Journal of Post-Ralphaelite Thought

A follow up to the previous post about the passing of Les Paul (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009), American guitar legend and recording innovator. Here's a clip of him playing one of his signature pieces, "How High the Moon." At about the 1:30 point he jams it into overdrive. My god, this brings tears to my eyes. And here's an archival clip of him and his then wife Mary Ford on Alistar Cook's Omnibus, telling how it's all done.

CNN is reporting that guitar legend Les Paul has died at age 94 . Screw the current crop of wannabees -- Les Paul was the real goods. In addition to being a phenomenal musician (he was playing into his 90's), he revolutionized recording studio technology with multi-track recording, tape-delay and other ground breaking tools. Perhaps the most visible monument to Paul's innovations was the guitar that bore his name. He developed the solid body (another Paul innovation) in 1939 to combat the problem of acoustic feedback that often occurred with amplified hollow body guitars. The "Log" as it was called, was little more than a chunk of 4 x 4 lumber with bridge, pickup, and guitar neck. The distinctive single cutaway Les Paul became one of the iconic symbols (along with the Fender Stratocaster) of the Rock generation. Paul's career as a performer spanned the 30's up to the present. He began playing with such names as Fred Waring, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra ...