RIP: Les Paul

[false_aesthetic]

Seriously.

My first guitar was a Les Paul Special double cutaway. I painted it, sanded it, toured with it, etc. One day while playing a show I turned around and hit my band mate in the back . . . the head snapped off . . . the guitar still sits in its case waiting for me to have enough $$ to fix it.

I've never played a Les Paul I didn't like. . . . I've never played a Fender that I've liked.

I would've never picked up a guitar if I hadn't seen Slash playing one... a Les Paul. Yeah.

[maunahaole]

He lived a full life. Immeasurable contributions to music in the last 60 or so years.

If you have never seen the documentary/biography (available on netflix) about him, it is worth the time to watch.

[conorb]

He will be deeply missed.

Guitars, recording, playing, the guy could do it all and innovated in all fields.

Won two Grammys at the age of 90 for crying out loud.

conor

[Bill Ladd]

[ron l edmiston]

mary ford - way back when, on tv - the best along with chet atkins!

ronnie :)

[WadePatton]

bought mine in '83. on an installment note (was stupid then). was a harvest gold custom. traded it off in college (even more stupid). only pics of it are me with the high school jazz band. oh the hair!

never more than a hack on the six-string, but enjoyed it anyway.

great axe.

cool dude.

rip

[happycampyer]

Still have my 20th anniversary Custom from '74. LP was a pioneer and as conor said, he really could do it all. Rest in peace, Les Paul.

[rounder]

LP was one of the inventors of electric guitar. The guy was a popular musician (years ago) with Mary Ford. He has been playing pretty much up to today. We should all have such a life. Liver forever LP.

[spamjoshua]

And for multi-track recording... His genius had as much to do with making Sgt. Pepper's, Pet Sounds, and Are You Experienced? possible as anyone.

94 good years, and still playing regularly in NYC in recent years.

Awesome.

I love the Les Paul Jr. A straight up plank with tone.

Joshua

[54ny77]

Saw him a few years or so ago in NYC at his long-running dinner theater show. It was amazing.

Dude was probably in his early 80's at the time, no less!

Glad to say I saw him at least once in my lifetime.

RIP to an amazing musician. :thumbs_up::adore:

[El Chaba]

His albums with Chet Atkins were great...the "Chester & Lester" albums....great friends and great guitarists....

There is a great story about Buddy Holly (a brief reference to it was made in the movie with Gary Busey) Anyhow, a 19 year old Buddy Holly was in the studio recording "Listen to Me" He asked the engineer to record his vocal and the rhythm guitar part along with the drums and bass....and then bounce all of that from one tape player to the other...while he added a harmony vocal and another guitar line. The engineer asked the kid where he learned about overdubbing, and Buddy answered. "The same place you did...Les Paul!"

[rwsaunders]

Good piece on NPR yesterday with some interviews of a few years ago.

[Don Walker]

I read an interview with him about how he was creating the first electric guitar with the microphone element from a telephone and his Mom's radio.

Light years ahead of the rest of the world....

DW

[jimi]

His albums with Chet Atkins were great...the "Chester & Lester" albums....great friends and great guitarists....

Over the Rainbow w/ Chet... http://ickmusic.com/2009/08/13/rip-les-paul/

Not with Chet but I like this version of Caravan (click the pic...), http://www.analogartsensemble.net/20...-les-paul.html

jimi

[Ray]

I tended to be more of a Strat guy in terms of what I liked to play, but you had to love Les regardless. In addition to all the crazy innovating he did, he was a hell of a dedicated player. The great story about him was about how he all but destroyed his fretting hand in an accident (auto maybe? - not sure) and made sure when the doctor re-set it, he did it in a way that would allow him to continue to play. I think he gave up some more normal usage to be able to still play guitar. That was pretty early so a lot of his best playing was with that rebuilt hand. All of the Chester and Lester stuff, for example.

Inspirational guy.

-Ray

[false_aesthetic]

http://questionablecontent.net/

Today's comic is good.

[Rivendelllicious]

1976 Les paul sunburst wth a visable twisted neck

[TRuss]

My Dad didn't kill me when I put a smiley face sticker on his old gold top as a little kid.

[domesgique]

My Dad didn't kill me when I put a smiley face sticker on his old gold top as a little kid.

My son will say about the same thing when he's older. "My dad didn't kill me when I colored on the top of his Martin with crayon." Not the whole top mind you. And it isn't a high end one either.

[jr59]

My Dad didn't kill me when I put a smiley face sticker on his old gold top as a little kid.

You are a very lucky young man. lol!