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Les Paul's Genius Will Be Missed

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2009 3:57 PM CDT

(Newser) – Les Paul's death today at age 94 has the accolades pouring in:

  • Lou Carlozo, True/Slant: "The solid-body Les Paul guitar that Lester developed with Gibson in the early 1950s is rock and roll. Like the Fender Stratocaster, its shape is so synonymous with the genre that any musician can recognize it by its single-cutaway silhouette alone."
  • John Cook, Gawker: Without Paul's multitrack recording, "there would have been no White Album, no Radiohead, no nothing." Cook also is in awe of how Paul retaught himself to play in his 80s, when he couldn't bend his arthritic fingers.

  • Adam Rosenberg, MTV: When Paul played with B.B. King, his "fiery passion" was "clearly evident on his face as he fiddled with King's treasured Lucille, and it's the sort of drive that any musician should aspire to achieve."
  • Michael Tomasky: the Guardian: "Absolute genius." He recalls a story from the 1940s when Paul injured his arm in a car wreck and was told that if it were set properly, he might not bend it again. "He told them to set it at the proper guitar-playing angle."

Les Paul and his wife, Mary Ford, in 1951.
Les Paul and his wife, Mary Ford, in 1951.   (AP Photo, file)
In this 2004 file photo, Les Paul gets ready to rehearse at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York.
In this 2004 file photo, Les Paul gets ready to rehearse at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, file)
Les Paul and Paul McCartney in 1988.
Les Paul and Paul McCartney in 1988.   (AP Photo, file)
Les Paul in 2007.
Les Paul in 2007.   (AP Photo/ Colin Archer, file)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 3 comments
Fig-Neutron
Aug 14, 2009 12:56 PM CDT
That would be a very nice memorial to see. I hope at least VH1 Classics shows it.
Jes
Aug 13, 2009 10:33 AM CDT
Time to go play a song. I might not have Gibson, but it doesn't matter: we wouldn't have any electric guitars, any rock, without this great man.
nick
Aug 13, 2009 9:27 AM CDT
Les Paul has long been an icon among the icons of the music industry. I hope that his funeral is as well covered as Michael Jackson's, as I would expect to see many, many great musicians, past and present, turn out to pay tribute to him, his accomplishments, and his many contributions to the industry.

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