Lester William Polfuss was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 19, 1915. He died in White Plains, New York on August 13, 2009 of "complications from pneumonia". In between those dates, he became one of the most famous men in the music world under a different name -- Les Paul.
Les Paul is generally recognized as the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar. He built his first electric guitar in 1941. It was a two-by-four piece of wood with steel strings and an electrical pickup. He called that instrument "The Log".
Ten years later, his invention became the dominant instrument in the emerging rock and roll music, and it's hard to imagine how modern rock music could have developed without the solid-body electric guitar. Rock needed the powerful sounds Paul's instrument could make.
Les Paul was a musician and played his invention much of his life. He has gotten gold records and some grammys (both for playing and for technical merit), but he will probably always be remembered first as an inventor (he also pioneered multi-track recording and overdubbing).
His invention allowed others to climb to greatness. Someone once said, "Les Paul invented the electric guitar and Jimi Hendrix showed the world how to play it." It's hard to argue with that, but there are scores of fantastic musicians who have built their reputations on their skill with the electric guitar. It would not have happened without Les Paul.
Les Paul was a music icon, and music lovers owe him a debt of gratitude. May he rest in peace.
It's hard to imagine what the music industry would have been like over the last 50+ years without electric guitars or multi-track recordings.
ReplyDeleteLes Paul was a genius in the field of electronics, but he was also an incredibly accomplished guitarist in his own right. A good way to celebrate his life and commemorate his passing would be to listen to a recording or two of his.
As an amateur rocker myself (singing and playing keyboards in bands on and off for 7 years through high school and college, culminating in 1972 with a 4-track recording at a demo studio near Woodstock, of all places!), I owe Les Paul a debt of gratitude. We couldn't have done it without you. Les.