arts & culture
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The music and innovations of
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the course of music history. Now, his foundation is working with Hearing Health Foundation to forever change the field of hearing health. By Andrea Delbanco
38 | hearing health | a publication of hearing health foundation
Paul turned his talents to medical research. He was working on creating an advanced hearing aid device when he died in 2009, at age 94. The guitar great, who grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, was a multifaceted man. Here, friends and family members share their recollections about Paul, in their own words.
Michael Braunstein is the executor of Paul’s will and runs the Les Paul Foundation.
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Les was part of my family. I was the third generation of Braunsteins to work with Les. When Les was looking for a business manager in
Photo credit: @istockphoto.com/RapidEye
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total of 36 gold records in the 1950s was just the icing on the cake for rock legend Les Paul. Together with his wife, Mary Ford, he took the music world by storm. But Paul was more than a performer; he was also an innovator. His solid-body electric guitar, the Gibson Les Paul, became the instrument of choice for countless future greats. Paul’s pioneering production methods included multitrack recording, close miking, and reverb. His electric sound revolutionized American pop music. For decades, Paul lived with a hearing loss and suffered from tinnitus. It didn’t stop him from making music, though. In addition to supporting music education, engineering, and innovation,