Les Paul

[xoxoxoBruce]

Les Paul: What I've Learned

Quotes from an interview last year.

It's not technique -- it's what you have to say.

I got the mumps. They threw me in a crib so I wouldn't roll out onto the floor. And there's a big bay window in my house, and that window stayed perfectly still until that train started to chug. At a certain speed, I could reach up and feel the pane, and that glass pane would vibrate. I said, Doggone, there's got to be a reason for this. So I go to the kindergarten teacher, and she takes me to the science teacher, and the science teacher takes me to the library and reads it off to me -- "This is called resonance." That was the beginning.

The audience, they're not professionals. They just love music. It isn't necessary to play over their heads to be admired.

You can't go to the store and buy a good ear and rhythm.

I got out of the car and there was a knife in my neck. The guy says, "Don't move." And the drummer got out of the car, and he got a gun in his head. This was my entrance to the South Side of Chicago. But it was necessary, because I wanted to play jazz.

When rock came in, people didn't know what to do. Even Sinatra, he didn't know what to do. The music was changing. And it's changing now.

Last time I saw Count Basie, he was in a wheelchair. They wheeled him up onto the stage, he sits down at the piano, and he gives the downbeat, and that band played like they were in heaven. And right in the middle, the band cuts. He had to take one hand and put the other on it, and he comes down with one note. And it was the greatest note I ever heard in my life.

I gave up the guitar in 1965. Didn't want to see a guitar. I'd go out and get drunk. When I came out of the heart surgery, the doc said, "Promise me you'll work hard." I said, "I thought working hard is what got me here." He said, "No, working is what will keep you alive."

There are times when you want to go where you used to go and you can't go there. So I'm back to Count Basie lifting his hand. And I find you can stop that show with one note just like you can with a hundred.

I better go play now.

RIP & thank you.

[Elspode]

It is impossible to put enough accolades and honors at the feet of this singular giant. Although most people know his name by dint of it's association with what has become one of but a few of rock and roll's truly standard instruments, far fewer actually know the man and his music.

Even if 40's and 50's pop standard music isn't your forte, you owe it to yourself to listen to the work of Les Paul. His brilliance and creativity are immediately evident from the first notes. Les Paul's distinctive style could *never* be mistaken for anyone else. A large part of that distinctive, energetic sound, is due to the multitracking and variable speed recording techniques which he invented in the days before there was magnetic tape, let alone digits. His first multitrack machine was based on a shellac record lathe made from a Cadillac flywheel, amongst other cobbled together gear. He was (pun intended) instrumental in the development of the first multitrack tape recorder (using Bing Crosby's money), contributing to making Ampex the planetary standard in recording technology for decades. And, as if that was not enough, he was one of a very few independent inventors of the solid-body electric guitar (Leo Fender and Adolph Rickenbaker had their own ideas, and all three mens' designs *still* hold sway over the vast majority of such instruments today).

Les Paul even managed to foreshadow live sampling/loop technology by about fifty odd years using his "Paulverizer", a live multitrack system that allowed him to play a line to tape, hit a switch to start another track, and onward to four backing tracks with himself playing live atop it all. Some reports have claimed this to be a put-on that he used in his live show, and that there was simply pre-recorded tracking played behind him, but having seen him actually demo the Paulerizer in a concert tribute program some years ago, I beleve it existed.

From my point of view as a guitarist (of sorts, anyway), Les Paul occupied the highest possible position in my musical pantheon, both as musician and as inventor. He was the sort of man that They rarely make anymore.

Should you doubt that the Greatest Generation was tougher and more stubborn than We are, it is worth noting that Les Paul still played a weekly club gig nearly up to the end. In fact, one of our Cellarites (can't recall who) was privileged to see his act a few years back while in New York.

RIP Les. You had a *hell* of a run, and gave music lovers in this world much to relish and enjoy.

[TheMercenary]

A great loss indeed. RIP

[dar512]

Originally Posted by Elspode

It is impossible to put enough accolades and honors at the feet of this singular giant.

*snip*

RIP Les. You had a *hell* of a run, and gave music lovers in this world much to relish and enjoy.

Made me sniffle, man.

As usual, Els, you have brilliantly outlined the man. You have missed your calling and should really think about working for the Times Obits.

[ZenGum]

At a certain speed, I could reach up and feel the pane, and that glass pane would vibrate. I said, Doggone, there's got to be a reason for this. So I go to the kindergarten teacher, and she takes me to the science teacher, and the science teacher takes me to the library and reads it off to me -- "This is called resonance." That was the beginning.

I don't know much about the history of music, but I do recognise two very fine teachers, and a clever and curious young mind, right here.

How much easier would it have been for that kindergarten teacher to say "It just does. You'll learn about it later. Concentrate on what you're supposed to be doing", and slammed the door shut on his curiosity. Instead they opened the door; Les got an understanding of what sound is and how it is made very early in his life, and the rest, as they say ...

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by dar512

Made me sniffle, man.

As usual, Els, you have brilliantly outlined the man. You have missed your calling and should really think about working for the Times Obits.

Absolutely, when it comes to Elspode's writing...

[richlevy]

I posted this link on the Radio Plays thread, but I thought I'd put it here.


http://www.archive.org/details/TheLesPaulShow

You can listen in streaming audio or download all 11 episodes in a 147MB zip file.