Thursday, August 13, 2009

les paul, guitar legend/inventor, dies at age 94

les paul, guitar legend/inventor, dies at age 94from ap: Les Paul, who pioneered the solid-body electric guitar later wielded by a legion of rock 'n' roll greats, died Thursday of complications from pneumonia. He was 94. According to Gibson Guitar, Paul died at White Plains Hospital. His family and friends were by his side. As an inventor, Paul also helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll with multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves, and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording.

1 comment:

merovingian said...

Why do some sources credit Charlie Christian with playing the first amplified guitar, in 1939? ("The Jazz Book")
Why does the first "Guitar Solos" album by Fred Frith (1973, a classic of avante garde prepared guitar) claim to feature a "vintage Gibson 1936 ES-6" electric guitar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Solos

You are correct that Les Paul's invention of "multitracking" is far more significant. Paul _may have created the first Solid Body Electric. Ironically, the "Les Paul" model is NOT a solid body, as it has air pockets inside, a feature imitated by the Fender Telecaster. It is a "semi-solid body", which explains it's unusual resonance.

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