LickLibrary pays tribute to Les Paul

Wed, 19 Aug 2009

The World of Guitar has been mourning the loss, and celebrating the life of Les Paul since his death on August 13th due to complications with pneumonia. And as such a pioneer, Musicians of all kinds, have much to thank Les Paul for. He was born Lester William Polsfuss, in Wisoncsin USA, 1914, to George and Evelyn Polsfuss. His parents divorced during his childhood, and his mother simplified their family name to Polfuss. It was later that Les Paul became Lester's stage name, and the name that would be known throughout the world.  

As a child, Les had taught himself to play the Banjo and Harmonica, as well as the Guitar, and he began playing professionally under the pseudonym Red Hot Red at the age of 13 - the name under which he would later release his first recordings. He went on to play Country Music on the Guitar throughout the 1930's, landing a regular spot on Chicago Station, WLS. This was until a move to New York saw Les Paul adopt more Jazz into his music, and his first Trio was formed.
 
This band went on to perform with a number of famous people over the years, including Nat King Cole at the 1944 Inaugral Jazz at The Philharmonic, and regularly Bing Crosby. Some say that it was these experiences that influenced his mind in producing an amplified guitar, as during open-air events, the audience could not hear his playing beyond the first few rows!

His first attempt at producing a pick-up involved combining the amplifier of a normal household radio, gramophone, and telephone! To avoid getting so much feedback he attempted to fill the hollow-body of the Guitar with Plaster-of-Paris rendering it virtually unplayable due to the sheer weight of the instrument. After trialling a similar process by fitting the pick-up and a set of strings to a railway sleeper, he achieved much better results, but the instrument looked very far-removed from the Guitar that it essentially was, and Les Paul eventually invented, the now legendary, "Log" guitar.

Having perfected the design while working after-hours at the Epiphone Guitar factory, Les Paul's  invention of the "Log,"  dating from 1939 was so called because of its core of a 4x4 piece of wood crudely built into the outer-body of a hollow Epiphone. This was one of the first solid-bodied electric guitars, and a contemporary of the Electric Guitar designs of Adolph Rickenbacher, who had marketed his own solid body electric guitar during the 1930's. Leo Fender's was created in the late 1940's. "The Log" was later donated to Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame.
 
Les Paul approached The Gibson Guitar Corporation with his designs, but the company laid off of production until Fender's had been made. The "Les Paul Model" Gibson Guitar, did not come to fruition until the 1952, when a Gibson Guitar incorporating Paul's designs was given to him to use professionally, and conractual terms were agreed. This led to Gibson's "Les Paul Standard" model which predominated the brand for many years.
 
At this time Paul was not just working on Guitars however. When Bing Crosby had remarked to Les Paul that he would "...rather spend more time on the Golf Course than in the recording studio" Les Paul had adapted a prototype tape recorder that friend and acoustician Richard Ranger had brought back from the War. Paul fitted a double-head to it, which improved the quality of the portable recorder, and the machine was commercially built by Ampex. Les Paul soon went on to have them create the first 8-Tack, making it possible for him to produce his own multi-track recordings.

The success of the Gibson Les Paul Standard model was attributed not only to its innovative design, but also to Les Paul's popularity as a Guitarist and recording innovator. His relationship with Gibson was strong and productive throughout the 1950's, when the partnership created new pick-ups and bidges to modify and improve the Guitar. It was later onfelt by Gibson however, that a design change would be necessary in order to combat a sales-slump. The company brought out the new model "Les Paul" guitar with a double cut-away rather than the usual single cut-away associated with Les Paul Guitars to this day. Paul asked for his name to be removed from the head of the guitar, and this led to a break in the Les Paul / Gibson arrangement, and to the Gibson SG. It was endorsment from Eric Clapton in the early 1960's that led to the Les Paul design regaining notoriety, and consequently, Gibson and Les Paul re-instated their agreement.
 
Les Paul continued on his innovations, and his own Music career. Having married singer Mary Ford in 1949, the pair achieved No.1 Hits and presented The Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home Show together, which ran from 1953 to 1960. It was around this time that Les Paul retired from playing Guitar due to concerns about his hearing, and shortly afterwards, in 1963 his marraige to Mary Ford broke up.


Les Paul and Gibson continued to work together, innovating and progressing Guitar technology, until Paul returned to performing in 1975 with Chet Atkins, earning a Grammy Award for the Jazz / Country  Crossover Album "Chester and Lester" in 1976. He continued performing around the New York circuit (and occaisionally Internationally) throughout the 1980's, until his famous Monday Night Live at The Iridium shows in Manhattan began. The success of the shows continued into the new Millenium, and Les Paul with his trio of Frank Vignola, Lou Pallo (on Guitar) and Nicki Parrott (on Bass) became a Monday Night tradition in New York.

Throughout the latter part of his life, Les Paul was still entrenched in the Music scene. His "Les Paul and Friends - American Made, World Played" Album won him his 6th and 7th Grammy awards at the age of 90. The same year documentary film, "Chasing Sound - Les Paul at 90" was made, documenting his many achievements in Guitar and in Recording Technology.

Since his death last week, at White Plains Hospital among his family and friends, the outpouring of tributes has been extraordinary.



Slash who has famously played Les Paul guitars throughout his career, said of Les Paul: "He was a shining example of how full one's life can be. I'm honoured and humbled to have known and played with him o ver the years. He was an exceptionally brilliant man.

Keith Richard also paid homage, saying: "...without Les Paul, generations of flash little punks like us will be in jail or cleaning toilets!"

Joe Satriani named Les Paul the "Ultimate Guitar Hero," saying that Paul had "...set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remained unsurpassed"

Ace Frehley said: "The Music Industry has lost a giant! I'm very saddened by the news of Les Paul's passing. I was lucky enough to have known Les as a friend, and admired him as a musician and innovator. He forever changed the way we listen to music.”

Finally, Jimmy Page told Parade of Les Paul: "He’s the man who started everything. He’s just a genius. He set the scene for what was to come as the pioneer of the electric guitar and new tape-recording technology. The Les Paul Gibson guitar that I got, I’ve played all the way through my career. It’s absolutely irreplaceable. I’ve had a marriage with that guitar. It’s my mistress and my wife - and I don’t have to worry about paying any alimony."

Les Paul will be buried this Friday 21st August after a public memorial service at the Discovery World Museum in Mailwaukee. After which the family are said to be having a Private service at Prairie Home Cemetary, Waukesha, Les Paul's place of Birth.

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If you own a Gibson Les Paul, LickLibrary will be running a free competition for you to enter... more details to follow.