Les Paul Guitar Pioneer Life and Music Video provides an abridged look into the life and music of the great electric guitar innovator, Les Paul.
Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies.
Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009) was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies.
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00:00Les Paul was a pioneering electric jazz guitarist as well as a technical innovator of the instrument.
00:09Paul was born Lester Williams Pulfus in Waheesha, Wisconsin in 1915. Paul achieved his greatest
00:21success as one half of the duo Les Paul and Mary Ford. In addition to his innovations to the guitar,
00:30Paul was a pioneer in the recording studio as well, and he is one of the first record producers
00:38to use overdubbing. Paul got his start in music in 1928 as a 13-year-old country singer. A few
00:49years later, he joined the Western Swing Band of Rube Tronson. Paul moved to Chicago in 1934
00:57and made recordings as an accompanist for blues singer Georgia White. At this point, Paul focused
01:07his efforts on jazz music, and in 1937 he formed the Les Paul Trio, which included Jim Akins,
01:17brother of guitarist Chet Akins on rhythm guitar. Paul served in World War II as part of the Armed
01:25Services Network, supporting performers such as Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters and performing
01:33solo. After returning from the war, Paul began performing with country performer Mary Ford,
01:40with whom he married in 1949. As a duo, Les Paul and Mary Ford recorded some of the most
01:51innovative pop hits of the 1950s, including How High the Moon, Bye Bye Blues, and Vaya Con Dios.
02:01These hits featured superb vocals by Ford, and often groundbreaking guitar soloing from Paul.
02:10In 1962, touring was beginning to take its toll on Paul and Ford, and they dissolved their marriage
02:22and musical partnership. Paul went into semi-retirement in 1965, but continued performing
02:30up until his death at the age of 93 in 2009. Paul's best recorded work can be found on the
02:40following albums, The Legend and the Legacy from 1991, and 20th Century Masters The Millennium
02:49Collection The Best of Les Paul from 2001.