RIP Les Paul

Four years ago today, Les Paul passed away. What an amazing guy.

When I first got into guitar around 1989, I was dreaming of owning a Gibson Les Paul. I remember seeing the man Les Paul on the cover of Musician’s Friend catalogs and knew he was the man behind the guitar, but that was it. Later on, I began hearing about his inventions – solid body guitar, multi-tracking, etc. These were amazing contributions to the world of music.

But, it was years later, not so long ago, that I started discovering Les Paul the musician. I always figured he was a nerdy inventor type, and didn’t realize he was an animal on guitar… and light years ahead of his time. What really opened my eyes on Les Paul was the documentary – Les Paul – Chasing Sound. This is an absolutely amazing documentary and it blew my mind. He was such a great guy, innovative thinker and do-er, and one hell of a musician. I admired that he continued to play in his 90s. He’s the type of guy, that I wish I got to meet before he passed away.

Here is a cool video of Les Paul and Mary Ford. Classic song – How High The Moon (1951), but watch for some of the licks he lays out. Damn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dxYncc0fy8

RIP Les Paul June 9 1915 – August 13, 2009

What do you guys think of Les Paul?? Let me know by commenting below