RIP: Les Paul, Electric Guitar Innovator, 94

ABOVE: A quick documentary introducing the legendary Les Paul.

When Elvis died, I wasn’t even the ghost of a thought in my mother’s head.

Kurt Cobain killed himself on my birthday, and I didn’t really care—it was an ugly end to a sad life, but it was his own stupid fault.

Today, Les Paul has died, and, for the first time, the death of a musician has really kinda broken my heart.

(Seeing Lux Interior go was sad, too…but this is worse, albeit equally expected.)

Right now, it’s too sad and soon to write anything coherent or insightful about Les Paul–his life, his music or his legacy, but we do want to make note of it (and hopefully write a more fitting tribute later today).

From arguably inventing the now-ubiquitous Les Paul electric guitar, to pioneering cutting-edge recording techniques, Les Paul’s influence and importance in music are difficult to understimate; he blazed a trail for more music and more musicians than we’ll likely every truly realize.

His career took off in the ’40s and, throughout the next six decades, he produced a number of hits both alone and with his then-wife, singer/guitarist, Mary Ford. The duo scored countless  hits with versions of songs ranging from “Tennessee Waltz” and “How High the Moon,” to “Tiger Rag” and “Vaya Con Dios,” and even starred in a music-based television series.

Until a few weeks ago, the venerable Les Paul was still playing a standing gig of two shows a night, every Monday night, at the Iridium Jazz Club in NYC–and was routinely upstaging players a quarter of his age. He fell ill, and had canceled a few shows, although the website made little comment on the matter, other than to say that he was feeling better and was expected to return soon. And I waited and waited for him to return so I could buy a ticket to witness his comeback.

Unfortunately, that won’t happen.

Les Paul, born Lester William Polfuss, passed away August 13 at a New York hospital due to complications from pneumonia. Les Paul was 94.

A few famous players of Les Paul guitars:
Slash (Guns’n'Roses/Velvet Revolver)
Zakk Wyld (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith)

BELOW: Les Paul and Mary Ford display their considerable guitar skills, Playing beautiful Les Paul guitars, of course .