The World Has Lost a Remarkable Innovator and Musician: Les Paul Passes Away
at 94
1915-2009
New York, NY August 13, 2009
Les Paul, acclaimed guitar player, entertainer
and inventor, passed away today from complications of severe pneumonia at
White Plains Hospital in White Plain, New York, surrounded by family and
loved ones. He had been receiving the best available treatment through this
final battle and in keeping with his persona, he showed incredible strength,
tenacity and courage. The family would like to express their heartfelt
thanks for the thoughts and prayers from his dear friends and fans. Les Paul
was 94.
One of the foremost influences on 20th century sound and responsible for the
worldıs most famous guitar, the Les Paul model, Les Paulıs prestigious
career in music and invention spans from the 1930s to the present. Though
heıs indisputably one of Americaıs most popular, influential, and
accomplished electric guitarists, Les Paul is best known as an early
innovator in the development of the solid body guitar. His groundbreaking
design would become the template for Gibsonıs best-selling electric, the Les
Paul model, introduced in 1952. Today, countless musical legends still
consider Paulıs iconic guitar unmatched in sound and prowess. Among Paulıs
most enduring contributions are those in the technological realm, including
ingenious developments in multi-track recording, guitar effects, and the
mechanics of sound in general.
Born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, Les
Paul was already performing publicly as a honky-tonk guitarist by the age of
13. So clear was his calling that Paul dropped out of high school at 17 to
play in Sunny Joe Wolvertonıs Radio Band in St. Louis. As Paulıs mentor,
Wolverton was the one to christen him with the stage name ³Rhubarb Red,² a
moniker that would follow him to Chicago in 1934. There, Paul became a
bonafide radio star, known as both hillbilly picker Rhubarb Red and Django
Reinhardt-informed jazz guitarist Les Paul. His first recordings were done
in 1936 on an acoustic‹alone as Rhubarb Red, as well as backing blues singer
Georgia White. The next year he formed his first trio, but by 1938 heıd
moved to New York to begin his tenure on national radio with one of the more
popular dance orchestras in the country, Fred Waringıs Pennsylvanians.
Tinkering with electronics and guitar amplification since his youth, Les
Paul began constructing his own electric guitar in the late ı30s. Unhappy
with the first generation of commercially available hollowbodies because of
their thin tone, lack of sustain, and feedback problems, Paul opted to build
an entirely new structure. ³I was interested in proving that a
vibration-free top was the way to go,² he has said. ³I even built a guitar
out of a railroad rail to prove it. What I wanted was to amplify pure string
vibration, without the resonance of the wood getting involved in the sound.²
With the good graces of Epiphone president Epi Stathopoulo, Paul used the
Epiphone plant and machinery in 1941 to bring his vision to fruition. He
affectionately dubbed the guitar ³The Log.²
Les Paulıs tireless experiments sometimes proved to be dangerous, and he
nearly electrocuted himself in 1940 during a session in the cellar of his
Queens apartment. During the next two years of rehabilitation, Les earned
his living producing radio music. Forced to put the Pennsylvanians and the
rest of his career on hold, Les Paul moved to Hollywood. During World War
II, he was drafted into the Army but permitted to stay in California, where
he became a regular player for Armed Forces Radio Service. By 1943 he had
assembled a trio that regularly performed live, on the radio, and on
V-Discs. In 1944 he entered the jazz spotlight‹thanks to his dazzling work
filling in for Oscar Moore alongside Nat King Cole, Illinois Jacquet, and
other superstars ‹at the first of the prestigious Jazz at the Philharmonic
concerts.
By his mid-thirties, Paul had successfully combined Reinhardt-inspired jazz
playing and the western swing and twang of his Rhubarb Red persona into one
distinctive, electrifying style. In the Les Paul Trio he translated the
dizzying runs and unusual harmonies found on Jazz at the Philharmonic into a
slower, subtler, more commercial approach. His novelty instrumentals were
tighter, brasher, and punctuated with effects. Overall, the trademark Les
Paul sound was razor-sharp, clean-shaven, and divinely smooth.
As small combos eclipsed big bands toward the end of World War II, Les Paul
Trioıs popularity grew. They cut records for Decca both alone and behind the
likes of Helen Forrest, the Andrews Sisters, the Delta Rhythm Boys, Dick
Hayes, and, most notably, Bing Crosby. Since 1945, when the crooner brought
them into the studio to back him on a few numbers, the Trio had become
regular guests on Crosbyıs hit radio show. The highlight of the session was
Paulıs first No. 1 hit and million-seller, the gorgeous ³Itıs Been a Long,
Long Time.²
Meanwhile, Paul began to experiment with dubbing live tracks over recorded
tracks, also altering the playback speed. This resulted in ³Lover (When
Youıre Near Me),² his revolutionary 1947 predecessor to multi-track
recording. The hit instrumental featured Les Paul on eight different
electric guitar parts, all playing together. In 1948, Paul nearly lost his
life to a devastating car crash that shattered his right arm and elbow.
Still, he convinced doctors to set his broken arm in the guitar-picking and
cradling position. Laid up but undaunted, Paul acquired a first generation
Ampex tape recorder from Crosby in 1949, and began his most important
multi-tracking adventure, adding a fourth head to the recorder to create
sound-on-sound recordings. While tinkering with the machine and its many
possibilities, he also came up with tape delay. These tricks, along with
another recent Les Paul innovation‹close mic-ing vocals‹were integrated for
the first time on a single recording: the 1950 No. 1 tour de force ³How High
the Moon.² This historic track was performed during a duo with future wife
Mary Ford. The coupleıs prolific string of hits for Capitol Records not only
included some of the most popular recordings of the early 1950s, but also
wrote the book on contemporary studio production. The dense but crystal
clear harmonic layering of guitars and vocals, along with Fordıs close
mic-ed voice and Paulıs guitar effects, produced distinctively contemporary
recordings with unprecedented sonic qualities. Through hits, tours, and
popular radio shows, Paul and Ford kept one foot in the technological
vanguard and the other in the cultural mainstream.
All the while, Les Paul continued to pine for the perfect guitar. Though The
Log came close, it wasnıt quite what he was after. In the early 1950s,
Gibson Guitar would cultivate a partnership with Paul that would lead to the
creation of the guitar heıd seen only in his dreams. In 1948, Gibson elected
to design its first solidbody, and Paul, a self-described ³dyed-in-the-wool
Gibson man,² seemed the right man for the job. Gibson avidly courted the
guitar legend, even driving deep into the Pennsylvania mountains to deliver
the first model to newlyweds Les Paul and Mary Ford.
³Les played it, and his eyes lighted up,² then-Gibson President Ted McCarty
has recalled. The year was 1950, and Paul had just signed on as the namesake
of Gibsonıs first electric solidbody, with exclusive design privileges.
Working closely with Paul, Gibson forged a relationship that would change
popular culture forever. The Gibson Les Paul model‹the most powerful and
respected electric guitar in history‹began with the 1952 release of the Les
Paul Goldtop. After introducing the original Les Paul Goldtop in 1952,
Gibson issued the Black Beauty, the mahogany-topped Les Paul Custom, in
1954. The Les Paul Junior (1954) and Special (1955) were also introduced
before the canonical Les Paul Standard hit the market in 1958. With
revolutionary humbucker pickups, this sunburst classic has remained
unchanged for the half-century since it hit the market.
³The world has lost a truly innovative and exceptional human being today. I
cannot imagine life without Les Paul. He would walk into a room and put a
smile on anyoneıs face. His musical charm was extraordinary and his
techniques unmatched anywhere in the world,² said Henry Juszkiewicz,
Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. ³We will dedicate ourselves to preserving
Lesı legacy to insure that it lives on forever. He touched so many lives
throughout his remarkable life and his influence extends around the globe
and across every boundary. I have lost a dear, personal friend and mentor, a
man who has changed so many of our lives for the better.²
³I donıt think any words can describe the man we know as Les Paul
adequately. The English language does not contain words that can pay enough
homage to someone like Les. As the ³Father of the Electric Guitar², he was
not only one of the worldıs greatest innovators but a legend who created,
inspired and contributed to the success of musicians around the world,² said
Dave Berryman, President of Gibson Guitar. ³I have had the privilege to know
and work with Les for many, many years and his passing has left a deep
personal void. He was simply put * remarkable in every way. As a person, a
musician, a friend, an inventor. He will be sorely missed by us all,²
With the rise of the rock ını roll revolution of 1955, Les Paul and Mary
Fordıs popularity began to wane with younger listeners, though Paul would
prove to be a massive influence on younger generation of guitarists. Still,
Paul and Ford maintained their iconic presence with their wildly popular
television show, which ran from 1953-1960. In 1964, the couple, parents to a
son and daughter, divorced. Paul began playing in Japan, and recorded an LP
for London Records before poor health forced him to take time off‹as much as
someone so inspired can take time off.
In the 1977, Paul resurfaced with a Grammy-winning Chet Atkins
collaboration, Chester and Lester. Then the ailing guitarist, whoıd already
suffered arthritis and permanent hearing loss, had a heart attack, followed
by bypass surgery.
Ever stubborn, Les recovered, and returned to live performance in the late
1980s. Even releasing the 2005 double-Grammy winner Les Paul & Friends:
American Made World Played, featuring collaborations with a veritable whoıs
who of the electric guitar, including dozens of illustrious fans like Keith
Richards, Buddy Guy, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, and Joe Perry.
In 2008, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame paid tribute to Les Paul in a
week-long celebration of his life which culminated with a live performance
by Les himself. Until recently Les continued to perform two weekly New York
shows with the Les Paul Trio, at The Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, for
over twelve years where a literal whoıs who of the entertainment world has
paid homage. It has been an honor to have Les Paul perform at The Iridium
Jazz Club for the past twelve years hosting such luminaries as Paul
McCartney, Keith Richards and others and is a tragic loss to owner Ron Sturm
both personally and professionally. Iridium intends to celebrate Les Paul's
music and legacy every Monday night.
Les Paul has since become the only individual to share membership into the
Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the National Inventors
Hall of Fame, and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Les is survived by
his three sons Lester (Rus) G. Paul, Gene W. Paul and Robert (Bobby) R.
Paul, his daughter Colleen Wess, son-in-law Gary Wess, long time friend
Arlene Palmer, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren. A private
Funeral service will be held in New York. A service in Waukesha, WI will be
announced at a later date. Details will follow and will be announced for all
services. Memorial tributes for the public will be announced at a future
date. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the
Les Paul Foundation, 236 West 30th Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York
10001.
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