Les Paul. Guitarist Extraordinaire. 2

1. Whispering.
2. Chicken Reel.
3. Lover

TIMELINE
June 9, 1915: Lester William Polsfuss a.k.a. Les Paul is born in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
1928: Les Paul begins performing country music as Rhubarb Red at the age of 13.
1939: Les Pauls jazz trio performs at the White House at the request of President Roosevelt.
1941: Les Paul invents the first solidbody electric guitar.
1946: Les Paul temporarily drops out of music to work on a new guitar sound and recording style.
1947: The technique of multitracking is introduced to the world when Les Paul releases his first eight-track recordings.
1948: Les Paul nearly dies when his car skids off a bridge in a snowstorm.
1949: Les Paul marries singer Mary Ford, with whom he forms a highly successful musical duo.
1950: The Les Paul Show, featuring Paul, Ford and rhythm guitarist Eddie Stapleton, debuts on NBC Radio.
1951: How High the Moon, by Les Paul and Mary Ford, becomes a #1 single.
1952: The Les Paul gold-top solidbody electric guitar is brought to the market by Gibson Guitars.
1953: Vaya Con Dios, by Les Paul and Mary Ford, becomes a #1 single. The songs title translates as May God Be With You.
1954: Les Paul commissions Ampex to build the first eight-track tape recorder. It features a head, designed by Paul, that can record or play back tracks. Pauls Sel-Sync (Selective Synchronization) design becomes the industry standard for 30 years.
1961: Gibson introduces the new Les Paul model, which has design changes made without Pauls knowledge. At his request, it is renamed the Gibson SG, and the guitarist temporarily drops his endorsement contract with the guitar maker.
1967: Les Paul Now!, which features updated version of the guitarists earlier hits, is released on London Records.
1976: Chester and Lester, and album of guitar duets by Les Paul and Chet Atkins, is released on RCA. It will win a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.
1978: Les Paul and Mary Ford are inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
1983: Les Paul receives the Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in recognition of his significant contributions to the field of reocrding.
1984: Les Paul begins a Monday-evening residency at a Greenwich Village club called Fat Tuesday, which will continue until 1995.
January 20, 1988: Les Paul is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 3rd annual induction dinner. Jeff Beck is his presenter.
February 2005: Les Paul is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
June 7, 2005: The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition, a remastered collection of Les Paul and Mary Fords classic Fifties recordings, is released.
May 9, 2007: A film documentary entitled Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90 debuts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Les
• Paul
• Whispering
• Chicken
• Reel
• Lover

[october2938]

There are no words to describe the multi talented Les Paul, no one will replace him ever

[Davivd2]

The palm muted sweeps on the first song are insane.

[MaloneyGuitars]

at 5:57 it is unrefutable that the song was sped up. That note doesn't go that high on any guitar,

[sheddski]

when they made him they broke the mold ONE OF A KIND .

[bakersfieldmusicnow]

just sweet!

[neogenesisfortuna]

Nobody would hear music 'like this' until the 80's.... It almost sounds like Mario.

So good to know that he is still recognized today, though mostly through the company. Beautiful guitarist.

Thanks for posting!

[sheddski]

he was the worlds greatest guitar player ever and that was before rock and roll

[HolyMotherofGrid]

100% genius. What more needs to be said?

[Wagimawr]

@poinkero Actually, Les used recording at half speed as a way to get octave effects; a lot of his ridiculously high passages couldn't be achieved otherwise at the time. Now, when you use a pitch shifter pedal to play sounds an octave higher than the guitar can reach, you're actually copying the more natural technique of recording at half speed.

One of the many tricks guitar players take for granted that wouldn't have been possible without Lester Polfus. ;)

[poinkero]

am I hearing a pitch shifter w/ the guitar?

[alau18]

I know patti page did a bunch of multi tracking in her vocals.

But not sure of the timeline.

Did she adopt it due to les' lead?

[bettyswollex]

build a wall, and GET OVER IT!!!!!!! do'nt dwell on symantics!!!