a true genius.
It’s a word that is so over used in many aspects of life, genius, music is no exception. How many dullards have you heard being called a genius just because they sell a few records to the sheep of society?
But it as word that should be used to describe the late great Lester William Polsfuss… Les Paul, who sadly died yesterday, August 13th, aged 94.
In a way you can forget the guitar, he didn’t really design the Gibson Les Paul, he just liked what they came up with which was a reverse of the companies reaction to his first solid body creation “The Log”. They asked him to put his name to it and never be see playing anything else but it. Which he did the rest they as they say is history.
It’s everything else he should really be remembered for from his great playing, with the greats to his innovations in sound and recording. With that signature guitar he really was the jazz playing godfather of rock and or roll.
My good mate Jon had the immense pleasure of sitting in with Les Paul at the great man’s regular Monday night gig at New York’s Iridium club in 2007…
Where would music be with the likes of multitracking, tape delay etc? Without “Red Hot Red” the “Wizard of Waukesha”?
Les Paul brought six strings to electricity and electricity to six strings. –Billy Gibbons