A music legend died yesterday. Inventor and musician Lester William Polsfuss, died at White Plains Hospital of complications from Pneumonia. He was 94 years young.

So what you say? Are you a fan of Rock and Roll music? Heavy Metal? Country? Blues?, Jazz? If you enjoy any of these forms of entertainment, you owe a great debt to Mr. Polsfuss.

Better known as Les Paul, Mr. Polsfuss was the inventor of the solid body electric guitar, and was the leading developer of multitrack recording techniques
used by almost every recording musician in the world today. He is also credited with inventing or discovering many recording innovations including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects, and multitrack recording.

His innovative talents extended into his own playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many of the guitarists down to the present day.

In 1941,Les Paul introduced the first solid body electric guitar in the world...the first prototype was a 4'x4" piece of wood with steel strings strung on it. He played the instrument in a local nightclub and was deemed "a nut" for doing it...He added wooden "wings" to what he termed "The Log" to make it look like a more conventional guitar shape and the rest is music history.
Gibson Guitars started marketing the Les Paul Guitar in 1952, and it quickly became THE standard in guitars for a new form of music in it's infancy, a little fad called "Rock and Roll".

Les Paul, along with his wife, Mary Ford, garnered 36 gold records playing with his new invention. They had two number one hits; "VayaCon Dios", and "How High the Moon". His active music career spanned almost 80 years, from 1928 to 2009.

Mr. Paul continued to be an active musician up until the end of his life, playing in various New York night spots. Stars such as Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin), Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), Bruse Springsteen, and Eddie Van Halen would often sit in with him, paying due homage to the Maestro.

He truly left a great legacy that few can come close to matching.

Here he is, playing the entire band in 2006:

One of my favorite Les Paul songs:

Posted by: Delftsman3 at 06:04 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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