Sad Day #2

Les Paul, the father of the solid-body electric guitar, died today. There's some debate about who REALLY came up with the first solid body electric guitar, since Leo Fender is often credited as well. From what I understand, they were acquaintances and discussed ideas on a regular basis. It sounds like what happened was that Les Paul actually came up with the plans and prototype of the first solid-body electric guitar, but Fender... well, some people say that he brought it to the masses in the form of the Fender Broadcaster (the pre-curser to the Fender Telecaster). Others say he stole the idea from Les Paul and ran with it. Les Paul was foremost a PLAYER - an amazing Jazz guitarist in his own right. But he was also an innovator. He came up with ideas for delay effects, overdubbing, and multi-track recording, just to name a few. Either way, Les Paul was integral to the creation of one of the biggest interests in my life right now, so I think his death more than warrants a blog post.

Les Paul is an actual person - not everyone is aware of that. His name is more well known for its association with Gibson electric guitars. His Gibson "Les Paul Custom" model is probably the 2nd most common electric guitar in the world, second only to the Fender Stratocaster. You've probably seen the Les Paul being played by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin or Pete Townsend of The Who.

Townsend - below. The last moments of this Les Paul's life....

Jimmy Page - using a violin bow on his Gibson Les Paul