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Do IT this week: Layering
Original guitar god reflects on legendary career before tribute concert Saturday in Cleveland
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
POSTED: 01:40 p.m. EST, Nov 12, 2008
Originally published Nov. 12, 2008
Les Paul is a true living legend.
The 93-year-old is an iconic musician and inventor enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.
This week, the rock hall is focusing its annual American Music Masters series on Paul with a series of events culminating in a tribute concert Saturday at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. The tribute will feature rock luminaries such as James Burton, Billy Gibbons, the Ventures Jennifer Batten, Dennis Coffey, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Duane Eddy, Alannah Myles, Slash and Richie Sambora.
Paul, a native of Waukesha, Wis., has likely forgotten more than most people half his age have experienced, but with his mind still razor sharp, the man still has plenty to say and stories to tell.
And, unless you're a fool (or not a true music lover), when Les Paul begins a story, you let him finish. You listen in awe when your allotted 15 minutes of phone time stretches into an hour as the master recounts tales that begin with phrases such as ''I was playing a gig in Chicago and Al Capone and some other gangsters were in the crowd . . . '' or ''I was sitting next to President Eisenhower and he leaned over and asked me . . . '' or ''I remember the first time we played Akron, it was in 1930.''
Pleased with praise
He's been given numerous awards including the 2007 National Medal of Arts (''Bush told me he picked me himself,'' Paul said), been inducted into several halls of fame including the two previously mentioned, the Grammy Hall of Fame along with former partner Mary Ford in 1983 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He's also had a few awards named for him. But Paul insists that having folks gather to tell him how awesome he is never gets old.
''I would have to be crazy to get tired,'' he said laughing softly. ''I'm very pleased, very happy and very proud. It's great to have a lot of good players involved and great friends.''
Paul is credited with inventing the modern electric guitar and innovating recording techniques that are still used today such as multitracking, which can be heard in his classic instrumental Brazil; and close miking (so singers don't have to shout when recording). He also invented several gadgets including the Les Paulverizer, a remote box attached to his guitar that allows him to accompany himself onstage through tape manipulation, which has evolved into digital delay and other effects of today.
Paul's early career began in a humorous hillbilly act called Rhubarb Red in the 1930s and by the tender age of 24 he had already played for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He then hooked up with one of his musical heroes, Bing Crosby, who encouraged him to build a studio. Paul soundproofed his garage and began recording future legends such as the Andrews Sisters, Art Tatum, Jo Stafford, Andy Williams, Kay Starr and W.C. Fields.
In the late 1940s, Paul and Mary Ford teamed up professionally and personally and became a hit-making machine through much of the following decade, releasing a string of 14 pop hits that included How High the Moon, Walkin' & Whistlin' Blues, Tennessee Waltz, Tiger Rag and I'm Sitting on Top of the World. All of those songs are filled with Paul's prodigious technique on the guitar and in the studio and Ford's smooth, warm multitracked vocals (she did all her own vocal arrangements) and have stood the test of time to become classic songs and ersatz lessons for any aspiring guitarist.
Ford, who died in 1977, was Paul's second wife. They were married for 14 years and had two children — an adopted daughter, Mary Colleen, and a son, Robert. He also had two sons — Les ''Rusty'' Jr. and Gene — with his first wife, Virginia Webb.
Experimental guitar
In the late 1920s, Paul, known as Red Hot Red, first started experimenting with amplification and electric guitars building his first solid body guitar using railroad track strung with wire and a telephone amplifier as a pickup.
Paul said he was playing a gig at a barbecue place in Wisconsin, when he got a life-changing note from a customer.
''A guy dropped a note on the tray . . . And the note said 'Red, all that stuff you got rigged up there, your voice is coming through and . . . that's all fine but your guitar is not loud enough,' '' Paul said explaining that he was singing in a telephone and his voice was coming through his mother's radio.
''And that sent me home thinking,'' he continued. ''I said to my mother 'I'm going to figure out how to make this guitar louder.' ''
In 1941, while working at the Epiphone Co. in New York, Paul attached a standard Epiphone guitar neck and strings to a four-by-four wooden board and a pickup, or amplifier, and dubbed it ''The Log.'' That was the first solid body guitar. It was not a success.
In 1952, Gibson Guitar Co. made the first commercial, gold-topped, Les Paul-model, solid-body electric guitar available to the public.
With Paul's invention, the guitar went from being an accompanying instrument buried in big bands and orchestras to quickly becoming a lead instrument and the most popular band instrument in the world.
During all that musical success, Paul was constantly tinkering with his solid-body guitar designs and studio effects such as echo, tape-speed manipulation and phasing, which can be heard in Brazil.
Credit to others
Though Paul has been to the proverbial ''there'' many times and done a lot of ''that,'' he still approaches every day with the same sense of wonder that first inspired him to take an old wood plank, throw some strings on it and invent the electric guitar. Paul is also quick to credit the generations of guitarists who followed him.
''It's a real great thing to have so many great guitar players out there and without them there would be no me,'' he said. ''I did my thing and they picked up on it and when they picked up on it they made it real, real big.
''You know when someone like Paul McCartney says 'without Les Paul we wouldn't be here' that's quite an honorable thing and something that you don't take lightly.''
Ironically, it was musicians such as McCartney and the rise of rock 'n' roll in general that pushed Paul into a lengthy retirement in the 1960s.
''Yes, when [rock 'n' roll] came about, we were ready to retire anyway, so was Nat Cole and so was Benny Goodman. Most of these people had been around for quite a while and we had our time to do our thing,'' he said. ''What happened was after the war when the soldier came back home, the kind of music he liked to hear was gone, and they had bebop and bebop wasn't about to stick around very long, because you couldn't dance to it, you couldn't hum the melody, it just was the type of music that was not going to be accepted by the public.
''These youngsters began to be exposed to the guitar and they wanted a guitar and played a couple of chords,'' he continued. ''So it started out with rock 'n' roll being very primitive because it was the beginning, and at the beginning, they had players playing three chords and that was about it. They were louder than hell, but they weren't that polished or good at the beginning . . . so you would hear this type of music and say this won't be around for more than a year and it will be gone.
''But that didn't happen. What happened was guys come along like Paul McCartney and the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and others and the music began to change, and instead of Stan Kenton and his band playing music you couldn't understand, a new generation of people began changing the world and the rock guitar did not go away. It became stronger and rock music became stronger.''
Still inventing
During his retirement, Paul continued to tinker with gadgets but said he didn't miss playing the guitar at all. But following a heart operation, Paul's doctor made him promise to work hard on something he loved. Paul took his doctor's advice, decided that he still loved playing the guitar and since 1984 he and a trio have held a standing weekly Monday night gig in New York — first at Fat Tuesday's and now at the Irridium in the theater district.
Paul, whose stage manner has always been friendly and inviting, holds court in front of standing-room-only audiences of all ages and frequently plays host to guest musicians both world famous and not-so-famous of which Paul loves every minute.
''It's great to have all these friends come in,'' he said. ''You find out there are so many people from every place on the planet that come there. We have people from all over the world, and after the show, I always sign autographs and talk to the people and get feedback as to what they like and what they don't like.
''It keeps me going . . . the most important thing for me is to look forward to playing on Monday night. It's very important.''
Paul added that while many of his peers (well, the few still living) are resistant to change, he said change is what keeps the world and life interesting and that seeing what is going to happen next helps him get out of bed every morning.
Though Paul could easily sit back, play his Monday night gigs and collect the accolades, he is still still hard at work.
Currently, he is working on two new guitar designs and four amplifier designs, a process he describes as ''challenging.''
Paul's life has been fascinating and filled with notable accomplishments that will keep his name on people's lips long after he finally shuffles off this mortal coil.
''I've been through all these things up to now, and the surprises never stop coming,'' he said. ''There's always something new on the horizon.''
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
Originally published Nov. 12, 2008
Les Paul is a true living legend.
The 93-year-old is an iconic musician and inventor enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 and the Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.
This week, the rock hall is focusing its annual American Music Masters series on Paul with a series of events culminating in a tribute concert Saturday at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare. The tribute will feature rock luminaries such as James Burton, Billy Gibbons, the Ventures Jennifer Batten, Dennis Coffey, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Duane Eddy, Alannah Myles, Slash and Richie Sambora.
Paul, a native of Waukesha, Wis., has likely forgotten more than most people half his age have experienced, but with his mind still razor sharp, the man still has plenty to say and stories to tell.
And, unless you're a fool (or not a true music lover), when Les Paul begins a story, you let him finish. You listen in awe when your allotted 15 minutes of phone time stretches into an hour as the master recounts tales that begin with phrases such as ''I was playing a gig in Chicago and Al Capone and some other gangsters were in the crowd . . . '' or ''I was sitting next to President Eisenhower and he leaned over and asked me . . . '' or ''I remember the first time we played Akron, it was in 1930.''
Pleased with praise
He's been given numerous awards including the 2007 National Medal of Arts (''Bush told me he picked me himself,'' Paul said), been inducted into several halls of fame including the two previously mentioned, the Grammy Hall of Fame along with former partner Mary Ford in 1983 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He's also had a few awards named for him. But Paul insists that having folks gather to tell him how awesome he is never gets old.
''I would have to be crazy to get tired,'' he said laughing softly. ''I'm very pleased, very happy and very proud. It's great to have a lot of good players involved and great friends.''
Paul is credited with inventing the modern electric guitar and innovating recording techniques that are still used today such as multitracking, which can be heard in his classic instrumental Brazil; and close miking (so singers don't have to shout when recording). He also invented several gadgets including the Les Paulverizer, a remote box attached to his guitar that allows him to accompany himself onstage through tape manipulation, which has evolved into digital delay and other effects of today.
Paul's early career began in a humorous hillbilly act called Rhubarb Red in the 1930s and by the tender age of 24 he had already played for President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He then hooked up with one of his musical heroes, Bing Crosby, who encouraged him to build a studio. Paul soundproofed his garage and began recording future legends such as the Andrews Sisters, Art Tatum, Jo Stafford, Andy Williams, Kay Starr and W.C. Fields.
In the late 1940s, Paul and Mary Ford teamed up professionally and personally and became a hit-making machine through much of the following decade, releasing a string of 14 pop hits that included How High the Moon, Walkin' & Whistlin' Blues, Tennessee Waltz, Tiger Rag and I'm Sitting on Top of the World. All of those songs are filled with Paul's prodigious technique on the guitar and in the studio and Ford's smooth, warm multitracked vocals (she did all her own vocal arrangements) and have stood the test of time to become classic songs and ersatz lessons for any aspiring guitarist.
Ford, who died in 1977, was Paul's second wife. They were married for 14 years and had two children — an adopted daughter, Mary Colleen, and a son, Robert. He also had two sons — Les ''Rusty'' Jr. and Gene — with his first wife, Virginia Webb.
Experimental guitar
In the late 1920s, Paul, known as Red Hot Red, first started experimenting with amplification and electric guitars building his first solid body guitar using railroad track strung with wire and a telephone amplifier as a pickup.
Paul said he was playing a gig at a barbecue place in Wisconsin, when he got a life-changing note from a customer.
''A guy dropped a note on the tray . . . And the note said 'Red, all that stuff you got rigged up there, your voice is coming through and . . . that's all fine but your guitar is not loud enough,' '' Paul said explaining that he was singing in a telephone and his voice was coming through his mother's radio.
''And that sent me home thinking,'' he continued. ''I said to my mother 'I'm going to figure out how to make this guitar louder.' ''
In 1941, while working at the Epiphone Co. in New York, Paul attached a standard Epiphone guitar neck and strings to a four-by-four wooden board and a pickup, or amplifier, and dubbed it ''The Log.'' That was the first solid body guitar. It was not a success.
In 1952, Gibson Guitar Co. made the first commercial, gold-topped, Les Paul-model, solid-body electric guitar available to the public.
With Paul's invention, the guitar went from being an accompanying instrument buried in big bands and orchestras to quickly becoming a lead instrument and the most popular band instrument in the world.
During all that musical success, Paul was constantly tinkering with his solid-body guitar designs and studio effects such as echo, tape-speed manipulation and phasing, which can be heard in Brazil.
Credit to others
Though Paul has been to the proverbial ''there'' many times and done a lot of ''that,'' he still approaches every day with the same sense of wonder that first inspired him to take an old wood plank, throw some strings on it and invent the electric guitar. Paul is also quick to credit the generations of guitarists who followed him.
''It's a real great thing to have so many great guitar players out there and without them there would be no me,'' he said. ''I did my thing and they picked up on it and when they picked up on it they made it real, real big.
''You know when someone like Paul McCartney says 'without Les Paul we wouldn't be here' that's quite an honorable thing and something that you don't take lightly.''
Ironically, it was musicians such as McCartney and the rise of rock 'n' roll in general that pushed Paul into a lengthy retirement in the 1960s.
''Yes, when [rock 'n' roll] came about, we were ready to retire anyway, so was Nat Cole and so was Benny Goodman. Most of these people had been around for quite a while and we had our time to do our thing,'' he said. ''What happened was after the war when the soldier came back home, the kind of music he liked to hear was gone, and they had bebop and bebop wasn't about to stick around very long, because you couldn't dance to it, you couldn't hum the melody, it just was the type of music that was not going to be accepted by the public.
''These youngsters began to be exposed to the guitar and they wanted a guitar and played a couple of chords,'' he continued. ''So it started out with rock 'n' roll being very primitive because it was the beginning, and at the beginning, they had players playing three chords and that was about it. They were louder than hell, but they weren't that polished or good at the beginning . . . so you would hear this type of music and say this won't be around for more than a year and it will be gone.
''But that didn't happen. What happened was guys come along like Paul McCartney and the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and others and the music began to change, and instead of Stan Kenton and his band playing music you couldn't understand, a new generation of people began changing the world and the rock guitar did not go away. It became stronger and rock music became stronger.''
Still inventing
During his retirement, Paul continued to tinker with gadgets but said he didn't miss playing the guitar at all. But following a heart operation, Paul's doctor made him promise to work hard on something he loved. Paul took his doctor's advice, decided that he still loved playing the guitar and since 1984 he and a trio have held a standing weekly Monday night gig in New York — first at Fat Tuesday's and now at the Irridium in the theater district.
Paul, whose stage manner has always been friendly and inviting, holds court in front of standing-room-only audiences of all ages and frequently plays host to guest musicians both world famous and not-so-famous of which Paul loves every minute.
''It's great to have all these friends come in,'' he said. ''You find out there are so many people from every place on the planet that come there. We have people from all over the world, and after the show, I always sign autographs and talk to the people and get feedback as to what they like and what they don't like.
''It keeps me going . . . the most important thing for me is to look forward to playing on Monday night. It's very important.''
Paul added that while many of his peers (well, the few still living) are resistant to change, he said change is what keeps the world and life interesting and that seeing what is going to happen next helps him get out of bed every morning.
Though Paul could easily sit back, play his Monday night gigs and collect the accolades, he is still still hard at work.
Currently, he is working on two new guitar designs and four amplifier designs, a process he describes as ''challenging.''
Paul's life has been fascinating and filled with notable accomplishments that will keep his name on people's lips long after he finally shuffles off this mortal coil.
''I've been through all these things up to now, and the surprises never stop coming,'' he said. ''There's always something new on the horizon.''
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758.
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