Multitrack recording (also known as multitracking or just tracking for short) is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole. Multitracking became possible with the idea of simultaneously recording different audio channels to separate discrete "tracks" on the same tape—a "track" was simply a different channel recorded to its own discrete area on tape whereby their relative sequence of recorded events would be preserved, and playback would be simultaneous or ''synchronized.''

In the 1980s and 1990s, computers provided means by which both sound recording and reproduction could be digitized, revolutionizing audio distribution. In the 2000s, multitracking hardware and software for computers was of sufficient quality to be widely used for high-end audio recording. Though magnetic tape has not been universally replaced as a recording medium, the advantages of non-linear editing (NLE) and recording have resulted in digital systems largely superseding tape.

Process

Multitracking can be achieved with analog recording, tape-based equipment (from simple, cassette-based four or eight trackers to 2" reel-to-reel 24-track machines), digital equipment that relies on tape storage of recorded digital data (such as ADAT eight-track machines) and hard disk-based systems often employing a computer and audio recording software. Multitrack recording devices vary in their specifications, such as the number of simultaneous tracks available for recording at any one time; in the case of tape-based systems this is limited by, among other factors, the physical size of the tape employed. Some of the biggest professional analog recording studios used a computer to synchronize multiple 24-track machines, effectively multiplying the number of available tracks into the hundreds. The rock group Toto recorded their fourth album on four computer-synced 24-track machines, for example.

For computer-based systems the trend is towards unlimited numbers of record/playback tracks, although issues such as memory and CPU available will in fact limit this from machine to machine. Moreover, on computer-based systems, the number of simultaneously available recording tracks is limited by the sound card discrete analog or digital inputs.

When recording, audio engineers can select which track (or tracks) on the device will be used for each instrument, voice, or other input.

At any given point on the tape, any of the tracks on the recording device can be recording or playing back using sel-sync or Selective Synchronous recording. This allows an artist to be able to record onto track 2 and, simultaneously, listen to track 1, 3 and 7, allowing them to sing or to play an accompaniment to the performance already recorded on these tracks. They might then record an alternate version on track 4 while listening to the other tracks. All the tracks can then be played back in perfect synchrony, as if they had originally been played and recorded together. This can be repeated until all of the available tracks have been used, or in some cases, reused. During mix down a separate set of playback heads with higher fidelity are used.

At any given point in the recording process, any number of existing tracks can be "bounced" into one or two tracks and the original tracks erased, making more room for more tracks to be reused for fresh recording. Beatles producer George Martin used this technique extensively to achieve multiple track results, while still being limited to using only multiple four-track machines, until an eight-track machine became available during the recording of the Beatles' White Album. The Beach Boys' ''Pet Sounds'' also made innovative use of multitracking with 8-track machines of the day (1965–66).

Multitrack recording also allows any recording artist to record multiple "takes" of any given section of their performance, allowing them to refine their performance to virtual perfection. A recording engineer can record only the section being worked on, without erasing any other section of that track. This process of turning the recording mechanism on and off is called "punching in" and "punching out". (See "Punch in / out".)

When recording is completed, the many tracks are "mixed down" through a mixing console to a two-track stereo recorder in a format which can then be duplicated and distributed. (Movie and DVD soundtracks can be mixed down to four or more tracks, as needed, the most common being five tracks, with an additional subwoofer track, hence the "5.1" surround sound most commonly available on DVDs.)

Most of the records, CDs and cassettes commercially available in a music store are recordings that were originally recorded on multiple tracks, and then mixed down to stereo.

In some rare cases, as when an older song is technically "updated", these stereo (or mono) mixes can in turn be recorded (as if it were a "submix") onto two (or one) tracks of a multitrack recorder, allowing additional sound (tracks) to be layered on the remaining tracks.

Flexibility

During multitracking, multiple musical instruments (and vocals) can be recorded, either one at a time or simultaneously, onto individual tracks, so that the sounds thus recorded can be accessed, processed and manipulated individually to produce the desired results. For example, after recording some parts of a song, an artist might listen to ''only'' the guitar part, by 'muting' all the tracks except the one on which the guitar was recorded. If one then wanted to listen to the vocals in isolation, one would do so by muting all the tracks apart from the vocals track. If one wanted to listen to the entire song, one could do so by un-muting all the tracks. If one did not like the guitar part, or found a mistake in it, and wanted to replace it, one could do so by re-recording ''only'' the guitar part (i.e., re-recording only the track on which the guitar was recorded), rather than re-recording the entire song.

If all the voices and instruments in a recording are individually recorded on distinct tracks, then the artist is able to retain complete control over the final sculpting of the song, during the mix-down (re-recording to two stereo tracks for mass distribution) phase.

For example, if an artist wanted to apply one effect to a synthesizer part, a different effect to a guitar part, a 'chorused reverb' effect to the lead vocals, and different effects to all the drums and percussion instruments, they could not do so if they had all been originally recorded together onto the same track. However, if they had been recorded onto separate tracks, then the artist could blend and alter all of the instrument's sounds with complete freedom.

Multitracking a song also leaves open the possibilities of remixes by the same or future artists, such as DJs. If the song was not available in a multitrack format recording, the job of the remixing artist could be very difficult, or impossible, because once the tracks have been re-recorded together during the mixdown phase, they are inseparable. Theoretically, one could use frequency selective filters for this, but in reality this has not been done with any great degree of success because of the multi-harmonic (having many frequencies) nature of many musical instruments and voices.

History

The process was conceived and developed by Ross Snyder at Ampex in 1955 resulting in the first 8-track machine which used 1-inch tape. This 8-track recorder was sold to Les Paul for $10,000. It became known as the "Octopus". Les Paul, Mary Ford and Patti Page used the technology in the late 1950s to enhance vocals and instruments. From these beginnings, it evolved in subsequent decades into a mainstream recording technique.

With computers

In the 2000s, many performers have recorded albums using only a personal computer as a tracking machine. The computer must have an analog to digital interface, and multitrack recording software must be installed. As well, a microphone is needed to record the vocals of a singer or any other sources of sound or a line-level input to accept analog signals from other equipment.

Alternatively, a standard personal computer sound card can be used to capture sounds, albeit with less fidelity. This is done simply by attaching either a microphone to the microphone input jack if a vocal track is to be recorded, or a stereo cable from the electronic device (such as a synthesizer or a guitar amplifier) to the line input of the sound card. Computers with appropriate software and hardware can record multiple audio tracks at once. This audio interface hardware sends audio signals to the computer and may interface with the computer via a PCI card, USB or FireWire connections. There are a range of audio interface options available. Popular brands include Apogee Electronics, Digidesign, Echo Digital Audio, MOTU, RME, M-Audio and Presonus. The instruments and singers' voices are recorded as individual files on the computer's hard drive, and function as tracks as per traditional multitracking. Effects such as reverb, chorus, and delays can be applied by the computer software. When the musicians are happy with the sound, the multiple tracks are mixed down onto two clean tracks, again within the multitracking software. Finally, the final stereo recording can be burned to a CD, which can be copied and distributed.

Multitracking software for a personal computer includes: Adobe Audition, Pro Tools from AVID, Pyramix from Merging Technologies, Digital Performer from Mark of the Unicorn, SONAR from Cakewalk, Samplitude from Magix, Nuendo, Cubase from Steinberg, FL Studio from Image-Line, and Logic from Apple. Mixcraft from Acoustica, Inc., REAPER from Cockos and n-Track Studio from FASoft are affordable alternatives to high end multi-track software. Audacity and Ardour are popular open source programs for multi-track recording. Jokosher (open source as well) is quite new, but seems to be gaining popularity among Linux users.

For beginners, there are several free multi-track audio recorders available online, including but not limited to Audacity and Acid Planet. While these down-loadable programs lack the depth and sophistication of their counterparts, they are great tools for the beginner.

Order of recording

In most modern popular songs, drums and percussion instruments are the first instruments to be recorded. There are various reasons for this. The drums are usually the rhythm leaders; it is much easier for musicians recording later tracks to keep to the common beat of the drums, also due to the precise attack of drum sounds. A drummer might find it very difficult to play along with a backing track recorded without percussion, due to the likely variations in the musicians' tempo. Furthermore, in order to accurately keep to a pre-established rhythm, a drummer would need the sound of the other instruments to be very loud to compete with their drum kit; apart from the possibility of the drum microphones picking up the sound of the other instruments from the drummer's headphones, prolonged exposure to such volume would damage their hearing. Also, it allows the drums to be recorded for a few seconds, then looped. Click (metronome) tracks are also often used as the first sound to be recorded, especially when the drummer isn't available for the initial recording, and/or the final mix will be synchronized with motion picture and/or video images. Another practical reason refers to the song key. While having the basic rhythmic track laid down, musicians can experiment with the song key (e.g. C or D). This turns useful at the writing period or when songs are meant to be performed by a not yet defined singer (''e.g.'' music producer searching for a jingle singer).

Also, though the drums might eventually be mixed down to a couple of tracks, each individual drum and percussion instrument might be initially recorded to its own individual track. The drums and percussion combined can occupy the largest number of tracks utilized in a recording. This is done so that each percussion instrument can be processed individually for maximum effect. Equalization (or EQ) is often used on individual drums, to bring out each one's characteristic sound.

The last tracks to be recorded are usually the vocals (though a temporary vocal track might be recorded early on either as a reference or to guide subsequent musicians; this is sometimes called a "Guide Vocal", "Ghost Vocal" or "Scratch vocal"). One reason for this is that singers will often temper their vocal expression in accordance with the accompaniment.

Concert music

For classical and jazz recordings (particularly instrumentals) where multitracking is chosen as the recording method (as opposed to direct to stereo, for example), a different arrangement is used; all tracks are recorded simultaneously. Sound barriers are often placed between different groups within the orchestra, e.g. pianists, violinists, percussionists, etc. When barriers are used, these groups listen to each other via headphones.

See also

Click track

Digital audio workstation

Comparison of multitrack recording software

Fostex

List of musical works released in a stem format

Module file

Multitrack recording software

Musical Instrument Digital Interface

MIDI mockup

Portastudio

Surround sound

Quadraphonic

Remix

Reverb

Sound effects#Techniques

TASCAM

Tracker

References

External links

"All You Need is Ears" by George Martin, P. 148-157

The History of Magnetic Recording

Recording Technology History

Der Bingle Technology

"Both Sides Now" webpage on Ampex Records

AES Historical Committee: Ampex History Project

Category:Sound recording

de:Mehrspurrekorder es:Grabación multipista fr:Enregistrement multipiste it:Registrazione multitraccia nl:Meersporenopname ja:マルチトラック・レコーダー nn:Fleirsporsinnspeling pt:Gravação multicanal ta:பலதட ஒலிப்பதிவு

background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Lester William Polsfuss
born	June 09, 1915Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States
died	August 12, 2009White Plains, New York, United States
genre	Jazz, country, blues, rock and roll
occupation	Innovator, Inventor, Musician, Songwriter
instrument	Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica
years active	1928–2009
website	lespaulonline.com
notable instruments	Gibson Les Paul }}

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.

Biography

Early life

Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss outside Milwaukee, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, to George and Evelyn (1888–1989) (née Stutz) Polsfus. His family was of German ancestry. Paul's mother was related to the founders of Milwaukee's Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and the makers of the Stutz automobile. His parents divorced when he was a child. The Prussia family name was first simplified by his mother to Polfuss before he took his stage name of Les Paul. He also used the nicknames Red Hot Red and Rhubarb Red.

While living in Wisconsin, he first became interested in music at age eight when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning the banjo, he began to play the guitar. It was during this time that he invented a neck-worn harmonica holder, which allowed him to play the harmonica hands-free while accompanying himself on the guitar. Paul's device is still manufactured using his basic design. By age thirteen, Paul was performing semi-professionally as a country-music singer, guitarist and harmonica player. While playing at the Waukesha area drive-ins and roadhouses, Paul began his first experiment with sound. Wanting to make himself heard by more people at the local venues, he wired a phonograph needle to a radio speaker, using that to amplify his acoustic guitar. At age seventeen, Paul played with Rube Tronson's Texas Cowboys, and soon after he dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri, on KMOX.

Early career

Paul migrated to Chicago in 1934, where he continued to perform on radio. His first two records were released in 1936. One was credited to "Rhubarb Red", Paul's hillbilly ''alter ego'', and the other was as an accompanist for blues-artist Georgia White. It was during this time that he began playing jazz and adopted his stage name.

Paul's jazz-guitar style was strongly influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt, whom he greatly admired. Following World War II, Paul sought out and befriended Reinhardt. After Reinhardt's death in 1953, Paul furnished his headstone. One of Paul's prize possessions was a Selmer Maccaferri acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow.

Paul formed a trio in 1937 with singer/rhythm guitarist Jim Atkins (older half-brother of guitarist Chet Atkins) and bassist/percussionist Ernie "Darius" Newton. They left Chicago for New York in 1939, landing a featured spot with ''Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians'' radio show. Chet Atkins later wrote that his brother, home on a family visit, presented the younger Atkins with an expensive Gibson archtop guitar that had been given to Jim Atkins by Les Paul. Chet recalled that it was the first professional-quality instrument he ever owned.

Paul was dissatisfied with acoustic-electric guitars and began experimenting at his apartment in Queens, NY with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created several versions of "The Log", which was nothing more than a length of common 4x4 lumber with a bridge, guitar neck and pickup attached. For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body. These instruments were constantly being improved and modified over the years, and Paul continued to use them in his recordings long after the development of his eponymous Gibson model.

While experimenting in his apartment in 1940, Paul nearly succumbed to electrocution. During two years of recuperation, he relocated to Hollywood, supporting himself by producing radio music and forming a new trio. He was drafted into the US Army shortly after the beginning of World War II, where he served in the Armed Forces Network, backing such artists as Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters, and performing in his own right. As a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore, Paul played with Nat King Cole and other artists in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles, California, on July 2, 1944. The recording, still available as Jazz at the Philharmonic- the first concert- shows Paul at the top of his game, both in his solid four to the bar comping in the style of Freddie Green and for the originality of his solo lines. Paul's solo on 'Blues' is an astonishing tour de force and represents a memorable contest between himself and Nat 'King' Cole. Much later in his career, Paul declared that he had been the victor and that this had been conceded by Cole. His solo on Body and Soul is a fine demonstration both of his admiration for and emulation of the playing of Django Reinhardt, as well as his development of some very original lines.

Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number-one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and other artists, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own on the Decca label in the late 1940s.

In January 1948, Paul shattered his right arm and elbow in a near-fatal automobile accident on an icy Route 66 just west of Davenport, Oklahoma. Mary Ford was driving the Buick convertible, which rolled several times down a creekbed; they were on their way back from Wisconsin to Los Angeles after performing at the opening of a restaurant owned by Paul's father. Doctors at Oklahoma City's Wesley Presbyterian Hospital told him that they could not rebuild his elbow so that he would regain movement; his arm would remain permanently in whatever position they placed it in. Their other option was amputation. Paul instructed surgeons, brought in from Los Angeles, to set his arm at an angle—just under 90 degrees—that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a year and a half to recover.

Guitar builder

Paul's innovative guitar, "The Log", built after-hours in the Epiphone guitar factory in 1940, a 4" × 4" chunk of pine with strings and a pickup, was one of the first solid-body electric guitars. Paul Tutmarc of Audiovox Manufacturing Co. built a solid body electric bass in 1935 and Adolph Rickenbacker had marketed a solid-body guitar in the 1930s and Paul A. Bigsby had built one for Merle Travis in 1948 and Leo Fender also independently created his own in 1949. Although Paul approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with his idea of a solid body electric guitar, they showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire which later became known as the Telecaster models.

The arrangement persisted until 1961, when declining sales prompted Gibson to change the design without Paul's knowledge, creating a much thinner, lighter and more aggressive-looking instrument with two cutaway "horns" instead of one. Paul said he first saw the "new" Gibson Les Paul in a music-store window, and disliked it. Although his contract required him to pose with the guitar, he said it was not "his" instrument and asked Gibson to remove his name from the headstock. Others claimed that Paul ended his endorsement contract with Gibson during his divorce to avoid having his wife get his endorsement money. Gibson renamed the guitar "Gibson SG", which stands for "Solid Guitar", and it also became one of the company's best sellers.

The original Gibson Les Paul-guitar design regained popularity when Eric Clapton began playing the instrument a few years later, although he also played an SG and an ES-335. Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson and endorsed the original Gibson Les Paul guitar from that point onwards. His personal Gibson Les Pauls were much modified by him—Paul always used his own self-wound pickups and customized methods of switching between pickups on his guitars. To this day, various models of Gibson Les Paul guitars are used all over the world by both novice and professional guitarists. A less-expensive version of the Gibson Les Paul guitar is also manufactured for Gibson's lower-priced Epiphone brand.

On January 30, 1962, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued Paul a patent, Patent No. 3,018,680, for an "Electrical Music Instrument."

Multitrack-recording innovations

Paul had never been happy with the way his records sounded. During a post-recording session talk with Bing Crosby, the crooner suggested Paul try building his own recording studio so he might be able to get the sound he wanted. At first Paul discounted the idea only to give it a few more minutes thought before deciding Crosby was right. Paul started his own studio in the garage of his home on Hollywood's North Curson Street. The studio drew many other famous vocalists and musicians who wanted the benefit of Paul's expertise. The home and studio are still standing, but both had been moved to Pasadena at some point after Paul no longer owned the home.

In 1948, Les Paul was given one of the first Ampex Model 200A reel-to-reel audio tape recording decks by Crosby and went on to use Ampex's eight track "Sel-Sync" machines for Multitrack recording. Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. ("Brazil", similarly recorded, was the B-side.) This was the first time that Les Paul used multitracking in a recording (Paul had been shopping his multitracking technique, unsuccessfully, since the '30s. Much to his dismay, Sidney Bechet used it in 1941 to play half a dozen instruments on "Sheik of Araby"). These recordings were made not with magnetic tape, but with acetate discs. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result he was satisfied with, he had discarded some five hundred recording disks.

Paul even built his own disc-cutter assembly, based on automobile parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the acetate-disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his fifteen-minute radio show in his hotel room. He later worked with Ross Snyder in the design of the first eight-track recording deck (built for him by Ampex for his home studio.)

Electronics engineer Jack Mullin had been assigned to a U.S. Army Signal Corps unit stationed in France during World War II. On a mission in Germany near the end of the war, he acquired and later shipped home a German Magnetophon (tape recorder) and fifty reels of I.G. Farben plastic recording tape. Back in the U.S., Mullin rebuilt and developed the machine with the intention of selling it to the film industry, and held a series of demonstrations which quickly became the talk of the American audio industry.

Within a short time, Crosby had hired Mullin to record and produce his radio shows and master his studio recordings on tape, and he invested US$50,000 in a Northern California electronics firm, Ampex. With Crosby's backing, Mullin and Ampex created the Ampex Model 200, the world's first commercially produced reel-to-reel audio tape recorder. Crosby gave Les Paul the second Model 200 to be produced. Using this machine, Paul placed an additional playback head, located before the conventional erase/record/playback heads. This allowed Paul to play along with a previously recorded track, both of which were mixed together on to a new track. This was a mono tape recorder with just one track across the entire width of quarter-inch tape; thus, the recording was "destructive" in the sense that the original recording was permanently replaced with the new, mixed recording.

Paul's re-invention of the Ampex 200 inspired Ampex to develop two-track and three-track recorders, which allowed him to record as many tracks on one tape without erasing previous takes. These machines were the backbone of professional recording, radio and television studios in the 1950s and early 1960s. In 1954, Paul continued to develop this technology by commissioning Ampex to build the first 8-track (multitrack) tape recorder, at his own expense. His design became known as "Sel-Sync" (Selective Synchronization), in which specially modified electronics could either record or play back from the record head, which was not optimized for playback but which had acceptable sound quality for musicians to listen to for the purposes of recording an "overdub" (OD) in sync with the original recording. This is the core technology behind multitrack recording.

Les Paul & Mary Ford

Paul met country-western singer Colleen Summers in 1945. They began working together in 1948, at which time she adopted the stage name Mary Ford. They were married in 1949. The couple's hits included "How High the Moon", "Bye Bye Blues", "Song in Blue", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise", and "Vaya con Dios". These songs featured Ford harmonizing with herself.

Like Crosby, Paul and Ford used the now-ubiquitous recording technique known as close miking, where the microphone is less than from the singer's mouth. This produces a more-intimate, less-reverberant sound than is heard when a singer is or more from the microphone. When implemented using a cardioid-patterned microphone, it emphasizes low-frequency sounds in the voice due to a cardioid microphone's proximity effect and can give a more relaxed feel because the performer isn't working so hard. The result is a singing style which diverged strongly from unamplified theater-style singing, as might be heard in musical comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

Radio and television programs

Paul had hosted a fifteen-minute radio program, ''The Les Paul Show'', on NBC radio in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics, recorded from their home and with gentle humor between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "In the Mood", "Little Rock Getaway", "Brazil" and "Tiger Rag". Over ten of these shows survive among old-time radio collectors today.

The show also appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled ''The Les Paul & Mary Ford Show'' (also known as ''Les Paul & Mary Ford at Home'') with "Vaya Con Dios" as a theme song. Sponsored by Warner Lambert's Listerine mouthwash, it was widely syndicated during 1954–1955, and was only five minutes (one or two songs) long on film, therefore used as a brief interlude or fill-in in programming schedules. Since Paul created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to current quality standards up until his death.

During his radio shows, Paul introduced the fictional "Les Paulverizer" device, which multiplies anything fed into it, like a guitar sound or a voice. Paul has stated that the idea was to explain to the audience how his single guitar could be multiplied to become a group of guitars. The device even became the subject of comedy, with Ford multiplying herself and her vacuum cleaner with it so she could finish the housework faster.

Later career

In 1965, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He and Ford had divorced in December 1962, as she could no longer cope with the traveling lifestyle their act required of them. Paul's most-recognizable recordings from then through the mid-1970s were an album for London Records/Phase 4 Stereo, ''Les Paul Now'' (1968), on which he updated some of his earlier hits; and, backed by some of Nashville's celebrated studio musicians, a meld of jazz and country improvisation with fellow guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, ''Chester and Lester'' (1976), for RCA Victor.

By the late 1980s, Paul had returned to active live performance, continuing into his 80s even though he often found it painful to play the guitar because of arthritis in his hands. In 2006, at age 90, he won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album ''Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played''. He also performed every Monday night, accompanied by a trio which included guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinksi (and later, Nicki Parrott) and pianist John Colianni, originally at Fat Tuesdays, and later at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in the Times Square area of New York City.

Composer Richard Stein (1909–1992) sued Paul for plagiarism, charging that Paul's "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgălăi" (Romanian for "Sledge with Bells"). A 2000 cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society.

For many years Les Paul would sometimes surprise radio hosts Steve King and Johnnie Putman with a call to the "Life After Dark Show" on WGN (AM) in Chicago. These calls would take place in the wee hours of Tuesday Morning following his show at the Iridium Jazz Club. Steve and Johnnie continue to honor Les on Tuesday Mornings at 2:35 AM with their segment "A Little More Les" drawing from around 30 hours of recorded conversations with Les.

Death

On August 12, 2009, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. His family and friends were by his side. Paul is survived by his four children and his companion Arlene Palmer. His attorney told the media Paul had been "in and out of the hospital" because of illness. His last concert took place a few weeks before his death.

Upon learning of his death many artists and popular musicians paid tribute by publicly expressing their sorrow. After learning of Paul's death, former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash called him "vibrant and full of positive energy.", while Richie Sambora, lead guitarist of Bon Jovi, referred to him as "revolutionary in the music business". U2 guitarist The Edge said, "His legacy as a musician and inventor will live on and his influence on rock and roll will never be forgotten."

On August 21, 2009, he was buried near Milwaukee in Waukesha, Wisconsin at Prairie Home Cemetery which indicated that his plot would be in an area where visitors can easily view it. Like his funeral in New York on August 19, the burial was private, but earlier in the day a public memorial viewing of the closed casket was held in Milwaukee at Discovery World with 1,500 attendees who were offered free admission to the Les Paul House of Sound exhibit for the day.

Awards and honors

Paul was initiated into the Gamma Delta chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Miami in 1952. He has earned the Presidential award from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

In 1979, Paul and Ford's 1951 recording of "How High the Moon" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Paul received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983.

In 1988, Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit." In 1991, the Mix Foundation established an annual award in his name; the Les Paul Award which honors "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology". In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his development of the solid-body electric guitar. In 2006, Paul was inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. He was named an honorary member of the Audio Engineering Society. In 2007, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.

A one-hour biographical documentary film ''The Wizard of Waukesha'' was shown at the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (FILMEX) March 4–21, 1980, and later on PBS television. A biographical, feature-length documentary titled ''Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90'' made its world première on May 9, 2007, at the Downer Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Paul appeared at the event and spoke briefly to the enthusiastic crowd. The film is distributed by Koch Entertainment and was broadcast on PBS on July 11, 2007, as part of its American Masters series and was broadcast on October 17, 2008, on BBC Four as part of its Guitar Night. The première coincided with the final part of a three-part documentary by the BBC broadcast on BBC ONE ''The Story of the Guitar''.

In June 2008, an exhibit showcasing his legacy and featuring items from his personal collection opened at Discovery World in Milwaukee. The exhibit was facilitated by a group of local musicians under the name Partnership for the Arts and Creative Excellence (PACE). Paul played a concert in Milwaukee to coincide with the opening of the exhibit.

Paul's hometown of Waukesha is planning a permanent exhibit to be called "The Les Paul experience."

In July 2005, a 90th-birthday tribute concert was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. After performances by Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Jose Feliciano and a number of other contemporary guitarists and vocalists, Paul was presented with a commemorative guitar from the Gibson Guitar Corporation.

On November 15, 2008, he received the American Music Masters award through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a tribute concert at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the many guest performers were Duane Eddy, Eric Carmen, Lonnie Mack, Jennifer Batten, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Dennis Coffey, James Burton, Billy Gibbons, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Katy Moffatt, Alannah Myles, Richie Sambora, The Ventures and Slash.

In February 2009, only months prior to his death, Les Paul sat down with Scott Vollweiler of Broken Records Magazine, in which would be one of Les Paul's final interviews. His candid answers were direct and emotional. Broken Records Magazine had planned to run that cover feature the following month but due to delays was held until the summer. 3 days before the release, Les Paul died. The issue would be his final cover feature of his storied career.

In August, 2009, Paul was named one of the ten best electric guitar players of all-time by ''Time'' magazine.

On June 9, 2010, which would have been Les Paul's 95th birthday, a tribute concert featuring Jeff Beck, Imelda May, Gary U.S. Bonds and Brian Setzer among others, was held at the Iridium Jazz Club where Les Paul played nearly every week almost to the end of his life. The concert was released on the live album Rock 'n' Roll Party (Honoring Les Paul) in 2011.

On June 9–10, 2011 Google celebrated what would have been Paul's 96th birthday with a Google doodle of an interactive guitar.

Personal life

Paul married Virginia Webb in 1938. They had two children, Gene (Lester Jr.), born in 1941 and named after actor-songwriter Gene Lockhart, and Russell (Rusty), born 1944, before divorcing in 1949. Later that year, Paul and Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) were married. They adopted a girl, Colleen, in 1958 and their son Robert (Bobby) was born the following year. They had also lost a child, who was born prematurely and died only four days old. Les Paul and Mary Ford divorced in 1963.

Paul was the instructor of rock guitarist Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band, to whom Paul gave his first guitar lesson. Miller's father was best man at Paul's 1949 wedding to Mary Ford.

Paul resided for many years in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Discography

Hit singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"	! style="width:35px;"
1945		1
1946		4
		21
	22
	11
		9
	21
	18
	6
		23
	2		7
	1	2
	12
	18
	2
	7
	5
	10
		2
	13
	14
	15
	14
	5
	15
	8
	7
		5
	10
	21
style="text-align:left;"	1			7
	15
	25
	13
		11
	6
	10
	19
		7
	38
	96
		91
	49
	91
1957		35
1958		32
		37
	105

Albums

''Feedback'' (1944)—compilation

''Les Paul Trio'' (1946)—compilation

''Hawaiian Paradise'' (1949)

''The New Sound'' (1950)

''Les Paul's New Sound, Volume 2'' (1951)

''Bye Bye Blues!'' (1952)

''Gallopin' Guitars'' (1952)—compilation

''The Hit Makers!'' (1953)

''Les and Mary'' (1955)

''Time to Dream'' (1957)

''Lover's Luau'' (1959)

''The Hits of Les and Mary'' (1960)—compilation

''Bouquet of Roses'' (1962)

''Warm and Wonderful'' (1962)

''Swingin' South'' (1963)

''Fabulous Les Paul and Mary Ford'' (1965)

''Les Paul Now!'' (1968)

''Guitar Tapestry''

''Lover''

''The Guitar Artistry of Les Paul'' (1971)

''The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise'' (1974)—compilation

''The Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford'' (1974)—compilation

''Chester and Lester'' (1976)—with Chet Atkins

''Guitar Monsters'' (1977)—with Chet Atkins

''Les Paul and Mary Ford'' (1978)—compilation

''Multi Trackin' '' (1979)

''All-Time Greatest Hits'' (1983)—compilation

''The Very Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford'

''Famille Nombreuse'' (1992)—compilation

''The World Is Waiting'' (1992)—compilation

''The Best of the Capitol Masters: Selections From "The Legend and the Legacy" Box Set'' (1992)—compilation

''All-Time Greatest Hits'' (1992)—compilation

''Their All-Time Greatest Hits'' (1995)—compilation

''Les Paul: The Legend and the Legacy'' (1996; a four-CD box set chronicling his years with Capitol Records)

''16 Most Requested Songs'' (1996)—compilation

''The Complete Decca Trios—Plus (1936–1947)'' (1997)—compilation

''California Melodies'' (2003)

''Les Paul – The Legendary Fred Waring Broadcasts (2004)

''Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played'' (2005)

''Les Paul And Friends: A Tribute To A Legend'' (2008)

Singles

"It's Been a Long, Long Time"—Bing Crosby & The Les Paul Trio (1945), #1 on Billboard Pop singles chart, 1 week, December 8

"Rumors Are Flying"—Andrews Sisters & Les Paul (1946)

"Guitar Boogie" (1947)

"Lover (When You're Near Me)" (1948)

"Brazil" (1948)

"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (1948)

"Nola" (1950)

"Goofus" (1950)

"Little Rock 69 Getaway" (1950/1951)

"Tennessee Waltz"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1950/1951), #1, Cashbox

"Mockingbird Hill"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #1, Cashbox

"How High The Moon"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 9 weeks, April 21 – June 16; #1, Cashbox, 2 weeks; #2, R&B; chart

"I Wish I Had Never Seen Sunshine"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951), #2, Billboard; #3, Cashbox

"Just One More Chance"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)

"Jazz Me Blues" (1951)

"Josephine" (1951)

"Whispering" (1951)

"Jingle Bells" (1951)

"Tiger Rag"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952), #2, Billboard; #8, Cashbox

"I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Carioca" (1952)

"In the Good Old Summertime"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Smoke Rings"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Meet Mister Callaghan" (1952), #5, Billboard

"Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Lady of Spain" (1952)

"My Baby's Coming Home"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)

"Bye Bye Blues"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)

"I'm Sitting On Top Of The World"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)

"Sleep" (Fred Waring's theme song) (1953)

"Vaya Con Dios"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #1, Billboard Pop singles chart, 11 weeks, August 8 – October 3, November 7–14; #1, Cashbox, 5 weeks

"Johnny (Is The Boy For Me)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #15, Billboard; #25, Cashbox

"Don'cha Hear Them Bells"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953), #13, Billboard; #32, Cashbox

"The Kangaroo" (1953), #25, Billboard; #23, Cashbox

"I Really Don't Want To Know"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"I'm A Fool To Care"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"Whither Thou Goest"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)

"Mandolino"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954), #19, Billboard

"Song in Blue"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954), #17, Cashbox

"Hummingbird"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Amukiriki (The Lord Willing)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Magic Melody"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)

"Texas Lady"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)

"Moritat" (Theme from "Three Penny Opera") (1956)

"Nuevo Laredo"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)

"Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1957)

"Put A Ring On My Finger"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1958)

"Jura (I Swear I Love You)"—Les Paul & Mary Ford (1961)

"Love Sneakin' Up On You"-Les Paul, Joss Stone & Sting (2005)

Compositions

Les Paul was also a prolific composer. Some of the songs he wrote were "Song in Blue", "Cryin'", "Hip-billy Boogie", "Suspicion", "Mandolino", "Magic Melody", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "The Kangaroo", "Big-Eyed Gal", "All I Need is You", "Mammy's Boogie", and "Walkin' and Whistlin' Blues".

See also

Ampex

Discovery World

Gibson Les Paul

Gibson SG

List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Mary Ford

References

External links

History of Les Paul

Les Paul: Chasing Sound (may require subscription) PBS Documentary on the life of Les Paul, including extended interviews with Paul.

Remembering Les Paul Photos and extended interviews with Les on WGN Chicago's Steve & Johnnie early morning show

Staff writer (August 13, 2009). "Les Paul", obituary at ''The Daily Telegraph'' (Accessed August 24, 2009)

"Les Paul, 'The Wizard of Waukesha'", a biography (undated) at the Wisconsin Historical Society's official website

''Les Paul – Discovery World 2005'' video (requires Adobe Flash) at Discovery World's (museum) official website

''The Les Paul Show'', archive of Paul's NBC radio show at the Internet Archive's official website (includes MP3 files (free) of eleven of their radio shows including their audition show)

lespaulfoundation.org, Les Paul Foundation website (includes Legacy, Foundation & Community websites)

"Les Paul: Legacy of a Guitar Hero" at LIFE

''The Wizard of Waukesha'' (1980) at Allmovie's official website

''Les Paul – 'Miles of Music''', two video interviews of and performances by Paul (5–6 minutes each; requires Adobe Flash) with Bob Miles on ''Miles of Music'' (milesofmusic.tv), a Public-access television cable TV program

CLASSIC TRACKS: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High The Moon'

Photo Library from performances at Iridium

Les Paul's final interview

Category:American jazz guitarists Category:American musical instrument makers Category:American radio personalities Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:Decca Records artists Category:American musicians of German descent Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Guitar makers Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York Category:Inventors of musical instruments Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Musicians from Wisconsin Category:National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Mahwah, New Jersey Category:People from Waukesha, Wisconsin Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:1915 births Category:2009 deaths Category:American rock guitarists Category:American inventors Category:American blues guitarists

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Mary Ford (July 7, 1924–September 30, 1977), born Iris Colleen Summers, was an American vocalist and guitarist, comprising half of the husband-and-wife musical team Les Paul and Mary Ford. Between 1950 and 1954, the couple had 16 top-ten hits. In 1951 alone they sold six million records.

Early life

Born Iris Summers in El Monte, California, Ford came from a musical family. Her father was a Nazarene minister. Her parents left Missouri, traveling cross-country while singing gospel music and preaching at revival meetings across America. They eventually settled in Southern California, where they were heard over Pasadena's first Christian radio station. Her sisters and brothers were all musicians; Esther, Carol, Eva, Fletcher, jazz organist Bruce and film composer Bob Summers.

In the early 1940s Ford found work as a country music performer with Gene Autry and Jimmy Wakely. She appeared with Wakely in the PRC film ''I'm from Arkansas'' (1944) as a member of the Sunshine Girls trio. In 1945, Autry introduced her to guitarist Les Paul, and the two teamed in 1946. For billing purposes, Paul selected "Mary Ford" from a telephone directory so her name would be almost as short as his. With Paul she became one of the early practitioners of multi-tracking. Patti Page and Jane Turzy were other 1950s vocalists who used multi-tracking.

Radio and television

After their marriage on December 29, 1949, the couple appeared together on their NBC radio program, ''The Les Paul Show'' (1949–50), and they had a series of hit records for Capitol Records in the early 1950s, including "Tiger Rag", "Vaya con Dios" (11 weeks at #1), "How High the Moon" (nine weeks at #1), "Bye Bye Blues" and "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise". These songs featured Mary harmonizing with herself, giving the vocals a very novel sound. Paul and Ford also used the now-ubiquitous recording technique known as close miking, where the microphone is less than six inches from the singer's mouth. This produces a more intimate, less reverberant sound than when the singer is a foot or more from the microphone. It also emphasizes low-frequency sounds in the voice. The result was a singing style that diverged strongly from earlier styles, such as vocals in musical comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1952, their innovative sound was satirized by Stan Freberg in his recording of "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" (Capitol, F 2279).

In 1953, the couple began their television series, ''The Les Paul and Mary Ford at Home Show''. In 1955, they gave a concert at Carnegie Hall, and the following year they performed for President Dwight Eisenhower at the White House. In 1961, they appeared on NBC's ''Five Star Jubilee''.

Crescendo

They faded from the charts in the late 1950s, and in 1962, Ford and Paul had a bitter divorce, ending their professional association. Living in Monrovia, California, she married an old friend from high school, Donald Hatfield, and she occasionally performed with her sisters and brother. Bassist Red Wootten, who married Mary's sister Eva Summers, wrote his memories of playing at the Crescendo in Los Angeles with Mary, her sister Carol and her brother, Bob Summers: :My brother, Buddy Wootten, also a bassist, called me from Atlanta to tell me he had just finished working the Fox Theater with Les Paul and Mary Ford. Mary also told me this later. This was while I was holding forth with Woody Herman Orchestra. So, later when I had married her sister (Eva), we worked with her other sister and Bob Summers (her brother) on guitar (sounds like Les Paul too) and Mary's other sister Carol. The gig was the Crescendo club right in the middle of Sunset Strip. A very hip joint!

:Mary used a drummer added to Bob, Mary and myself on electric bass. We did almost all the Les Paul-Mary Ford recordings but with more heavy end on the bass. Les having used guitar on his bass tracks with Mary earlier. On all their recordings (as good as they were), I always missed that deep dark sound... Mary (bless her heart) recorded a few of my compositions (never released), but she did an excellent job as always. Mary divorced Les Paul and later married her old school friend from Monrovia, California, namely Don Hatfield, who owned a large construction company in California. He is still with us, and I see him occasionally. Doing great, but he misses Mary.

:Bob Summers, my brother-in-law, has come into his own over the years too. Bob and I worked a lot on MGM records with the Mike Curb scene, early 1960s. He also was chief arranger for the Mike Curb Congregation, and they recorded some of my material, great too! Also Bob and I worked at Capitol Records for Ken Nelson and Cliffie Stone, passed recently. Too many country artists to even name nearly all of them: Hank Thompson, Wynn Stewart, Rose Maddox and others. Roy Lanham did one of his better albums at the Sound House, Merced, in El Monte (my old stamping grounds) and Mary Ford's home place, 9840 Kale Street. Bruce Summers (who is no longer with us), a piano man whom I played with a few times; a real swinger too.

In Downey, California, Mary's sister Esther Williams played the organ in The Village Restaurant. Esther's daughter, Esther Colleen "Suzee" Williams, recalled one amusing incident at the restaurant in the years after Mary Ford and Les Paul had split up: :There was one singer that came in to sing with my mom. His name was Lou Monica. Well, Mary asked him to learn the song "Donkey Serenade." It's not an easy song to sing. However, Mr. Monica agreed, and after a couple of weeks he said he was ready. As he began to sing, the doors of the club opened wide, and in came Mary, dressed in black with a black gaucho hat, on top of a donkey! Mr. Monica never skipped a beat.

Mary Ford died of complications from diabetes in Arcadia, California at the age of 53. She is buried at Forest Lawn-Covina Hills in Covina, California. Although her year of birth has been variously reported (1924, 1925, 1928), the year 1924 is engraved on her tombstone.

Documentary film

Along with interviews, performance footage of the couple is featured in the musical documentary ''Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90'', directed by John Paulson (''Johnny Mathis Live'', ''An Evening with Chita Rivera''). Distributed by Koch Entertainment, ''Chasing Sound'' premiered May 9, 2007 at the Downer Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, followed by the television premiere July 11, 2007 on PBS as part of its ''American Masters'' series.

Discography

Hit singles

"Vaya con Dios"

"Tennessee Waltz"

"Mockin' Bird Hill"

"How High the Moon"

"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise"

"Whispering"

"My Baby's Coming Home"

"Lady of Spain"

"Bye Bye Blues"

"I'm Sitting on Top of the World"

Albums

''Hawaiian Paradise''

''The Hit Makers!''

''The New Sound''

''Les Paul's New Sound with Mary Ford, Vol. 2'' - Capitol Records SM-286 (originally released 1951), A Capitol Monophonic Re-issue

::A01 In The Good Old Summer Time [2:06] ::A02 I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)[2:45] ::A03 Three Little Words [1:53] ::A04 The Lonesome Road [2:50] ::A05 Carioca [2:20] ::B01 I Can't Give You Anything But Love [1:54] ::B02 Just One More Chance [1:50] ::B03 Don'Cha Hear Them Bells [1:55] ::B04 The Moon Of Manakoora [2:45] ::B05 Chicken Reel [2:05]

''Bye Bye Blues!''

''Les and Mary''

''Time to Dream''

''Lover's Luau''

''Warm and Wonderful''

''Bouquet of Roses''

''Swingin' South''

''Fabulous Les Paul & Mary Ford''

References

Watch

"Chasing Sound" trailer (10 minutes)

Listen to

Internet Archive: ''The Les Paul Show'' (11 episodes)

Sounds like Les Paul/Mary Ford, but it's actually Mary Ford's sisters (Carol, Eva) and brother (Bob)

External links

Mary Ford at IMDb.com

Les Paul Online

Visit with Les and Mary (Reeve Audio)

Find a Grave: Mary Ford

Category:1924 births Category:1977 deaths Category:American guitarists Category:American singers Category:Challenge Records artists Category:Deaths from diabetes Category:People from Arcadia, California

cy:Mary Ford de:Mary Ford es:Mary Ford fr:Mary Ford pt:Mary Ford ru:Мэри Форд sv:Mary Ford

Name	Greg Peterson
Currentteam	Sacramento Mountain Lions
Currentnumber	--
Currentpositionplain	Defensive end
Birth date	January 21, 1984
Birth place	Kenansville, North Carolina
Heightft	6
Heightin	5
Weight	315
College	North Carolina Central
Draftyear	2007
Draftround	5
Draftpick	141
Debutyear	2007
Debutteam	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pastteams	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (–) Jacksonville Jaguars () Washington Redskins ()* Hartford Colonials ()* Sacramento Mountain Lions (–present)
Status	Active
Highlights	None
Statseason	2008
Statlabel1	Tackles
Statvalue1	15
Statlabel2	Sacks
Statvalue2	1.5
Statlabel3	Forced fumbles
Statvalue3	0
Nfl	PET291356 }}

Greg Peterson (born January 21, 1984 in Kenansville, North Carolina) is a American football defensive end for the Sacramento Mountain Lions of the United Football League. He was most recently a member of the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at North Carolina Central University.

Peterson has also played for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Peterson was signed and released during the 2010 off season by the Washington Redskins.

Early years

Peterson played high school football at East Duplin High School in North Carolina. During his senior year he was named all-conference, all-state, was East Duplin’s Male Athlete of the Year and the teams Most Valuable Player.

College career

Peterson played college football at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina after spending two seasons at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi. During his senior year he was named a Division II All-American and Sheridan Broadcasting Network Black College All-American. He finished his college career with 104 tackles, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, and one interception.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Peterson was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He recorded his first career sack on September 30, 2007.

He was waived/injured on August 13, 2009 and subsequently reverted to injured reserve. Peterson was released with an injury settlement on August 20.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Peterson signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 29, 2009.

Washington Redskins

Peterson signed with the Washington Redskins on April 15, 2010. He was released June 20, 2010.

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Bio

Jacksonville Jaguars Bio

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Players of American football from North Carolina Category:American football defensive ends Category:American football defensive tackles Category:Hartford Colonials players Category:North Carolina Central Eagles football players Category:Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Category:Jacksonville Jaguars players Category:Washington Redskins players Category:Sacramento Mountain Lions players