Les Paul wailing at the Iridium 07/07/1997

[donccrosby]

He was in his 70s

[JoshWhitt101]

He was actually 91 YEARS OLD, i mean playing on stage at that age. wow.

[owizard69]

Happy Birthday Les

[MutteredApologies]

les paul is a legend by both his playing, and his guitar. he has left a legacy that few musicians can compare to. almost anyone looking to buy a new guitar, will have his name cross through there mind. R.I.P Lester William Polsfuss

[Ands2990]

not to pick on lester or anyone commenting here, but the electric guitar probably WOULD have been invented eventually even if this guy hadnt been around. however, it couldve been a lotta years before it had happend. who knows what todays music wouldve been like if all the greats had been around as long Les Paul?

[buiwashere]

Happy 96th Birthday Les Paul!

[faningo276]

Les Paul was one of those guys that never seemed to make a mistake, every movement had it's purpose. His attention to detail and his improvisational ability was extraordinary to say the least, he covered a lot of ground with his playing. Just listen to some of the guys that he inspired (i.e. Steve Howe) and look at the company he kept (i.e. Chet Atkins). Les Paul was the real deal, that's why his name is on so many of our guitars! Wish I could have met him.

[2Funky4me]

now he should be Jamming along with Django up there.

[ncf11]

I think that most people who say he's not a great guitarist can't play that great themselves. In any case, i do believe there were many great guitarists in his prime - as there are many unknown great ones today. The part one misses is his invention of multi-track recording. Hard to dismiss this contribution.

[kevykev38]

Great inventor, An "Okay" guitarist for his time. there were better guitarists than him in his day. The thing that saved him was his inventions.

[Jimmyz96]

@kevykev38 How can you rate Les as just an "ok" guitarist? What do you play, and who do you think is better? I think you need to do a little homework before you make a comment like that. There are tons of musicians who would disagree with you. get inducted into four different halls of fame and maybe then, your comment might have a fraction of merit!

[kevykev38]

@Jimmyz96 He is an inventor and a good guitarist. Doesn't match and is outdated by many guitarists.

[kevykev38]

@Jimmyz96 You have your opinion i have mine.

[fromthenorthwest]

@Jimmyz96 I don't think he plays:)

[RSBSTEADICAM]

Basically any recording today in one way or another reflects Les' technical influence. This is not to mention his performance style that he gave freely to players across numerous generations!  But above all was his simply amazing and gracious demeanor, his willingness to listen to any new musical style and discuss any new technical concept!

[RSBSTEADICAM]

Hey, Les was just about the the "electric guitar" try this! Electric guitar, Sound on sound, Close miking, Multi track, Echo chamber, The Les Paul Paulverizer, The Gibson Les Paul Solid body guitar

[rexracing53]

You influenced so many including me RIP Lester

[ShyteKreek46]

The man, the myth, the legend...

[noodlez707]

@Doppeldiva22 How is he a liar.

[influencerscc]

He also invented Stereo audio and multitrack, sound on sound recording, without which, we would not have modern music, let alone the first solid body electric guitar which gave way to ALL electric guitars.

[beatboxguru7]

this is great, thats all you can say

[SlimyTurnips]

that guitar is absolutely STUNNING

[capnhowdy66]

ive played martin ive played stelling they are great but i want a gibson really bad that has to be the perfect instrument

[cjizcool123]

les paul owns Michele jackson

[nymetsrock]

people dont understand the guitar the les paul. people use for heavy metal, and hard rock, it is a jazz guitar. people think it was made for hardcore stuff, and it wasnt

[Awesomealec123]

@nymetsrock That is because it's made by gibson, making the sg it was a more "rock" guitar then anything else, and people asume, gibson, thats rock & roll, which it can be, but the creator himself (obviously) doesn't think that.

[beatboxguru7]

true so true....

[filipooosveritos]

@nymetsrock Dude, you fail so much, Les paul that Les Paul uses is jazz. I use Les Paul traditional, and i play Heavy metal and Rock, it sounds awesome.

[AndreasSku93]

@nymetsrock You couldn't be more wrong, it's a very multifunctional guitar. It sounds great for jazz yes, but I prefer it for how it sounds while playing blues and rock. Nothing beats that beefy gritty sound when it comes to tearing up the house!

[asherx24]

R.I.P les pauls

[theKlienex]

rest in peace :( brilliant creator of the great axe T_T

[arthur84]

Anyone else notice that Les never straightens his right arm?

[Sqroob]

@arthur84 He injured it in an accident I think. But he could still play, he just coudn't straighten it easily.

Don't take my word for it though, I might be wrong.

[rockinredneck57]

@Sqroob Yes, he was in a bad car wreck in 1948 and it shattered his arm and elbow. They told him they would have to set it in one spot as it couldn't move again. So he had it set to where he could hold and play his guitar. Took him a year and a half to recover. I'd say he did recover pretty well too.

[1dockthorwho23]

This is great love your video of him. I only had a camera with me at the time. I got up to take a picture of the band from my seat all the way off the side And they stop playing stuck there heads out and posed for the picture only a second but it was so cool. every body was laughing. They did,nt miss a beat like it was part of the show. great man.

[ztarrfect]

@1dockthorwho23 Really thats an awesome story man :)

[FrancoDamn]

Les Paul deserved more tributes than Michael Jackson, the king of (market) pop. Without him Gibson only would be the ES or the old fashioned guitars. RIP Les Paul.

[Calluswhatyouwill1]

@FrancoDamn your right, but without him, gibson would only have accustics, and most guitar companies wouldnt exist

[LedZeppelinisgod100]

his tone is absolutely impeccable. not as impeccable as his playing. RIP Les Paul, innovator, creator, brilliant mind, oustanding soul.

[zari194]

couldn't have said it better!

[Dresden100K]

Thank you Double2Neck for sharing this with the world. What a treasure - and Les is kicking A in this session. You can see the arthritis in his hands but he "re-taught" himself different guitar fingerings to get around it. Truly the original post-modern guitar hero. He's kinda pissed about the hum-buzz and the new sound guy - LOL. Then he starts tearin' it up. What a show! All you folks that share the Iridium gigs they've been to - thanks for sharing with the rest of us.

[angelofrock420]

I always said that I would see him on in New York before he died and I regret every minute of my life not making that happen. A man that owned the guitar of Django Reinhart and could play it even better.

[thejazzman8]

les had all his fingers though

[angelofrock420]

Well that depends on which part of Paul's life you are referring too. In the last decade of Les' life you might note that his crippling arthritis forced him to visit the Cleveland Clinic to have two of the fingers on his left hand frozen into place so he could continue playing at Fat Tuesdays every Monday night. Django loses his fingers to fire. Les to arthritis, but I agree that Django had to deal with that disability longer than Les.

[thejazzman8]

their both fucking great though, my uncle has a bunch of les paul recordings signed by les, because they were friends les even wrote details on the record sleeves explaining the sound engineering stuff, what a genius. I tried to make a black box but it blew out in like three seconds.

[gjrodin]

Les Paul listened to Django

[StrumTheStrings]

1:53 famous les

[sclogse1]

You have to wonder who was his inspiration when he first started playing incredible riffs. Nat King Cole? Nat was dazzling on piano....and back then you had to have style...watch Ellington at the piano...or Harpo at the harp...

lotta flair...Anyway....it usually takes someone much faster and better than me to listen to to make a jump. Who did Les listen to?

[RauryT]

whats this song called??

[shakeypitt]

"I found a new Baby".

[GummygooFilms]

i wish i got to see him before he died. RIP

[blitzspeer]

Here''''''''s what Les Paul means to me.I watched this and I'm 38 mind you and I'm gonna go play my guitar on a clean channel for hours,because this just reminded me of where it all came from and how beautiful the electric guitar can really be,no distortion maybe just slight delay and reverb,wow he's missed RIP sir LES Paul.

[orpheus06]

Benny Goodman times....Charlie Christian!! Tin Pan Alley!

[ToothDecay7758]

Can't believe this was only 12 years ago. Such a great man

[daddycow]

GOD I LOVE THIS MAN! =D I miss him!

[M5Brown]

I just heard a 1990s interview with Les Paul with Terry Gross. When he started playing again in the 1990s, he said he had arthritis so bad he could only move two fingers on hand that frets. Check out in this video and you'll notice his hand fingering is limited, but the man is still the king!

[Sac077]

Yeah you can tell he's mostly using 2 fingers. Still the man's skill was epic

[GymFloozie]

Yeah, and the good thing is he don't have arthritis no more. All fingers go! Rockin it up in heaven. Him and Chet. Givin' God a few pointers. Makes me almost wish I was there.

[666patrickbateman666]

A truly wonderful man with a brilliant mind and soul.

Thanks for everything!

RIP Les

[FLIGHTCOMPANY]

R.I.P Les Paul, even though I don't play guitar, I still know your name from my dad's Gibson Les Paul Guitar.

[believer06]

he's done so much mor ethan just introduce the LP guitar. He's influenced many guitarists with his playing as well. He was doing stuff in the 40s and 50s that was never even heard of.

[loeffel19]

dude, i still can't believe you're passed away.. =( genius, that's all i want/have to say.. just genius .. you were a real genius.. i wish i could play like that when i'm 82 ;-).. millions of people adore you, your work, your developments, your way. respect! R.I.P

[odablast]

wow fucker now your musicians. probably one of the greatest inventors that ever lived in the music world

[thehifidoc]

He was quite old when he recorded this. He used to be blindingly fast, with a great sense of melody. He was a great man!

[VAB0L0]

He may be an old fart, but he is probabably the most influential, funniest, best guitarist and kindest old fart out there. Seriously, I probably won't be half the fart he was, just a small gas leak that no one will notice.

What I really mean to say is that I admire this man for what he was, and for what he left behind for the rest of the world.

Rest In Peace, Lester William "Les Paul" Polfus.

[iphonefanatic123]

R.I.P Les Paul, the world will miss you dearly

[adawg48]

wow that was pretty low man he was one of the greatest guitar makers ever he was not be the greatest guitarist but he certainly was one of the best makers

[UberNoobtard]

Music WOULD NOT be what it is today without his work. The "old fart" needed to die? That is probably the most harsh comment I've ever heard anywhere in my whole life. Seriously, go f*ck yourself.

[madamerotten]

Fuck you.

[elconchristador]

Wow...you are an idiot..and not a very nice one at that.

[loeffel19]

no brain, no comments! understand? but first of all learn to have some respect! he needed to die?! i thought only nazis were brainless.. but i found a new one.. that's emberassing, real real emberassing...

[Amidol777]

Superb talent into his nineties! Our lives are so the much richer for his great contribution in recording as well as fine craftsmanship with the instrument so well suited for his skill.

[mastermetx]

Im a school teacher in México and told to my 12 years old students that an extraordinaire man has passed away and his name was Les Paul, Every legend must be remember.Viva Les Paul¡

[sifs4]

Legendary guitarist, creator of multi-track recording, the solid body guitar and reverb we will all miss you very much. Rest in Peace Les Paul

[7Stringuzr]

RIP a true genuis and legend. you will be missed

[Todtorsa]

he plays really good

[steaminsteveh]

You dumb ass he created the solid body electric

[hurricaneofrock]

you dumbass! Eddie Van Halen looks up to this man. and guess what? he invented the Gibson Les Paul, so no, im pretty sure that is a real gibson LP, as it IS NAMED AFTER HIM! he just died yesterday, at 94 years old, and you should show him some fucking respect, as hes the father of Rock n Roll, and the solid body electric guitar.

[dpopa15]

R. I. P.

[CorrodedFetus]

R.I.P.

[stev1212]

R.I.P

[ckolonko]

RIP A true genius.

[Dregan]

RIP

[rawrrimadinosawrx]

rip ..

[theDrumkilla]

RIP Awesome guitar player and amazing inventor!

[Chomite]

rip will be missed forever and ever.

[soundslikefrank]

Genius inventor/player; great man.

R.I.P. Mr. Les Paul 1915-2009

[whereisgelodawg]

RIP

Les Paul

[theladykillers]

RIP sir :-(

[RICECAKEGOESWHEE]

how did they film him he just died????

[kerihobo]

hahahahahahahahahahaha stupid asss hahahah but you arent serious.... rite? ;)

[theDrumkilla]

Check the date of the film DA.

[0xXZOSOXx0]

hahahahafh this comment made my day

[alittlebitoffiddle]

The song is I Found A New Baby

[Honeypietwinny]

I was lucky to see him 3 times at the Iridium... and meet him after the shows... he said two shirts... I will never forget I went to see Jeff Beck play at the Roseland in NYC... this little old man was running through the audience to get back stage.. and i said that Les!!! I scream his name and he gave me a big old hug!!!!

[geraldhdez]

REST IN PEACE LES PAUL. 1915-2009.

[skrbeleven]

man... Brilliant Man. Huge Loss.

[motogsxr1121]

rip u wer and still are the best

[jm3004]

Rip...Chets been waiting for ya.

[SgtPeppers495]

RIP

[parigod]

is there anyone who is not going to spam RIP, and might give me the name of this song?

[FordIsBetter]

RIP!

[taintingfeature]

RIP: Guitar legend: Les Paul

[nicozx191]

RIP and hi to hendrix

[Edhallick]

Cool guy but don`t you think it`s pretty silly for him to name himself Les Paul after the guitar? I mean a-duh, that`s like calling yourself "Mr. Fender Strotocaster" Pretty retarded.

[ouchana]

YOU is pretty retarded dude...

[2terrapin]

I hope you are kidding... the guitar was made by him. The Les Paul Gibson guitar was his creation as well as multi-tracking. Rock as we know would not of been the same if it were not for MR. Les Paul. Rest in peace, Thank you Mr Les Paul

[absolutnotkiss]

The guitar was named after him, HE invented it!

[TobiasRieper47]

Really? I mean....., really?

[budgy123]

ok ur pretty retarted.....he made the guitar homo...he named the guitar after himself R.I.P

[Megadedly]

DUMBASS, his NAME IS Les Paul. He didnt name himself after it.

[novaduh]

Dude there is stupid and there is you omg your just on a whole nother level of stupid

[songcaller12]

really??? please tell all of us you are not the biggest dumbass in the world.... seriously.....you should not even call yourslef a muscian or pick up an intrument for that comment

[blunderbus21]

Here is living proof...find what your true passion is, go for it and never look back. :)

[mortorjar]

RIP

[parigod]

What song is that?

[cjaxe00]

r.i.p les paul....thanks for the music......say hi to jimi when you see him......

[highonbeingnormal]

What a sweet guitar and man. RIP

[mahonriwilson]

Brilliant like a rising star

Brilliant like a falling star

Brilliant like a heavenly star

Who can beat this guitar star?

[guitars470dxqmcn]

R.I.P. Les Paul

[GerlovesCami]

R.I.P Les Paul

[Redlabel0]

R.I.P Les Paul we will never forget you thanks for the guitar the shape n' the tone now you are immortal 'cause your guitar

[franko2k]

Godspeed Lester. You had one heckuva run.

.

FWIW: The guitar Les is playing was NOT built by Gibson. They supplied the headstock logo.

It was built by Tommy Doyle.

[krissovo]

RIP.......:-(

[Jepaco]

oh, my god. the man who designed my beloved guitar is dead. guitar will never be the same. RIP.

[gibsongrrl333]

Thank you, Les. RIP

[electricrevelations]

les was a better player than every shredder in the history of the universe! and it'll stay that way till the end of time!

[Double2Neck]

R.I.P. This is a very sad day. We will miss you much!!! I hope and pray that I get to be 94 and still able to wail on the guitar!!!

[paulcage79]

R.I.P

[DanBeatlesFan]

wich song is that?

[DanBeatlesFan]

what's the name of the song??

Les Paul RIP

miss you

[homelessballoon]

R.I.P. Les Paul - you were a great musician and innovator!

[xXDannyd775Xx]

R.I.P. Les Paul I thank you, how you opened the road for many musicians today. You shall be rememberd for every time I put my hand on a electric guitar

[jcbak]

Thanks, Les. RIP....

[Hoopermazing]

This just goes to show what a mensch Les Paul was. A lot of performers, with a whole hell of a lot less juice that Les Freaking Paul, would have berated the sound guy something awful. Old Les (FYI: the guy who invented multi-track recording and the solid-body electric guitar) just tells a few self effacing jokes about his hearing aid.

[leatherbow]

It is a sad day for music. He will always live on through our music.

[GODhimself37]

RIP Les Paul, we will miss you!

[zellmerfudd]

RIP Les Paul...Thanks for everything

[DuckyVader]

The legend.

[digitamer139]

idk y it makes me smile

[nacholad]

wow a legend in the guitar buissness. Even at his age he can still play extremly well. Im getting a les paul soon and hope he can sign it

[nacholad]

nope

[roemen04]

He's still great and well. I first heard his song CARIOCA at 1957. At the time I can't either read or write because I enter kindergarten by age of 6.

But I owned his CD record at 2001!!! The first LP CD music I had.

[Strike0329]

i'd kill for that guitar

[LPcustom76]

seems odd you never see him with a conventional lp.

[osensei2987]

Not really. Les approached Gibson as an inventor. He had a custom guitar that he add all sorts of gadgets to but Gibson rejected his ideas. Then later they cashed in on his fame by naming the Les Paul guitar after him. But in actuality, Les had nothing to do with the design of the Gibson Les Paul model. He only agree to let them use his name. If Les had his way then the Les Paul we know today would have all sorts of gadgets on it.

[LPcustom76]

right i have read or heard most of what you say, but he gets royalties from "les paul" sales. i just thought maybe he would want to promote the line a little more over the years. i think the only time i have seen him play one is back in the mid 50's with mary.

[guiks]

He invented the les paul...

At first, gibson rejected les paul and made a similar model to it. You might know it as SG. Les paul didn´t like it.

When fender launched the stratocaster in the market, Gibson saw in les paul a great potencial.

Les paul, along with leo fender, is one of the inventors of the solidbody guitar.

[redrocker1055]

You're kinda right.

Gibson intended the SG to be the replacement of the Les Paul, yes, to compete with the Strat. However, the Les Paul came first(1952) followed by the SG(1961) which actualy had the Les Paul name on it, Les Paul didn't like it and refused to endorse it, so Gibson changed the name to SG(Solid Guitar!)

Basically the SG was a redesigned Les Paul and was never intend to be a separate model.

I've never heard whether or not Gibson ever intend to keep making the classic Paul!

[knobstick]

Les Paul said of the SG "someone could get killed on those horns!"

[Tharamil]

when i went he played a nice sunburst studio... thats normal

[WoBuShiRenZe]

He's a god of guitars. x)

[travers1171]

I'm looking for track called BLOW THE SMOKE AWAY, it,s a B side from an old 78 LP, the A side is called RUNNING WILD, Rgds Gerry,

[travers1171]

Hi, I'm looking for the track by les paul and mary ford called BLOW THE SMOKE AWAY, it was on the B side of RUNNING WILD the old CAPITAL 78 record, Rgds Gerry,

[georgereuter]

Smoke Rings is the name..........absolutely beautiful.

[SonnyREast]

I wanna go to new york to see Les Paul play.Too bad i dont have Les Paul for him to sign.

[elsapodelazona3]

you dont need a les paul for les paul to sign it bro just get onne of your guitars and he'll sing it or just buy a album and he an sign tht

[BRANCHEDANTLER]

Went to see him at the end of August 08 and he was still playing great

[AlexGronstad]

U are lucky. Does he still play?

[BRANCHEDANTLER]

Yes 2 shows every Monday night

[rockinredneck57]

Les Paul is one of the best of all time. Great guitar player, great engineer and all around tinkerer of electronic gizmos! He really gets the most out of his instrument. Don't let his age fool you! He can still get after it!

[RitaMatthews]

This wonderful old man still does two shows on Monday nights at the Iridium in N Y. He's about 93. Find "Lover" and listen to it!

[masterofpuppets986]

les paul is the best guitar player ever!!!!

fu*k rap rock and metal 4ever

[AMEwrestling]

I think this song Les Paul played is "Lion and the Lamb." I first heard that song obviously from the Willie "The Lion" Smith.

[Ericejazz]

It's a nice old standard called "I've Found a New Baby" by Palmer and Williams. Great tune.

[gHR77701]

no.. hes rly old tho in his 90s

[dannysierra]

Most of you have no idea what Les has contributed to 'modern' music. Have a look at the related videos and learn!

[doctorpep1]

Yep!

[carslayer]

or like a really, really old version

[thepola360]

holy fuck the guitar :O#"!

[gotoeish]

that was so cool '

Les Paul rocks

[toyoubecritic1]

To see a rare les paul check "solo output" Betcha cant guess what model it is.