PHOTO BY DELHOVLYN
ON AUGUST 13, 2009, GUITAR virtuoso and inventor Les Paul died at the age of 94. As a music lover and lifetime musician, I paused for a moment to say a silent prayer. Suddenly, it hit me. During the spring of 2005, I interviewed Les for a feature story. For one reason or another, it was never published. The word ‘legend’ is used far too often these days. From time to time, however, we encounter those larger-than-life individuals who have truly earned the accolades. Les Paul was a unique blend of musician and inventor. He was aptly described as the Benjamin Franklin of the recording industry. He spent an entire lifetime playing guitars, inventing guitars and recording equipment to help him find the elusive sound that every true musical artist searches for. Les found his and generations of both musicians and music lovers from every genre have benefited because of him. While preparing for this interview, I discovered a major problem. What area of Les’ career would I focus on? This was the man who not only invented the solid body electric guitar but multi-track recording, as well. Should I talk about his multiple Grammy Awards or being a member of the Rock & Roll and Inventor’s Hall of Fame? Should I focus on his breathtaking guitar technique or spotlight the high points of a recording career that spanned eight decades? Even today, more than 50 years later, the revolutionary tracks he cut alongside wife and vocalist Mary Ford sound as fresh and vibrant as ever. The recording techniques pioneered by Les on those sessions produced the classics: Lover, How High the Moon, The World is Waiting For the Sunrise, Bye Bye Blues and Vaya Con Dios. There was no need to worry. We covered just about all of it during a rollicking hour-long conversation. Les loved to talk and he had a wicked sense of humor! (I left those parts out!) It definitely was the most entertaining interview of my career.
AN INTERVIEW WITH LES PAUL NECESSITY DROVE THIS FOUNDING FATHER TO INVENTION by BOB WAGNER
ROWHOME MAGAZINE
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