Les Paul (1915 - 2009)

Les Paul passed away on August 13, 2009, at age 94. With an active career spanning 80 years, Les Paul was a rare individual who fundamentally affected the course of our musical culture, not simply once, but many times.

In the mid-1930s, Paul invented one of the first solid-body guitars, which he christened "The Log," made out of a 4x4 post with a pickup, neck and strings. In the 1940s, he began early experiments with overdubbing, creating innovative recordings with multiple guitar parts using a series of acetate-cutting machines. He also developed methods to alter his guitar sound, which would later be refined into the delay and phasing effects that are common today. In the late 1940s, Les Paul received from his good friend, crooner Bing Crosby, one of the first tape recorders, produced by Ampex. Les Paul modified the machine to further his explorations of multi-track recording, eventually commissioning Ampex to build the first eight-track tape recording machine based on his designs. Paul's contributions ushered in the modern age of the recording studio, allowing for complicated, studio-generated masterpieces, from the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Phil Spector's "Wall of Sound", Hendrix's Are You Experienced?, to the most recent releases on the Top 40 charts.

In 1952, the Gibson Guitar Corporation began working with Les Paul and his explorations in solid-body guitar design to create the Gibson Les Paul*, which today is still one of the most popular guitars in the world. Les Paul continued to record and perform up to the time of his death -- in fact, in the last few years, well into his 90s, he still played every Monday night at the Iridium Jazz club in New York City. It is unlikely that the world of music will again be graced with a flame as bright as Les Paul. *The "gold top" Gibson Les Paul guitar was one of architect Frank Gehry's inspirations for the shape and color of the Experience Music Project building.