“Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played” Album, 2005 (released for Les Paul's 90th birthday).
I like the heavily-reverbed rendition of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle".
Posted on 06/09/2015 2:24:12 PM PDT by Hugin
Today is the 100th birthday of one of the greatest innovators in music history, Les Paul.
Not only was Paul a popular performer, but his inclination to tinker and invent led to the development of the solid body electric guitar, multitrack recording, tape delay, phasing and a number of other innovations.
Born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on June 9, 1915, Paul started playing harmonica at the age of eight before learning the piano and then switching to guitar. An innovator from the beginning, Paul invented the neck-worn harmonica holder that enabled him to accompany himself on guitar at the same time. He then experimented by wiring a photograph needle to the acoustic instrument, connecting it to a radio speaker to amplify his sound. While still in his teens, Paul created the first solid-body electric guitar with a two-foot piece of rail from a train line. He eventually built his most famous instrument in 1940, the Gibson Les Paul, dubbed "The Log"—from a chunk of 4x4 pine with strings and a pick-up—after hours at an Epiphone factory. Later on, he revolutionized the art of making records by introducing multi-track, sound-on-sound recording techniques still used to this day, including tape delay and phasing effects.
(Excerpt) Read more at vintagevinylnews.com ...
Everybody knows about the guitar he invented. A lot of people don’t know what a truly great guitarist he was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJaNMZmBR6E
Or the multi-track recording techniques he pioneered.
We share the same birth date, but the year. Though some days I feel like a hundred.
I’m a big fan. The Log may have been the first solid body guitar.
“led to the development of the solid body electric guitar,”
but the Les Paul model was certainly not the first solid body in production. Those would be the limited production Bigsbys, and I think maybe Tutmarc (sp?) Then of course Leo’s Esquires and Teles, first called Broadcasters.
Les smashed his right elbow in a car wreak. The docs told him the couldn’t fix it to make it work again, so he had them set it in his guitar picking angle.
I clearly remember him, and Mary, singing the ads for Robert Hall!. And I’ve learned a lot of great guitar licks from him! What a career! What an exceptional human! I have quite a few of his 78rpm records.
Happy Birthday!
“Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played” Album, 2005 (released for Les Paul's 90th birthday).
I like the heavily-reverbed rendition of Steve Miller's "Fly Like An Eagle".
“I clearly remember him, and Mary, singing the ads for Robert Hall!.”
One of my favorite radio ads ever was for Robert Hall. It came out around 1968 and was sung to the tune of O Tannenbaum (O, Christmas Tree) ...
O, Robert Hall, O Robert Hall,
O, how we love your parking lot ...
... sale.
In fact, the Gibson electric guitars Les Paul designed arguably made it possible for the rock and roll music revolution that started in the early 1950’s.
How High The Moon was (I believe) the first example of a multi-track hit. I remember some early 50’s musicians quoted as being in total, utter disbelief when they heard it - because Mary Ford’s singing was “simply impossible”, and Les Paul’s guitar playing was also “simply impossible”.
He had such an amazing influence on so much. He was also Steve Miller’s godfather. Also, read the history between Ampex, Les Paul, and Bing Crosby (of all people, and I believe that he made some pretty good money from Ampex). Fascinating.
There was also the Rickenbacker “frying pan” electric lap steel guitar created in 1931.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frying_pan_(guitar)
Thanks!
Not sure why that last link doesn’t work. It does when you paste it into the address bar.
“There was also the Rickenbacker “frying pan” electric lap steel guitar created in 1931.”
You’re right! And they also made a somewhat clumsy round neck guitar. Ry Cooder plays one.
Great concert. Thanks. Here is a nice documentary about Les Paul.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JRfnkEwSlc
He influenced dance, rock, and pop while acting like a gentleman. He adapted quickly to all the changes in recording.
Les Paul’s studio speakers are on sale at a little shop in Rockford IL. If I had a spare $15,000 laying around they’d be mine.
L
Lets not forget reverb effect. Another Les Paul innovation.
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