Guitar Pioneer - Lester William Polsfuss

Known as Les Paul [June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009]

If Les Paul were to still be alive he would have become 96 years old today. His real name was Lester William Polsfuss but he is known as Les Paul. Les Paul was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. Les Paul did many innovations over the years but the biggest one would be the Solid Body Electric Guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible".


Les Paul's innovative guitar, called "The Log", had been built after-hours in the Epiphone guitar factory in 1940. It was one of the first Solid Body Electric Guitars. There was only Adolph Rickenbacker that had marketed a Solid Body Guitar in the 1930s and Leo Fender also independently created his own in 1946.

Les Paul had approached Gibson with his idea of a Solid Body Electric Guitar, but they showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire which later became known as the Telecaster models. So because of this the first Gibson Les Paul Guitar went into production in 1952. It had two P-90 pickups, a one-piece trapeze tailpiece and bridge, strings that slid under a steel stop bar and a golden finish.

To this day, various models of Gibson Les Paul guitars are used all over the world by both novice and professional guitarists. His guitars have entranced many great guitar players of our time like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Duane Allman and a host of other giants, and continues to have magical appeal today. A original Gibson Les Paul Electric Guitar will be pricey but a less expensive version of the Gibson Les Paul guitar is also manufactured for Gibson's lower-priced Epiphone brand.

Les Paul's innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.


The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition Les Paul & Mary Ford (Audio CD - Jun 7, 2005) $12.88
Gibson Les Paul Studio Electric Guitar, Worn Brown Satin $799
Epiphone LP-100 Les Paul Collection Electric Guitar, Ebony $249

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.

Les Paul is also credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

Guitar Boogie - From the Les Paul and Mary Ford Show June 1950

In the beginning there was no magnetic tape, not until the allied soldiers had gotten their hands on nazi technology after the second world war. So recordings were made not with magnetic tape, but with acetate discs. This was not that efficient, Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result he was satisfied with, he had discarded some five hundred recording discs.

Paul even built his own disc-cutter assembly, based on automobile parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the acetate-disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his fifteen-minute radio show in his hotel room. He later worked with Ross Snyder in the design of the first eight-track recording deck (built for him by Ampex for his home studio.)

Paul had never been happy with the way his records sounded. During a post-recording session talk with Bing Crosby, the crooner suggested Paul try building his own recording studio so he might be able to get the sound he wanted. At first Paul discounted the idea only to give it a few more minutes thought before deciding Crosby was right. Paul started his own studio in the garage of his home on Hollywood's North Curson Street.

The studio drew many other famous vocalists and musicians who wanted the benefit of Paul's expertise. The home and studio are still standing, but both had been moved to Pasadena at some point after Paul no longer owned the home.

On August 12, 2009, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. His family and friends were by his side. Paul is survived by his four children and his companion Arlene Palmer. His attorney told the media Paul had been "in and out of the hospital" because of illness. His last concert took place a few weeks before his death.

Chester & Lester Chet Atkins (Audio CD - Jul 24, 2007) $8.35
Les Paul - Chasing Sound Les Paul (DVD) $21.99
Les Paul & Mary Ford - All-Time Greatest Hits Les Paul & Mary Ford (Audio CD - Nov 1, 1995) $7.28
Les Paul: Live in New York Les Paul, Keith Richards, Steve Miller (DVD) $16.49