In Memoriam
Les Paul
June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009 · aged 94
Jazz · Country · Blues
Lester William Polsfuss, known to the world as Les Paul, was a virtuosic jazz guitarist and a towering inventor who quite literally built the foundation of modern music. Born in 1915, Paul was dissatisfied with the feedback issues of early hollow-body electric guitars. In response, he designed the 'Log'—one of the world's first solid-body electric guitars, which eventually evolved into the iconic Gibson Les Paul, the instrument of choice for generations of rock gods. Beyond the guitar, he pioneered modern studio techniques, inventing multitrack recording, tape delay, and overdubbing. Alongside his wife, Mary Ford, he used these revolutionary techniques to score massive 1950s hits like 'How High the Moon.' He continued performing his weekly jazz gigs in New York well into his 90s. Les Paul passed away from complications of pneumonia on August 12, 2009, at the age of 94. Every time a musician layers a vocal or plugs into a solid-body guitar, they are playing in the house that Les built.
Milestones
Solid-body electric guitar, Multitrack recording, How High the Moon
Also remembered in 2009
- Koko Taylor (1928–2009)
- Mary Travers (1936–2009)
- Michael Jackson (1958–2009)
- Ron Asheton (1948–2009)