R.I.P. LES PAUL, 1915 – 2009
Thursday, August 13th, 2009 at 2:00pm by Axl RosenbergLes Paul has passed away from complications from pneumonia. He was 94.
Obviously, Paul didn’t play metal music – but as an innovator of multi-track recording and solid body guitars (he was – duh – the creator of the Les Paul model Gibson), he definitely had an effect on metal. Also, he was an all-around awesome guitar player.
I’m not sure about the past few years, but when I was a kid he used to play weekly gigs at a now-defunct club called Fat Tuesday’s. I went to see him several times, and he always blew me away. Once, when I was about thirteen, I was leaving the gig when he actually stopped me – he seemed surprised that someone so young had come out to see him. He was incredibly nice, and it made my year to get to speak with him, however briefly.
I know that Paul used to jam with some metal-types, including Slash (who, of course, plays a Les Paul model nine times outta ten). I can’t seem to find any videos of such a jam session. But here he is back in the day with his also-departed wife, Mary Ford.
-AR
Another legend gone…
RIP Les.
I saw his show last year at The Iridium. I have to say his playing was really very poor and his personality could best be described as a “dirty old man.” It was not the endearing image I had hoped for and I’ll do my best to convince myself that in his prime he was a far better entertainer.
To respond to the Fat Tuesday part, he has been playing every Monday night at Iridium jazz club for the last several years.I’ve been meaning for said several years to check out the show with my dad as it was something he always wanted to do.Sucks that I didn’t get to, and also sad that his performance was less than stellar, but even if – dude was 93 at the time and a legend, so either way, I’d hope you got your moneys worth.
I hope when I am 93, I can be a “dirty old man” playing gigs every week…
Wow. Never realized how long he’d lived. Sad day.
i was blow away when i read this. another sad day in music. hell of a guitarist too. rip les
I work in a guitar shop and get commission on everything I sell. Les Paul and his guitars are putting me through college, which I’m genuinely grateful for. He’ll be missed.
1915-2009
thats a pretty full life…especially considering how much he accomplished.
There could be no metal without les. Its a sad, sad day.
A sad day indeed. His model will probably remain one of the sharpest guitars ever. But to say there would be no metal without him or any other single person. I really get irritated at that arguement. Without Les Paul Morbid Angel wouldn’t exist? What about Motorhead or Waco Jesus? If there were no Elvis, would music have stopped progressing? Right, and no one knew why, because there was no Beatles or Elvis or whoever, and we obviously couldn’t have known about them because they didn’t exist, but strangely music remained the exact same since 1950 or whenever the artist didn’t exist. As with everything, someone else would have pushed it forward. If the Beatles never existed then some other shitty band like the Ants or the Flys would have been your favorite and rock couldn’t have been without them. Don’t attribute a 30+ year old movement(metal) with 1000s of bands and sub genres to one guy. That’s short sighted. I say if it wasn’t for the caveman banging a stick and rock, there would be no music, Cromagman invented it all, pay tribute to him.
I can see your point, for sure. All music evolved from something that came before it. One could say that without Beethoven there would be no metal, and they would be correct. However, Les Pauls did more than just design a particular guitar model. He INVENTED THE ELECTRIC GUITAR! Him, Leo Fender and Adolf Rickenbacher were each working on a way to amplify the guitar so it could be heard above the Big Band horn section. Les was the first to achieve that by putting pickups on a fence post. Additionally, he created the first delay effect for music and was the first to consider using multi tracking in music. So while I see your point, I also agree that Les Paul’s contributions to music quantify the statement that there would be no Metal (or rock, for that matter) without him…
+1
Slash IS NOT a “metal-type.” He’s a hard rock type at most.
well its a sad day im music sadly he wont get as much coverage as that freak we reffer to as “the king of pop” but les paul is a great man and musical master mind.
side note him and john five were very close, thats anothyer to add to the list
R.I.P
MAY HE RIP, AN INNOVATIVE FORCE, THAT WITHOUT HIM WHO KNOWS WHAT WOULD’VE HAPPEN NOW!!!!!!!!
It’s comforting to see that not all of the legends die young. R.I.P., Les. So long, and thanks for all the guitars.
The Les Paul is the sexiest looking guitar body shape, to my eyes. Les Paul was as an important figure in the rock and roll era (and all that came from it) as anyone. That is not in dispute.
And to the idiot above nitpicking over whether Slash is metal or hard rock: time and place, dude. Get some perspective, you stain.
The man was a guiness, and took guitars to a new level. His passing is a loss for the world
I’m just glad he got to see 2009. I’m happy he got past the millennium to see how far his work has really gone. :)
HAIL LES PAUL.
You fuckers should really tell more about your experiences like these. Maybe the cool kids would stop tripping you in the cafeteria and telling how your mother likes Cleveland steamers.
School sucks. :(
RIP Les.