Lester William Polsfuss in 1946
Electric guitar pioneer Les Paul has died at the age of 94. Gibson Guitars has issued the following statement:
Les Paul, acclaimed guitar player, entertainer and inventor, passed away today from complications of severe pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plain, New York, surrounded by family and loved ones. He had been receiving the best available treatment through this final battle and in keeping with his persona, he showed incredible strength, tenacity and courage. The family would like to express their heartfelt thanks for the thoughts and prayers from his dear friends and fans. Les Paul was 94.
One of the foremost influences on 20th century sound and responsible for the world's most famous guitar, the Les Paul model, Les Paul's prestigious career in music and invention spans from the 1930s to the present. Though he's indisputably one of America's most popular, influential, and accomplished electric guitarists, Les Paul is best known as an early innovator in the development of the solid body guitar.
His groundbreaking design would become the template for Gibson's best-selling electric, the Les Paul model, introduced in 1952. Today, countless musical legends still consider Paul's iconic guitar unmatched in sound and prowess. Among Paul's most enduring contributions are those in the technological realm, including ingenious developments in multi-track recording, guitar effects, and the mechanics of sound in general.
Today, countless musical legends still consider Paul's iconic guitar unmatched in sound and prowess
Born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, Les Paul was already performing publicly as a honky-tonk guitarist by the age of 13. So clear was his calling that Paul dropped out of high school at 17 to play in Sunny Joe Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis. As Paul's mentor, Wolverton was the one to christen him with the stage name "Rhubarb Red," a moniker that would follow him to Chicago in 1934.
There, Paul became a bonafide radio star, known as both hillbilly picker Rhubarb Red and Django Reinhardt-informed jazz guitarist Les Paul. His first recordings were done in 1936 on an acoustic—alone as Rhubarb Red, as well as backing blues singer Georgia White. The next year he formed his first trio, but by 1938 he'd moved to New York to begin his tenure on national radio with one of the more popular dance orchestras in the country, Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians.
Le guitariste américain Les Paul, dont les innovations en matière d'enregistrement ont révolutionné la musique rock, est mort jeudi à 94 ans. Il était « l'une des influences majeures du son du XXe siècle et est à l'origine de la plus célèbre guitare du monde » qui porte son nom, rappelle la compagnie Gibson qui fabrique le modèle « Les Paul ».
Mais Lester William Polsfuss, de son vrai nom, fut d'abord un virtuose de la six cordes. Son style mêlant jazz, swing et airs folkloriques américains lui permit de donner la réplique à Nat King Cole ou Louis Armstrong, alors qu'il n'avait que la trentaine. Il eut aussi le privilège de se produire avec Bing Crosby, un crooner qui connut son heure de gloire avant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. It's been a long, long time, qui alliait les talents de guitariste de Les Paul à la voix de Bing Crosby, se hissa à la première place des ventes de disques en 1945.
C'est dans le domaine de l'enregistrement et dans l'acoustique que Les Paul se révéla. En 1952, la firme Gibson commença à fabriquer la fameuse « Les Paul », munie d'un corps plein, par opposition aux guitares électriques de l'époque dont la partie centrale était en bois creux.
Les musiciens contemporains doivent également à Les Paul le magnétophone multipiste qui permit à chaque musicien d'enregistrer sa partie, puis de mixer sur une seule et même piste.
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