Les Paul
Guitarist, songwriter, inventor
Born: June 9, 1915, in Waukesha, Wisconsin
Died: August 12, 2009, in White Plains, New York
Lived in: Mahwah, New Jersey
New Jersey Hall of Fame, Class of 2010: Historical
The world’s most influential guitarist? That would be Les Paul. No, he didn’t have long hair or front a British rock band. No, he didn’t set his guitar on fire or perform frenetic 20-minute solos. But through his development of the solid-body electric guitar – the Gibson Les Paul – and various sonic innovations, he impacted the sound of popular music as no individual before or since.
Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss. Both of his parents were of German descent; they divorced when Paul was a child. Paul grew up playing piano, harmonica, guitar, and banjo. As a teenager, he began playing in local Wisconsin country bands under the names Red Hot Red and Rhubarb Red. He also began tinkering with different ways to electronically boost the sound of his acoustic guitar. He already had devised his first gizmo, a neck-worn, hands-free harmonica holder.
At 19, Paul moved to Chicago, where he performed country music as Rhubarb Red on a local radio station by day, and played jazz guitar in clubs at night. In 1937, he formed a trio and moved to New York; several years later, he made a cross-country move to Hollywood.
Drafted into the Army during World War II, Paul served in the Armed Forces Radio Network, accompanying the likes of Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby, and the Andrews Sisters. He later made several recordings with Crosby, including the No. 1 hit “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” and toured with the Andrews Sisters. Crosby, aware of Paul’s knack for sonic experimentation, encouraged the guitarist to build the Hollywood recording studio where Paul made the first multi-track recordings.
Even before the war, Paul had begun to make his mark as an innovator. In 1940, he devised his first solid-body electric guitar, using a four-by-four wooden post; he called it “the Log.” This became the basis for the solid-body Gibson Les Paul guitar, which came to market in 1952. With its big, clear sound, the Les Paul eventually became a favorite of rock-guitar gods from Jimmy Page to Slash of Guns ‘N’ Roses and Ace Frehley of KISS.
Paul’s own recording career peaked in the early 1950s in partnership with vocalist Mary Ford (nee Collleen Summers). The two married, starred in a long-running TV show, and cut dozens of hit recordings, including the No. 1 singles “How High the Moon” (1951) and “Vaya Con Dios” (1953). In the mid-1950s, the couple bought a home in Mahwah, New Jersey, where Paul built a new recording studio.
In the early 1960s, the couple divorced and Paul went into semi-retirement, but he kept tinkering and earned new patents for various guitar pickups and other devices. In the 1970s, he made several well-received recordings with the country guitarist Chet Atkins; their album “Chester and Lester” won a Grammy in 1976.
By the 1980s, arthritis and a heart condition slowed Paul’s playing, but with his trio he maintained a regular Monday-night gig in Manhattan, first at the jazz club Fat Tuesday’s and later at Iridium. To celebrate his 90th birthday in 2005, Paul cut his final album, “Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played,” with guests including guitar legends Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Jeff Beck. The album won two Grammys.
Much-honored and long-admired, Paul received the National Medal of the Arts in 2007. In addition to the New Jersey Hall of Fame, he has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame, and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. His influence as both player and inventor is felt wherever rock, country or jazz are performed.