Guitar Legend Les Paul Dies at Age 94

[InternalDialogue]

Source: ABC News

Les Paul, the guitarist and inventor who changed the course of music with the electric guitar and multitrack recording and had a string of hits, many with wife Mary Ford, died on Thursday. He was 94.

According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=8319833

[babylonsister]

1. And he is a legend. RIP, Mr. Paul. nt

[Bigmack]

2. Truly... "the day the music died"... nt

[bliss_eternal]

3. if heaven exists...

...i hope he's having one heck of a jam session w/jimmy hendrix, john lennon, kurt cobain, zappa and all our other fallen guitar heroes.

may he rest in peace.

[jus_the_facts]

4. RIP Mr. Paul...on a PBS documentary he talked about how he and his son....

....traveled around NYC to try to find a guy that blew Les Paul away with how he was playin' his guitar...that guy turned out to be Jimi Hendrix.

[jus_the_facts]

19. Youtube videos where he talks about meeting Jimi Hendrix....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM1bdTewxAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9xpZU0kZRs

[central scrutinizer]

60. experience

<>

[alfredo]

5. He was my hero

Two gods Les and Chet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByGsHTlKmWk&feature=related

Les Paul and Mary Ford

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta_DOcsH4gU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEHJ1RtDElc&feature=related


Coming soon, Les, Chet and Django in concert!!

Some history

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ_5ubk2H4k&feature=related

[musette_sf]

9. + 1

saw the "Chester & Lester" show back in the 70s at the Bottom Line... got to stay for both sets... GREAT!



RIP Les

[alfredo]

18. Lucky you. My wife got to play and sing with Chet.

[MineralMan]

6. A legend! He had a very good innings.

[Twinguard]

7. Les Paul was a legend and a hero.

He will be missed.

On a side note, I have been lusting over Gibson Les Paul guitars for a long time. Maybe now I will save up my foldin' money to actually buy one.

[oldironside]

8. If you can't stretch to the real Gibson...

... Epiphone make an extremely high quality copy.

[Twinguard]

17. I used to sell Gibson/Epiphone guitars.

I even owned an Epi once. I was not impressed by the quality at all. Sure they look like Gibsons, but the similarities end there. The woods they use are the low grade woods that get laughed at by real Gibsons. The pickups are poorly wound and cheaply made and the tuners are junk. In order to pump out high quantities of guitars, the quality really suffers in the details. Compare a Gibson LP standard's finish and fretboard inlay to an "equivalent" Epi and you'll see that there really is no comparison. I was lucky with my old Epi, but I can't tell you how many I've seen with fretboard problems. As I mentioned earlier about the woods, the fretboards on Epi guitars are inferior, the biggest problems being "dead spots" due to looser grain and "humping" which leads to fretboard buzz due to poorly cured boards. Also on the subject of woods, Gibson LP bodies are solid mahogany and Epi LP bodies are butcher block bodies. All of these subtle difference make for a completely different sounding guitar. I've tested Eppies against Gibsons through the same amp using the same amp settings and the Gibsons sound enough better that it's not worth it for me to save the money to buy the inferior guitar.

There are some companies that make good/great LP knockoffs and the "please don't compare me to LP" single cutaway LP knockoffs, but even a killer PRS single cut doesn't quite have that Gibson LP vibe.

Sorry to rant about guitars, but I take my guitars seriously. I want any guitar I buy to be worthy to be an heirloom for my kids and then their kids and so on.

There's no way for you to have known that about me, so I do appreciate that you tried to offer an alternative guitar for me to look at.

[oldironside]

27. Don't worry...

... it takes more than that to offend me. I take your opinion seriously and must admit to being surprised.

Okay, I've never played an Epiphone Les Paul myself, but a friend whose opinion I value has, and he liked it. His usual guitar is a Telecaster (the real thing from California), so he should know the difference between a good guitar and a piece of shit. Maybe he spends too much time on his bass.

The only Epi I've ever played was a sort of 335 shape (can't remember what they call it) and it wasn't at all bad. Okay the neck was a bit chunky (made wrapping your hand round harder work than it should have been), but it sounded more than okay. Maybe something to do with it having new pick ups fitted.

But I agree with you. You get what you pay for and certainly any good guitar should gain in value rather than depreciate. But having said that I find the mid range guitars are of much higher quality than they were 20 years ago. When i think of the plank I started on...

[Twinguard]

33. Im glad I didn't offend you as that was never my intention.

I fully agree with you though, mid level guitars are way better than they used to be. I'm really a bass player, but I started on guitar and still like to play. My current guitar is a stratocaster with a few upgrades. I don't NEED a new guitar, but when I do upgrade I won't pull any punches. Eppies are fine for a mid level guitar, but I don't want a mid level guitar. With guitars, you do get what you pay for... up to a point. Some companies are really proud of their logo, and some guitars are made with worthless upgrades and frills, so doing "homework" is important. For someone looking for a LP who doesn't mind the things like bad pickups (or someone who plans on replacing them anyway), an Epi is a respectable choice. I, however, prefer to save up for EXACTLY the right guitar. Guitars are mostly wood, so I prefer to buy guitars made of the right kind(s) and quality. Fortunately guitars made with the best woods usually have the best components to go along with the wood. Also, guitars (any instrument really) are highly personal. I would prefer people play guitars that feel right to them, as opposed to what a self described guitar snob like me says they should play. I've heard players shred on guitars that I wouldn't even use for kindling. I'm also a firm believer in buying quality instruments that will appreciate in value.

There, I've shown some of my guitar freakiness. :)
For the record, I have a similar (though not AS extreme) freakiness about my shoes... My grandpa always said "You can buy cheap shirts, you can buy cheap pants, but DON'T cheat the feet". Good advice.

Also, for clarification, when I talk about good guitars and shoes, I'm talking about quality, not looks or fashion. In my head, simple looking & well built trumps the bells and whistles every time.

[oldironside]

36. Ah, a like mind.

If you’re going for the top end you can afford to be choosy. The customer is king. What do you fancy? Goldtop? Sunburst? I’d have the Sunburst because that was the first Les Paul in the UK (courtesy of Keith Richard, 1965.

Some companies certainly like to charge for the label – I’ve never been impressed by Rickenbacker (I expect you to violently disagree with me there), and there are some seriously nice guitars coming out of Japan if you look - and you’d be denying yourself a great pleasure if you didn't shop around. I live in Hamburg (that’s Hamburg, Germany to you my dear colonial cousin) and instruments here are about 20% cheaper than in the UK, although still more expensive than the States.

My favourite music store is in Cologne (called Music Store, funnily enough) where you can play away to your heart’s content. You don’t even have to ask the assistant for most of the guitars. Just pick it up, choose an amp and off you go. That’s my kind of homework. Obviously the stuff at the top of the range is locked away, but I really can’t see how they can justify €20,000 for a relic version of Clapton’s Blackie. Madness…

The best advice I was ever given (shortly after I started saving, I think) was to buy the best basic guitar I could afford, which comes back to what you were saying about wood and pick ups. What’s the point of active electronics and a power assisted wang bar if the guitar’s made of chipboard and the frets are all uneven? Of course, the young lad who wrote in to Guitar Techniques Magazine last year to ask if he should upgrade his £50 guitar, his £50 amp or buy a radio mike (his preferred choice because it looks cool!) rather seemed to have missed the point.

Oh, and you’re right about the shoes. It’s the first thing a woman notices. That’s why I’m wearing hand stitched €250 boots as I type this. Oh, and they’re Made in America.

To finish, you can’t go wrong with a Strat, music is life and the only advice my grandfather ever gave me was not to be cheeky to the judge. He got an extra three months for that.

[Twinguard]

42. It seems like we're both on the same page.

I'm not a fan of Rickenbackers. I'm not saying that they aren't good quality or anything, I just don't care for them.

As far as shoes go, I don't worry about what they look like, but they need to be comfortable and durable. I prefer White's boots. They use top quality leather, they are hand made, they support feet really well, and they can be resoled and rebuilt for a fraction of the initial cost. Plus they treat their employees well and they are a local company. The last pair I bought was in the $400 range, and that was three or four years ago. I will probably need new solesnext year. Per year, I probably spend less on my shoes and boots than most people realize. Plus, my feet are happy, and after 10,000+ steps a day, my feet never ache like they do in regular shoes.

I use the same philosophy with guitars. I see lots of people who feel the need to trade in their mid-range guitars for other mid-range guitars on a regular basis. I prefer to buy a good one once and love it for a long time. Compare me to my brother (one of the guitar swapper types I just mentioned) and he probably spends more dollars per year on guitars than I do.

Quality beats quantity. :)

Oh, as to what I prefer... I like lighter colored bursts. Honey burst, cherry burst, and "iced tea" are my faves. The bursts that are really dark around the edges are generally not gradual enough bursts for my tastes. I also don't care for tri-color bursts as too often the end up looking to stripey. Gold tops are cool, but I need to see the grain of the wood. Good wood grain is just too pretty to cover up.

It sounds like your music store is a lot like the one I worked at. Pick it up, play it, compare it to others... Only the super expensive guitars had an "ask first" tag. Usually if the customer agreed to wash their hands first, we wouldn't deny anyone the chance to play (hooligans and little kids who misbehaved were the exceptions). We even let people take guitars home 'on trial' so they could hear it with their own amp and without salespeople hovering. I can't think of a single time in the years I worked there where we got burned by that. The store owner was a super cool old hippie, and everyone in the community liked him. It was a great work environment.

[SacredCow]

39. I own one Epi and ond Gibson....

The Epi is a '57 Les Paul Junior copy, and it isn't bad (at least, it isn't bad NOW- since I replaced the terrible stock pickup). I'd rather have a vintage Gibson LP Junior, but since it isn't an axe that I play often I couldn't justify the dough. I also played the Gibson reissues when I bought the Epi, and found them to be so close that it just didn't matter. The Gibbie was clearly better, but I still couldn't justify the additional $1000ish bucks.

My only Gibson is an L6-S. Single cutaway like a Paul, but otherwise a very different guitar (it was a Bill Lawrence design- not Les Paul). I'm really more in the Fender camp, truth be told. But hard to argue against the sound of a Les Paul through a Marshall stack.

Thumbs up on picking guitars for heirlooms! I hope that my son gets the guitar bug, so I'll have someplace for my guitars and amps to go when I kick the bucket!

:hi:

[oldironside]

41. Look, I know this is a sexist comment...

... to make in a supposedly liberal forum, but you just need to tell him, girls looooove guys who play guitars. Unless he's a moran he'll get the message and get the bug (I'm assuming he's over 12).

And we liberal leftie commie pinko types do need to breed. Otherwise the Palins really will inherit the earth.

Les Paul + Marshall Stack = chicken vindaloo + chilled lager = the sound of a rolls royce merlin at full throttle = a sunrise over Glastonbury = heaven. :-)

[SacredCow]

47. LOL...

I guess as a hummasekshul, I should be offended by the "girls love guys..." thing. But I'm not. :P

But no, he's only 7 so there's still a lot of time!

[Twinguard]

54. Hahaha!!!

Actually, my boys are 2 (twins, hence the handle Twinguard!), but they have both shown a huge fascination with daddy's (my) guitars. No matter how unruly they get, if I pick up my Martin and play a little ditty, they both stop whatever they are doing to sit down and become my audience. :) One of them really enjoys playing his bongos, so I'm hoping that one becomes my little drummer boy. The other one will surely become a little guitar hero. Since I play a lot of bass, we'll hopefully have our own family band. Too bad mommy (wifey) is tone-deaf... we could really get things going then.

SacredCow, I (hopefully obviously) don't pick guitars just for the heirloom factor, I plan on getting a lifetime's worth of use out of them myself. But when I do find myself dead, I want my kids to inherit something that will make them as happy as it will have made me and something that will withstand the test of time to make their kids happy when it's their turn.

I get the "chicks dig guitar players" line, as it worked wonders for me, but that thought never even crossed my mind when I first got interested in playing. My big brother was into playing, and since he and I never really got along, I figured it would be a way that the two of us could connect better. It kinda backfired on me for a while, I was just the piss ant little brother copying him, but now he and I can talk guitars all night long. If we lived closer to each other, we would probably jam on a regular basis.

To the breeding point: yes, we commie, leftie, pinko, bleeding-heart liberals do need to breed. Unfortunately, it seems more and more like the trend is like Mike Judge described in "Idiocracy." The smart, sensible, rational people have their 2.3 children, and the dumbasses have 14. After a few generations, the dumb-assery has completely taken over making a completely average person from our time the only person who can figure out that plants need water, not Gatorade (or whatever they call it... Brawndo?), to grow.

I hope that tonight Les Paul, Jaco Pastorious, and Buddy Rich get their jams on. Oh, and I'm sure someone up there can round up a Marshall stack for Les to play through...

[oldironside]

63. Outbreeding the Morans

You make an interesting point about idiots breeding faster than the bright. I've often thought that the total IQ of the human race is a constant and the population is growing. But, bear with me.

Sarah Palin currently has five kids (I think, and I can't be bothered to look her up on Wikipedia) and is in the process of divorcing Todd. This suggests she has nine more little moose stranglers to pop out by father or fathers unknown. A scary thought, given that her IQ is somewhere in the low 60s, and most of the guys she hangs around with can't even spell IQ.

To America's bright, virile young liberals I say this: It is your patriotic duty to nail Palin and therefore help to reduce the damage she will do to the gene pool. It's a difficult job but someone has to do it.

[blm]

65. heheh....play me.....

.

[Twinguard]

56. I want to clarify one quick thing about my rant.

I said that Epi bodies are butcher block bodies. They aren't exactly butcher block bodies, but rather are two or three piece bodies depending on the model. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, I used the language I did to differentiate them from the solid one piece bodies of the Gibsons. I have nothing against two or three piece bodies, my strat has a two piece body and it's been a good guitar for me. Sure, I wish it had a single piece body, but on the model I got, that wasn't even an option.

I know how people on these boards like to jump on little details like that to discredit the ranter, so I thought it best to clarify before the attacks start.

That is all.

[Kolesar]

11. Lay down the back beat,

Crank up your trusty Gibson

[paparush]

69. Nice Side By Side Comparison Here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFEhrTuiuzI

Love David Taub's videos. He does instructions and gear reviews.

[Crabby Appleton]

10. Vaya Con Dios, Les

[AnneD]

A dreaded double post.....

but Les left a wonderful legacy.

[AnneD]

12. A guitar god.......

that taught and inspired several generations of guitarist. He will live on in his students and music.

[DinahMoeHum]

13. RIP, Les Paul. Say hello to Frank Zappa for us. . .

a musician who made real good use of your guitars.

:yourock:

[The_Commonist]

14. Awww... One of the Greats!

My first guitar was a crappy Les Paul copy.

[scot]

62. Me too

Got it from Sears. Had a cement body. Heavy as hell. Not that awful a sound surprisingly. I use an Ibanez Iceman now.

[Burma Jones]

15. RIP to one of the architects of the Modern World

.......some of the really good parts of the Modern World.

Now to go listen to some vintage Les Paul.....

[blm]

31. Some may think you're exaggerating his import, but, imo, it CANNOT be emphasized enough

how important his work has been to the entertainment industry and to the enjoyment of music for everyone.

[Burma Jones]

34. As research continues to demonstrate how integral music is to being a human

Les Paul's role in ushering in such huge changes in how music is communicated to people will be all the more important......

[slampoet]

35. I agree. He is one of the most important Inventors of all time.

In fact i might say he is more important than Edison, Bell, but maybe not Tesla.

[blm]

37. OK....I guess Les would laugh and enjoy your reply, so I'll leave it at that.

.

[John Q. Citizen]

16. A brilliant man passes. He was a facinating human.

[drdtroit]

20. Les Paul, Jazz-Guitar Virtuoso and Inventor, Dies at 94

Source: Washington Post

Les Paul, 94, a Grammy Award-winning guitar virtuoso and inventor who helped bring his instrument, typically assigned to chug along rhythmically and compliantly, to the forefront of jazz performance, died today at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. He had pneumonia.

Mr. Paul first came to prominence for his fast and flashy jazz-guitar style. In the 1940s and early 1950s, he and singer Mary Ford, his wife, had hits with "How High the Moon," "The Tennessee Waltz," "Vaya con Dios" and "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise."

All along, he refined musical inventions in his workshop. He was an early designer of an electric guitar that had a solid body, and his model managed to reduce sound distortions common to acoustic instruments.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/08/13/ST2009081301806.html

---

R.I.P. Les, you leave us with an incredible legacy!

[Rob Gregory Browne]

21. Paul invented multitrack recording and the electric guitar

and revolutionized the music industry. May he rest in peace.

[Romulox]

38. He didn't invent the electric guitar. RIP nonetheless. nt

[Rob Gregory Browne]

58. Okay, okay, he invented the SOLID BODY electric, which is all that matters. nt

[classof56]

22. Incredible legacy and ah, the memories!

R.I.P. indeed, Les. Your music lives on!

[Why Syzygy]

23. aww

His name will live forever.

[blm]

24. I've been bracing myself for this day....and...dreading it....

Les had a huge impact on my life, especially in LA.

My gallery picture here at DU actually is of the two of us together, but, the admins cut it down to just my face and one corner of Les'.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_oet&address=358x152

I will ALWAYS love you for everything you are, Les.

I know you're at peace with your spirit entwined with Mary's now.

My deepest sympathy to Russ.

[B3Nut]

25. A legend of legends...RIP Mr. Paul

Thanks for all the music.

[Blue For You]

26. Sorry to hear about that.

He was a remarkable man. For the DU guitar fans, here's a pic of my 1975 Les Paul Deluxe guitar:

/>

[Billy Burnett]

28. A loss of a truly fine man.

A high point in my life was when I got to meet Les when I was design consultant for Roland US. We sought his input for a guitar synth pickup system many years ago. He was among the nicest and most open minded modern thinkers in the music profession.

I've got a lump in my throat just thinking of the exuberance and love he exuded (for music AND people) that was easily infectious.

[Triana]

29. R.I.P. Les Paul - a true legend. n/t

[Dennis Donovan]

30. Cross gently, Les...

:cry:

[Recursion]

32. My guitar gently weeps

:cry:

[The Wizard]

40. RIP Lester

He was a transformational icon in music. I remember his 15 minute TV show in the early 50 with wife Mary Ford.
Had the pleasure of meeting him at the Edison Museum where he played and spoke about the first recordings made by Edison.
He first amplified the guitar by taking the arm odd of a Victrola and sticking the needle into the guitar body.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

43. He will be forever missed. ....

RIP Les Paul

1923 - 2009



Goodnight sweet prince!

[Amerigo Vespucci]

46. You know that's a photo of Ron Paul, right? n/t

[Dennis Donovan]

48. ...

:spray:

[ElsewheresDaughter]

57. .....

:evilgrin:

[Vidar]

44. RIP Les.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

45. "I said, 'I can't do this.' Then I stopped and figured out how I could."

Les Paul: Father of the Electric Guitar

By Gwen Gibson, May-June 2003

Les Paul invented the solid body electric guitars at the heart of the rock and roll revolution—and at 87, he is still playing them.



Watching Les Paul perform so enthusiastically, it's hard to believe this affable award-winning guitarist-inventor has suffered a lifetime of health problems. Paul's right arm was so horribly crushed in an automobile accident in 1948 that there was talk of amputation. But a surgeon reconstructed the arm and put it in a cast at a 90-degree angle, pointing at Paul's navel.

"This arm is fixed in this position," Paul says as we talk in his crowded dressing room. "It doesn't go anywhere. I can't move it, but I can hold a guitar."

He's proven that he's both a trouper and a survivor.

"Lying in bed in the hospital in Oklahoma, I had the privilege of reading—Freud, Adler, electronics materials. And I did lots of thinking, creating, inventing, and writing songs. I found you can take all this drive you have and channel it into positive thinking."

Paul has also suffered a stroke, a broken eardrum, Meniere's disease and acute arthritis that has crippled the fingers on both hands. "They're frozen," he says. "I can't bend them." But he can hold a pick and he has revised his playing techniques to compensate for the loss of agility.

"Tonight, for instance, we were rehearsing "Deed I Do," and I said, 'I can't do this.' Then I stopped and figured out how I could."

http://www.aarpmagazine.org/lifestyle/Articles/a2003-05-01-mag-lespaul.html

[Romulox]

50. Les Paul did not invent the solid body electric guitar.

The Rickenbacker "frying pan" guitar was on sale as early as 1932. Les Paul didn't "invent" (design) his guitar until the late 30s, and the the first production Les Paul appeared in the early 50's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Elektrofryingpan.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frying_pan_(guitar)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_guitar

[mitchum]

52. You are right; he designed the coolest electric guitar, but not the first one

[slampoet]

64. The Rick Frying pan was a lap steel, not a proper guitar.

Also the frying pan had the same feedback resonance problems as the Hollow bodies which is why it wasn't a success. Take a look at the patent in your wikki link. The side view shows that the Frying Pan was a hollowbody. Hollow body guitars with pickups attached date even before the Richenbaker. the oldest photo i have seen is from 1925.

The innovation of Les Paul was that he was able to address the feed back problem AND make a guitar that was comfortable for someone used to acoustic guitars. The Solid body guitar is a distinctly different beast and it's a very important developement.

Also the reason he is given such credit to day is that his design has not changed significantly in 50+ years even though the music made with Les Paul guitars is more diverse than almost any instrument in the world.

[blm]

66. well said....

.

[slampoet]

67. When you grow up antinque hunting near Kalamazoo, you learn Gibson early.

[Romulox]

68. #1) Les Paul DID NOT design the Les Paul guitar.

The significance of Les Paul's contributions to his Gibson guitar design remains controversial. book "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" limits Paul's contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color (stating that Paul preferred gold as "it looks expensive", and a second choice of black because "it makes your fingers appear to move faster on the box", and "looks classy—like a tuxedo").<6>

Additionally, Gibson's president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly finished instrument. McCarty also claims that design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested reversed. However, according to Gibson Guitar, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused.<7> Another switch: the original Goldtop was to be all mahogany and the later Custom was to have the maple cap/mahogany body. Beyond these requests, Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were stated to be cosmetic. For example, ever the showman, Paul had specified that the guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Les Paul instrument, as well.<8> The later-issue Les Paul models included flame maple (tiger stripe) and "quilted" maple finishes, and once again contrasted the competing Fender line's range of car-like color finishes. Gibson was notably inconsistent with its wood choices, and some goldtops or customs have had their finish stripped to reveal beautifully-figured wood hidden underneath.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Les_Paul#Origins

#2) The only distinction between a "lap steel" and a "proper" guitar is playing position; there is no different technology involved, so the distinction is bogus.

#3) Here is the Electro String (later Rickenbacker) solidbody bakelite guitar from 1935.



http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000103.html

#4) Here is a solid body electric bass, from 1935.



http://www.stratcollector.com/newsdesk/archives/000103.html

#5) There is a difference between an "electric guitar" and an amplified acoustic guitar (hence the clearly-false assertion that Les Paul invented the solid body version of the former.)

#6) None of this is controversial.

#7) While I'm not a big fan, I've never seen him play the iconic Les Paul; he was known to favor the Gibson Les Paul Recording model (which he is seen holding in the pic below. While technically a "Gibson Les Paul", it is NOT the instrument we have been discussing.

[No Elephants]

49. He loved life and he did what he loved until he died, and did it beautifully. He had a good and

long life. He will be missed and remembered long and well.

I wish the same for all of us.

[mitchum]

51. Thank you for everything and rest in peace, Mr Paul

[MrSlayer]

53. Not a Metal player but still a Metal icon.

Horns Up for Mr. Paul!




R.I.P.

[Paladin]

55. RIP To A Genuinely Valuable Human Being. (n/t)

[BarbaRosa]

59. Good bye Les

My first real bass was/is a Ibanez Les Paul Recorder Copy. That pencil neck thumper still sounds awesome, although in truth my main squeeze is my Pbass. :toast:

[pleah]

61. Another legend gone. Bummer. :(

[alfredo]

70. He got fired from a radio station when he walked out. He

announced time for some news, moved the microphone next to the ticker tape and left.

[ProudDad]

71. So long to my first guitar hero...

I guess I'm getting older too...

But I'm still playing...

[tilsammans]

72. Had the pleasure of seeing Les Paul . . .

. . . doing one of his weekly gigs at the Iridium in NYC a couple of years ago. He was 90+ then. What a show! What an inspiration! :applause:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/08/guitar_hero_les_paul_a_longtim.html

RIP, Les. We'll miss you.