I just wanted to take a minute to wish my condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Les Paul, who died today at age 94 in White Plains, NY.
Paul was the man for whom the Les Paul solid body Gibson guitar was named. He wasn't the first to add amplification to the guitar, but he was the person who kept perfecting the electric guitar until it became THE instrument synonymous with the rock era. The irony of that is, rock and roll nearly killed his career in the 1950's when his music, with his then wife Mary Ford, was deemed old fashioned and his record sales tanked. But Les Paul's contribution to music was greater than just developing the solid body electric guitar and selling records. He developed overdubs, the eight track recording studio, and revolutionized HOW music was made.
What Henry Ford did for the motor car, Les Paul did for recorded music....he took an invention and took it to its next step, and then to the next step after that.
There was a great PBS special about Les Paul a few weeks ago, perhaps six or seven years old, showing Les still performing gigs well into his eighties, telling his story, along with comments by such legendary guitar slingers as Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, and Steve Winwood.
We lost a legend today...
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