From:   "steve walker"  
Date:  Tue Jun 10, 2003  3:35 pm
Subject:  Les Paul

LES PAUL (By Shaun Mather)

Born Lester William Polfus, 9 June 1915, Waukesha, Wisconsin

Les Paul was one of the most important figures in the development of the
electric guitar and studio recording techniques. He worked as a professional
musician from his late teens, and was leading his own trio in New York City
by the age of 21. After serving with Armed Forces Radio in World War Two,
he became a staff musician with NBC radio in Los Angeles. His experi-
mentation with guitars became a frenzy in the late 1940s, building the first
solid-body electric guitar in 1946 and releasing a six-way overdub, "Lover,"
which became a hit for Capitol, as did its flip side, "Brazil." Les Paul's
sound was like nothing before it: fast, multi-layered, and deep.

He married the singer Mary Ford (1928-1977, real name Iris Colleen Summers)
in 1949, and together they recorded some of the biggest hits of the 1950s :
"How High the Moon," "Vaya con Dios," "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise," 
and "Mockin' Bird Hill." He overdubbed both his guitar work and her vocals, 
working almost exclusively in his home studio, using an 8-track tape deck he 
designed and built himself. Paul was a perfectionist, and his recordings sound 
better today than almost anything coming from major label studios of the same
period.

Paul and Ford divorced in 1963, and he retired from recording except for an
occasional appearance. He cut a solo (overdub) album for London, "Les Paul
Now," in 1968, and a collaboration with Chet Atkins in 1977. He returned to
live work in 1984, appearing with a trio in New York City jazz clubs.

Though Les Paul never cut a rock 'n' roll record in his life, he was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, as an "Early influence".

(Adapted from www.spaceagepop.com)

CD recommendation: A fine package is the 4 CD-box "The Legend And The
Legacy" on Gold Rush. A selection from this box was released as "The Best
Of The Capitol Masters" on Capitol and will suffice for the casual fan.
Biography: Mary Alice Shaughnessy, Les Paul : an American original. New
York : William Morrow, 1993.

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IMHO the best vintage Les Paul compilation currently available is "The
Complete Decca Trios...Plus (1936-1947)" (MCA 11708), a 2CD set of fabulous
tracks from Les' early trio in addition to earlier sides backing blues
singers like Georgia White. It also includes his early recordings as
hillbilly singer "Rhubarb Red".

Regards

Dave Penny