I always believed my Dad loved being an entertainer more than anything else. He loved playing his guitar and telling his stories and watching his audience join in for over 80 years.
"The search for a hit record is the search for ‘a sound,’ that unique combination of an artist’s individuality, imaginative musical arrangement, and skillful engineering .... no one has been as successful in creating hits as Les Paul. No one has been as successful in achieving that unique combination."
Amplifying a guitar was a novel idea back in the 1920s. There were many technical challenges to overcome with few modern resources available. But as usual, dad's need to accomplish his goal of his guitar being heard led him to use the resources at his disposal or make them.
“The 8-track [concept] came along in 1953,” Paul recalls. LP: “While filming our Listerine show, I was taking a rest and looking up at the sky. My manager asked what I was dreaming about. I said that recording using sound-on-sound was crazy.
• Les discusses his special friendship with speaker innovator James B. Lansing.
• Les and Peter Freedman discuss microphones.
• Les discusses with Benny Goodman Musician vs Audio Engineer.
• Les Paul, Bing Crosby and the First Tape Recorder in America.
• Les tells the story of his "Monster" and the famous Fairchild Compressor.
• Les talks about introducing Gibson to a new idea. An incredible walk through the Gibson USA facility.
AND MORE
The Podcasts
Time Line
1915 → 2018
This guitar was the culmination of his dream, 30 years of unsung hard work, tireless, imaginative spirit, and dogged belief in his ideas. This amazing guitar is the first Gibson Les Paul Gold Top solid body electric guitar that Les Paul formally APPROVED, his # 1.
Gene & Tom Doyle talk about repairing and maintaining Les' unique one of a kind guitar collection and more.
Radio interview with Jim Lowe & Les
They talk about W.C. Fields, Judy Garland, and how the recording of “In The Good Old Summertime” came about and, as usual, much, much more.
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE WIZARD OF WAUKESHA
Les' mother, Evelyn, was the first and greatest influence on Les' career. She often sang songs as she cleaned. Three-year-old Lester quickly learned the songs' words and melodies, and Evelyn believed he was a music prodigy.
2. Les Paul And His Trio (1934 - 1946)
5. All-Star Guitar Jam
1988
1. Red Hot Red & Rhubarb Red (1922 - 1934)
The Entertainer
3. Les Paul & Mary Ford (1946 - 1963)
4. Les' Monday Nite Show (1984 - 2009)
There would always be a little of the professor in Dad that would come out when he explained his New Sound recording process.
Django Reinhardt was the second greatest influence on Les' career. Dad and Django met only four times, but each time lasted days and weeks and led to a very special bond. Dad said he was a very sweet man who loved to laugh, much like my Dad.
The Holy Grail Of Guitars!
From Les And His Era
To The Guitar Wizards Of Today
Read About Who Is Using The Instrument
That Blends The Generations Together
And Keeps The Legend Alive
THE CHESTER
&
LESTER STORY
Two Guys With Nothing To Do
Les recalls how Chet coaxed him out of retirement for this recording.
LES PAUL
IN HIS OWN WORDS
A lavishly illustrated hardcover coffee table book!
His injuries nearly ended his career and put him flat on his back in a Hospital for almost a year.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning.
Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
Albert Einstein
