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Les Paul dies
He is credited with helping develop one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and contributed to the birth of rock.
He also developed other influential recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing.
Les Paul began as a country and jazz musician, playing with Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole. He was also a successful performer in his own right, notching up 11 number one singles and 36 gold discs with his wife Mary Ford.
Unhappy with acoustic guitars, he had begun experimenting with guitar amplification at the age of 13 by placing a telephone receiver under the strings.
In the late 1930's he created "The Log," which was basically a length of common 4 x 4 timber with a bridge, guitar neck, and pickup attached. "I went into a nightclub and played it. Of course, everybody had me labelled as a nut," he later said.
The improvements in tone and sustain offered by the solid-body construction helped convince guitar manufacturer Gibson to develop a commercial version bearing the Les Paul name, which was first produced in 1952 and became a perennial favourite with guitarists everywhere.
Les Paul's work on taping techniques began after World War II, when Bing Crosby gave him a tape recorder. The first use of multi-track recording - now an industry standard - was on Les Paul's 1950 number one hit How High the Moon, a duet with Mary Ford.
Source: BBC News 
Artist Biography
Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) — known as Les Paul — was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations, including overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as...
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Comments
Les was an educator and innovator. I don't think we can ask any more of one man. Sadly missed.
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