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
Punk.of.Ages Forming Location: ....a state of pure inebriation.	I was just discussing how old he was with a friend of mine the other day... The words "He'll be dead soon and it will be a sad day for the guitar world." came out of my mouth. Sad day indeed, but he shall be remembered every time I strum a chord on my Les Paul. They're my guitar of choice. __________________ "The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager "Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike

08-14-2009, 02:36 AM	#7 (permalink)
jewels Eponymous Location: Central Central Florida	Many weeping guitarists ... RIP __________________ We are always more anxious to be distinguished for a talent which we do not possess, than to be praised for the fifteen which we do possess. Mark Twain

08-13-2009, 06:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
percy Addict	Tried to get into the Iridium for the Monday night second show about a year ago but it was sold out. Too bad, that close to greatness yet so far

08-14-2009, 03:28 AM	#8 (permalink)
Fly see the links to my music? Location: Beautiful British Columbia	RIP Les............ __________________ BASTARD SterlingStudios

08-14-2009, 04:16 PM	#10 (permalink)
Fly see the links to my music? Location: Beautiful British Columbia	fuck yeah!!!!!!!!!!! nice score pulp........ __________________ BASTARD SterlingStudios