It is with great sadness that I report the passing of guitarist/inventor Les Paul, the "Wizard of Waukesha" at the ripe old age of 94.
Born Lester William Polfus on June 9, 1915, he revolutionized the music recording industry with the invention of the Solid Body Electric guitar.
A master 'String-Smith" who started out playing harmonica, then moved to banjo before taking up the six string guitar in his early teens, he backed up many famous vocalists including Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.
Long before the introduction of magnetic tape, he mastered the art of "multi-tracking", which involved the recording of several parts on acetate disks and then combining them to create an amazing amalgam of sonority.
Read more about this amazing innovator HERE .
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Comments: 23
Thanks for dropping by EM JAY.
For those who know how much I do NOT use the text messaging feature on my cell phone that is for emergencies only - my daughter texted this sad news to me because she thought I would want to know before I came in from the garden. (?)
Texting is becoming a plague.
I take the phone to the garden in case I fall and can't get up (saves me having to get a Life Alert button). My daughter is in another state.
sad~
Yes, I did hear about Mike Seeger and I understand that he had been quite ill and decided to forgo drastic medical treatment. It must be hard on Pete to outlive his brother like that.
I got to see and meet Mike Seeger a couple of years ago when he came to Berkeley to play at the Freight and Salvage Coffee House. He was a major force in preserving old time music and inspiring people to play it. He will be sorely missed. He was also one hell of a clog dancer.
I also found it really interesting too that he taught Steve Miller to play.
But that settles it, the next axe in my little harem is gonna be a Les Paul Studio. Gotta have a Paul to go with the Strat.
I hardly ever even look at ratings, but it is interesting. Probably one of the dumb-f*ck right-wing a**holes that I love to make fun of on political posts.
F*ck 'em.
Thanks for dropping by.
RIP Les Paul! and Thanks from a Kalamazoo-born blue boy.