Gibson Les Paul
Gibson Les Paul
Manufacturer	Gibson, Epiphone
Period	1952–1960, 1968–present
Colors available
Various (often natural-type finishes), Heritage Cherry Sunburst, Desert Burst, Honey Burst, Light Burst, Iced Tea, Chicago Blue, Wine Red, Ebony, Goldtop, Alpine White

The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric guitar that was first sold in 1952.^[1] The Les Paul was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the most well-known electric guitar types in the world, along with the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster.

Origins[link]

External images
prototypes on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Les Paul House of Sound (2009)
	"The Log" prototype
	"The Log" (c.1940)[2][note 1]
	Les Paul's electric guitar "Clunker" based on 1942 Epiphone Broadway[3][4]
	Les Paul prototype with older bridge & tailpiece, resembling Personal model.[5]
	Les Paul prototype[6] with Little Black Box (a kind of sound on sound machine)[7]

Les Paul and "Clunker" (1947)

ES-150 (1936)

The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson Guitar president Ted McCarty brought guitarist Les Paul into the company as a consultant. Les Paul was a respected innovator who had been experimenting with guitar design for years to benefit his own music. In fact, he had hand-built a solid-body prototype called "The Log", a design widely considered the first solid-body Spanish guitar ever built, as opposed to the "Hawaiian", or lap-steel guitar. This guitar is known as "The Log" because the solid core is a pine block whose width and depth are a little more than the width of the fretboard. Although numerous other prototypes and limited-production solid-body models by other makers have since surfaced, it is known that in 1945–1946, Les Paul had approached Gibson with "The Log" prototype, but his solid body design was rejected.^[8][9][10]

In 1951, this initial rejection became a design collaboration between the Gibson Guitar Corporation and Les Paul. It was agreed that the new Les Paul guitar was to be an expensive, well-made instrument in Gibson's tradition.^[11] Although recollections differ regarding who contributed what to the Les Paul design, it was far from a market replica of Fender models. Since the 1930s, Gibson had offered electric hollow-body guitars, such as the ES-150; at minimum, these hollow-body electric models provided a set of basic design cues to the new Gibson solid-body, including a more traditionally curved body shape than offered by competitor Fender, and a glued-in ("set-in") neck, in contrast to Fender's bolt-on neck joint design.

The significance of Les Paul's contributions to his Gibson guitar design remains controversial. The book "50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul" limits Paul's contributions to two: advice on the trapeze tailpiece, and a preference for color (stating that Paul preferred gold as "it looks expensive", and a second choice of black because "it makes your fingers appear to move faster on the box", and "looks classy―like a tuxedo").^[12]

Les Paul logo on headstock

Flame maple
(tiger stripe) sample

Quilted maple sample

Additionally, Gibson's president Ted McCarty states that the Gibson Guitar Corporation merely approached Les Paul for the right to imprint the musician's name on the headstock to increase model sales, and that in 1951, Gibson showed Paul a nearly finished instrument. McCarty also claims that design discussions with Les Paul were limited to the tailpiece and the fitting of a maple cap over the mahogany body for increased density and sustain, which Les Paul had requested reversed. However, according to Gibson Guitar, this reversal would have caused the guitar to become too heavy, and Paul's request was refused.^[13] Another switch: the original Custom was to be all mahogany and the Goldtop was to have the maple cap/mahogany body. Beyond these requests, Les Paul's contributions to the guitar line bearing his name were stated to be cosmetic. For example, ever the showman, Paul had specified that the guitar be offered in a gold finish, not only for flashiness, but to emphasize the high quality of the Les Paul instrument, as well.^[13] The later-issue Les Paul models included flame maple (tiger stripe) and "quilted" maple finishes, and once again contrasted the competing Fender line's range of car-like color finishes. Gibson was notably inconsistent with its wood choices, and some goldtops have had their finish stripped to reveal beautifully figured wood hidden underneath.^{[citation needed]}

Models and variations[link]

The Les Paul guitar line was originally conceived to include two models: the regular model (nicknamed the Goldtop), and the Custom model, which offered upgraded hardware and a more formal black finish. However, advancements in pickup, body, and hardware designs allowed the Les Paul to become a long-term series of electric solid-body guitars that targeted every price-point and market level except for the complete novice guitarist. This beginner guitar market was filled by the Melody Maker model, and although the inexpensive Melody Maker did not bear the Les Paul name, its body consistently followed the design of true Les Pauls throughout each era.

Beyond shaping and body design, there are a number of characteristics that distinguish the Gibson Les Paul line from other electric guitars. For example, in a fashion similar to Gibson's hollow-body instruments, the strings of Les Paul guitars are always mounted on the top of the guitar body, rather than through the guitar body, as seen in competitor Fender's designs. The Gibson also features a variety of colors, such as Wine Red, Ebony, Classic White, Fire Burst, and Alpine White. In addition, the Les Paul models offered a variety of finishes and decorative levels, a diversity of hardware options, and an innovative array of electric pick-up options, some of which significantly impacted the sound of electric music. For instance, in 1957, Gibson introduced the humbucker (PAF), which revolutionized the sound of the electric guitar, and eliminated the mains hum, which had previously plagued guitars with single coil magnetic pickups.

1952~53 Goldtop has
trapeze bridge

1953~55 Goldtop has stopbar bridge

1955~58 Goldtop has
Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece

1957~58 Goldtop has
PAF pickup

Goldtop (1952–1958)[link]

The 1952 Les Paul featured two P-90 single coil pickups, and a one-piece, 'trapeze'-style bridge and tailpiece, with strings that were fitted under (instead of over) a steel stop-bar.^{[note 2]} The weight and the tonal characteristics of the Les Paul were largely due to the mahogany and maple construction: maple is a hard and quite heavy wood, but was restricted to a cap over somewhat lighter mahogany, to keep weight under control.^{[note 3]} In addition, the early 1952 Les Pauls were never issued serial numbers, did not have bound bodies, and are considered by some as "LP Model prototypes". However, the later 1952 Les Pauls were issued serial numbers and also came with bound bodies. Interestingly, the design scheme of some of these early models varied. For instance, some of the Les Pauls of this issue were fitted with black covered P90 pickups instead of the cream-colored plastic covers that are associated with this guitar, even today. Of note, these early models, nicknamed "Goldtops", have begun to gain the interest of collectors, and subsequently, the associated nostalgic value of this instrument is increasing.^{[note 4]}

Tune-o-matic bridge with stopbar tailpiece

PAF pickup (1956–)

1954 Custom has tune-o-
matic bridge.

1960 Custom (reissue) has
PAF pickup.

1974 Custom

Custom (1954–1961, 1968–present)[link]

The second issue of the Les Paul guitar was introduced to the public in 1954. Called the Gibson Les Paul Custom, this entirely black guitar was dubbed the Black Beauty. The Les Paul Custom featured a mahogany top to differentiate the instrument from its Goldtop predecessor's maple top. It also featured the new Tune-o-Matic bridge design and a pickup with an alnico-5 magnet, P-480, in the neck position. In addition, since 1957, the Custom was fitted with Gibson's new humbucker pickups, PAF,^[14] and later became available with three pickups instead of the more usual two. The three pickup model retained the standard Gibson 3-way switch so not all pickup combinations were possible. The neck and bridge-only settings were retained, but the middle switch position was set to enable the middle and bridge pickups. A common modification was to restore the standard neck/both/bridge switching combination and add a switch to enable the middle pickup on its own.^{[citation needed]}

The Les Paul Custom single cutaway was discontinued in 1961 and replaced with the SG (as we know it) designation for "solid guitar". This model featured a thin 1-5/16" body and a double cutaway. Confusion abounds to this day over the name Les Paul Custom. Since the single cutaway was discontinued, Gibson transferred the name Les Paul Custom to the new models.

Junior (1954–1960) and TV (1955–1960)[link]

1958 Junior

1959 Junior DC (TV Yellow)

1960/1961 Melody Maker

In 1954, to widen the solid-body electric market still further, Gibson issued the Gibson Les Paul Junior. Gibson targeted to the beginner again with a Les Paul Junior design. Over time, this Gibson design has proven well-suited for even professional use.

There were marked differences between the other Les Paul models and the Les Paul Junior. For instance, although the Junior's body outline was clearly reminiscent of the original upmarket Les Paul guitar, the Junior issue was characterized by its flat-top "slab" mahogany body, finished in traditional Gibson Sunburst. The Junior was touted as an inexpensive option for Gibson electric guitar buyers^{[citation needed]}: it had a single P-90 pickup, simple volume and tone controls, and the unbound rosewood fingerboard bore plain dot-shape position markers. However, as a concession to the aspirations of the beginning guitarist buyer, the Junior did feature the stud bridge/tailpiece similar to the second incarnation of the upscale Gold-Top.

Later, in 1955, Gibson launched the Les Paul TV model, which was essentially a Junior with what Gibson called a natural finish. This finish was actually more of a translucent mustard yellow through which the wood grain could be seen, and was not unlike the finish that competitor Fender called butterscotch yellow. The idea behind this TV Yellow was that white guitars would glare too much on early black and white television broadcasts, whereas TV Yellow guitars would not cast a glare.

In 1958, Gibson made a radical design change to their Junior and TV models: with the design change came cosmetic changes to these guitars that would later take on enormous importance. To accommodate player requests for more access to the top frets than the previous designs allowed, Gibson revamped both these electric guitar models with a new double-cutaway body shape. In addition, the Junior's fresh look was enhanced with a new cherry red finish, while the re-shaped TV adopted a new, rather yellow-tinged finish for its new design.

Special SC (TV Yellow)  by Epiphone.
Note: original Special equips stopbar-bridge, instead of Tune-o-matic on photograph.

1956 Les Paul Special Singlecut in TV Yellow

Special (1955–1960)[link]

The Les Paul Special was released in 1955, featuring two soapbar P-90 single coil pickups, finished in a TV Yellow variation (but not called a TV model).

In 1959, the Special was given the same new double-cutaway body shape that the Junior and the TV received in 1958. However, when the new design was applied to the two-pickup Special, the cavity for the neck pickup overlapped with the neck-to-body joint. This weakened the joint to the point that the neck could break after only moderate handling. The problem was soon resolved when Gibson's designers moved the neck pickup farther down the body, producing a stronger joint and eradicating the breakage problem.

This stabilized version of the Special is currently offered only by Gibson's Custom Shop in the "VOS" series in TV Yellow.

Standard (1958–1960, 1968–2008)[link]

Paul McCartney playing a 1960 left-handed cherryburst Les Paul

Gibson Custom 50th Anniversary 1959 Les Paul Standard (2009)

A licenced Kahler tremolo system on a '87 Gibson Les Paul Standard

In 1958, Gibson updated the Les Paul yet again. The new model retained most of the specifications of the 1957 Goldtop, including PAF humbucker pickups, maple top, tune-o-matic bridge with a stop tailpiece or Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. The most significant change in the new models was the finish. the Goldtop color used since 1952, was replaced by the Sunburst finish already being used on Gibson's archtop acoustic and hollow electric guitars such as the J-45 model. To differentiate from the earlier Goldtop model, the new Les Paul was referred to as The Les Paul Standard. Original production of the standards lasted from 1958 to 1960. Only 1,700 of these early models were made and have subsequently become highly collectible.^{[note 5]} Original production ended when, in 1961, Gibson redesigned the Les Paul to feature a "double cutaway" body, which has subsequently become the Gibson SG. Due to high demand, Gibson resumed production of Les Paul Standards in 1968. Today, the Gibson Les Paul Standard has BurstBucker pickups on the Vintage Original Spec models and Burstbucker Pro on the lower end models bearing the 'Standard' name.

In the 80s Gibson also sold a limited number of Les Paul carrying Kahler tremolos.

2008 Standard (2008)[link]

Gibson's new version of the Les Paul Standard was released August 1, 2008 and features a long neck tenon, an asymmetrical neck profile to make for a comfortable neck, frets leveled by Plek machine, and locking Grover tuners with an improved ratio of 18:1. With the 2008 model Gibson has introduced their "weight relief" chambering, which includes routing "chambers" in specific areas of the mahogany slab body as specified by Gibson R&D. Before 2008, Les Paul Standards were "swiss cheesed." In other words, it had holes routed into the body, but it was not chambered like most of Gibson's Les Paul lineup now is.^[15] In 2008 Gibson also introduced the Les Paul Traditional. The Traditional is built using the traditional Les Paul specifications; such as Kluson style tuners, 57 Classic pickups, and an unchambered body.

2012 Standard[link]

Gibson announced the new 2012 Les Paul Standard at Winter NAMM 2012. The new Standard features two Burstbucker Pro humbuckers with coil splitting, and Pure Bypass. Pure Bypass gives the option of bypassing the volume and tone potentiometers, sending the signal directly from the bridge pickup to the output jack. The 2012 Standard also features Gibson's "modern weight relief" as opposed to the chambered body of previous Standards. Other changes include a phase switch and compound fretboard radius.

1962 Les Paul Standard (SG Standard)

Les Paul SG (1961–present)[link]

In 1960, Gibson experienced a decline in electric guitar sales due to their high prices and strong competition from Fender's comparable but much lighter double-cutaway design, the Stratocaster. In response, Gibson modified the Les Paul line. This 1961 issue Les Paul guitar was thinner and much lighter than the earlier models, with two sharply pointed cut-aways and a vibrato system. However, the redesign was done without Les Paul's knowledge. Although pleased with the sound, he asked Gibson to remove his name from the instrument until they fixed a design issue with the neck. ^[16] Although this separation occurred in 1960, Gibson had a surplus stock of "Les Paul" logos and truss rod covers, and so continued to use the Les Paul name until 1963. At that point, the SG guitar's name was finally changed to "SG", which stood simply for Solid Guitar. In addition to the SG line, Gibson continued to issue the less expensive Jrs and Specials (and the Melody Makers) with the newer body style. These, together with the Firebird, were the standard Gibson solid-body models until the reintroduction of the Les Paul Standard Goldtop and the Les Paul Custom guitars to the market in 1968.

Renewed interest in the Les Paul models[link]

Jeff Beck (1968)

Mick Taylor playing Les Paul Standard (ca.1973)

Hubert Sumlin (1978)

In 1964, The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards obtained a 1959 sunburst Les Paul.^[17] The guitar, outfitted with a Bigsby tailpiece, was the first "star-owned" Les Paul in Britain and served as one of the guitarist's prominent instruments through 1966. Because he switched guitars often enough in that period (using models ranging from the Epiphone semi-hollow to various other guitars made by Guild and Gibson), Richards is sometimes forgotten as an early post-1960 Les Paul player.^[18][19] In 1965, Eric Clapton also recognized the rock potential of the late 1950s Les Paul guitars (particularly the 1958–1960 Standard sunburst models), and gave them wide exposure. He began using Les Pauls because of the influence of Freddie King and Hubert Sumlin, and played a 1960 Standard on his groundbreaking album Blues Breakers – John Mayall – With Eric Clapton. At the same time, Mike Bloomfield began using a 1954 Les Paul goldtop he apparently purchased in Boston while touring with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and recorded most of his work on the band's East-West album with that guitar. A year later, he traded it to guitarist/luthier Dan Erlewine for the 1959 Standard with which he became most identified. Concurrently, such artists such as Peter Green, Mick Taylor, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page began using the late-1950s Les Paul Standards.

"Patent Applied For" (PAF) pickups on Les Paul Standard

Seymour Duncan pickup (right) on Gibson Invader

These 1950s models featured the thicker, more sustaining tone of Gibson's humbucker pickups with the original units known as "Patent Applied For" (PAF) pickups. These PAFs were designed by Seth Lover while working for Gibson in 1955 (U.S. Patent 2,896,491), and debuted on Les Pauls in 1957. This innovation became a standard pick up design for Gibson, and subsequently, many other guitar companies followed suit, outfitting their electrics with copycat versions of the humbucking pickup altered to avoid infringing Gibson's patent. Gretsch had their Filtertron pickups, and when Fender entered the humbucker market in 1972, it was with the radically different Fender Wide Range pickup. "Standard" humbuckers from other guitar manufacturers and third party replacement pickups from the likes of DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan were only offered after Gibson's patent had expired.

Over the years, authentic 1950s Les Pauls have become some of the most desirable and expensive electric guitars in the world. Only 1700 were made between 1958 and 1960^{[citation needed]} today, a 1959 Les Paul Standard in good condition can be easily priced between $US200,000 and $US750,000, making it the most valuable production model electric guitar ever built. (However, Gibson Custom Shop reissue versions of the 1950s and 1960 Les Paul can be purchased for less, between $US3,000-$US6,000; certain artist signature model versions of the guitars, however, are considerably more expensive.) Jimmy Page has been offered 1 million pounds (1.6 million USD) for his "number 1" 1959 Les Paul should he ever decide to sell it.^[20]

Thanks to the work and influence of Richards, Clapton, Bloomfield, Green, Taylor, Beck, and Page in the mid-1960s, demand for Les Paul guitars had begun to increase. Responding to that influence and increased pressure from the public, Gibson re-introduced the single cutaway Les Paul in July 1968.

The Paul (c.1978) played by Mike Scott

Les Paul models in the Norlin era (1969–1985)[link]

Subsequent years brought new company ownership to the Gibson Guitar Company. During the "Norlin Era", Gibson Les Paul body designs were greatly altered, most notably, the change to the neck volute. Because the Les Paul had the reputation of having an easily broken neck joint, the volute strengthened the neck where it joined the headstock to avert breakage. To further increase the strength, the neck woods were changed from mahogany to a three-piece maple design. The LP body was changed from a one-piece mahogany with a maple top into multiple slabs of mahogany with multiple pieced maple tops. This is referred to as "multipiece" construction, and sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "pancake" body. The expression "pancake body" actually refers to a body made of a thin layer of maple sandwiched between two slabs of mahogany, with a maple cap. The grain of the maple was placed at 90 degrees to that of the mahogany. The "pancake"-like layers are clearly visible when looking at the edge of the guitar. This process is also known as "crossbanding", and was done for strength and resistance to cupping\warping. Crossbanding was phased out by 1977.

S-1

Marauder

 Sonex

Spirit

L6-S

In this era, as well, Gibson began experimenting with new models such as the Les Paul Recording. This model is often eschewed by guitar purists^{[citation needed]}: considered "too full of gadgetry".^{[citation needed]} The Recording featured low-impedance pickups, many switches and buttons, and a highly specialized cable for impedance-matching to the amplifier. Less noticeable changes included, but were not limited to, maple fingerboards (1976), pickup cavity shielding, and the crossover of the ABR1 Tune-o-matic bridge into the modern day Nashville Tune-o-matic bridge. During the 1970s, the Les Paul body shape was incorporated into other Gibson models, including the S-1, the Sonex, the L6-S, and other models that did not follow the classic Les Paul layout.

1972 Deluxe  with mini-humbuckers

1969 Deluxe

Deluxe[link]

The Deluxe was among the "new" 1968 Les Pauls. This model featured "mini-humbuckers", also known as "New York" humbuckers, and did not initially prove popular. The mini-humbucker pickup fit into the pre-carved P-90 pickup cavity using an adaptor ring developed by Gibson (actually just a cut-out P90 pickup cover) in order to use a supply of Epiphone mini-humbuckers left over from when Gibson moved Epiphone production to Japan. The DeLuxe was introduced in late 1968 and helped to standardize production among Gibson's USA-built Les Pauls. The first incarnation of the Deluxe featured a one-piece body and slim three-piece neck in late 1968. The "pancake" body (thin layer of maple on top of two layers of Honduran mahogany) came later in 1969. In late 1969, a small "volute" was added. 1969 Deluxes feature the Gibson logo devoid of the dot over the "i" in Gibson. By late 1969/early 1970, the dot over the "i" had returned, plus a "Made In USA" stamp on the back of the headstock. By 1975, the neck construction was changed from mahogany to maple, until the early 1980s, when the construction was returned to mahogany. The body changed back to solid mahogany from the pancake design in late 1976 or early 1977. Interest in this particular Les Paul model was so low that in 1985, Gibson canceled the line. However, in 2005, the Deluxe was reintroduced with more popularity due to its association with Pete Townshend [1] and Thin Lizzy.

In 1978 the Les Paul Pro Deluxe was introduced. This guitar featured P-90 pickups instead of the "mini-humbuckers" of the Deluxe model, an ebony fingerboard, maple neck, mahogany body and chrome hardware. It came in Ebony, Cherry Sunburst, Tobacco Sunburst or Gold finishes. Interestingly, it was first launched in Europe, rather than the USA. It was discontinued in 1982.

Studio

Studio[link]

The "Studio" model was introduced in 1983, and is still in production. The intended market for this guitar was the studio musician; therefore, the design features of the "Les Paul Studio" were centered on optimal sound output. This model retained only the elements of the Gibson Les Paul that contributed to tone and playability, including the carved maple top and standard mechanical and electronic hardware. However, the Studio design omitted several stock Gibson ornamentations that did not affect sound quality, including the binding on the body and neck. The two notable exceptions to this are the Studio Standard and the Studio Custom. Both models were produced in the mid 1980s, and included body and neck binding, though with dot fingerboard inlays instead of more ornate trapezoids. Currently, the only Les Paul Studio with a classic neck binding and trapezoid inlays is the Les Paul Studio Classic '60s model, a limited edition made for the Sam Ash stores [2]. The first Studios from 83 to 86, except for Studio Standard and Studio Custom, were made with alder bodies rather than mahogany/maple. The current Studios come with a chambered mahogany body with either a maple or mahogany cap. The entry level Les Paul Studio "faded" has a chambered mahogany body and top and a satin finish and is the lowest priced Gibson USA Les Paul.

Custom Shop models[link]

Gibson Les Paul Custom Florentine

With a growing popularity of the Les Paul guitars, hundreds of unendorsed imitations and copycat versions had appeared on the markets. However, due to the lack of U.S. legislation to address patent infringements and restrict the import sales, oversea imitations caused legal and financial problems to the Gibson Guitar Corporation. An also troublesome thing was the existence of high quality imitations of vintage Les Paul (and vintage Stratocaster) produced by oversea manufacturers.

For instance, during 1970s and early 1980s, Japanese manufacturer Tokai Gakki produced superb replicas of 1957–59 vintage Les Pauls, and replicas themselves were gradually highly regarded. In the 1980s, to respond to the high demand for vintage models, Gibson itself began to offer a line of "Custom Shop models", almost accurate reproductions of early Les Paul crafted by the Gibson Guitar Custom Shops.

Modern Les Pauls[link]

In January 1986, Gibson changed ownership and began manufacturing a range of varied Les Paul models to suit different user needs. The 1980s also saw the end to several design characteristics that were classic to the Les Paul, including the volute and maple neck. However, due to consumer demand, the Gibson Les Paul guitar is available today in an array of choices, ranging from guitars equipped with modern digital electronics to classic re-issue models built to match the look and specifications of the guitar's earliest production runs from 1952 to 1960.

Les Paul playing his guitar (customized Recording or Personal)

Les Paul's guitar[link]

Until his death in August 2009, Les Paul himself played his personal Les Paul Guitar onstage, weekly, in New York City. Paul preferred his 1971 Gibson "Recording" model guitar, with different electronics and a one-piece mahogany body, and which, as an inveterate tinkerer and bona fide inventor, he had modified heavily to his liking over the years. A Bigsby-style vibrato was of late the most visible change although his guitars were formerly fitted with his "Les Paulverizer" effects.

Per a statement made by Les Paul himself in the "Chasing Sound" bio-pic, the "Les Paulverizer" was a hoax with the actual effect being provided via multitrack recording. Les Paul was also a pioneer of stereo and multitrack recording.^[21]

Epiphone Les Pauls[link]

Les Paul Special II

Les Paul 100

Les Paul Ultra II

Les Paul ES Custom

The Gibson-owned Epiphone Company makes around 20 models of the Les Paul, most are similar copies of Gibson-made models, although when inspected closely both visually and aurally, the Gibson originals are most often superior in tone, craftsmanship and materials. Made in places outside the U.S., the Epiphone Les Pauls are made from more commonly available woods using less expensive foreign labor and have less hand detailing than the Gibson models, and, as a result, sell for a lower price. Epiphone Guitar Co. has been owned by Gibson Guitars since the 1950s. Once Gibson purchased Epiphone they quickly began making lower-quality guitars based on Gibson designs.^[22]

Epiphone currently produces several models of the Les Paul including The entry level "Les Paul Special II", which is generally made of a basswood body and a veneered top, a bolt-on neck (with dot inlays instead of the usual trapezoid inlays), lacks a binding, and has simplified electronics. ^[23] The next model up is the "Les Paul 100", which costs approximately $US300, has similar features but it has the standard Les Paul wiring, mahogany body and a higher-quality paint job. The Epiphone Les Paul Studio is the least expensive Les Paul model to have a carved top and a set neck (features considered central to the feel and sound of more expensive Les Paul models), and is between $350-$400 depending on features and finish. The standard models are the "Les Paul Standard Plain Top" and the "Les Paul Standard Plus Top". They cost $US550 and $US650 respectively. They both feature a solid mahogany body with a maple veneer and carved top; the "Plus" model includes a "flamed" maple finish while the "plain" top is unfigured.^[24]

Epiphone also makes several less common models of the Les Paul such as the "Les Paul Goth", "Les Paul Goldtop", "Les Paul Ultra" and "Les Paul Ultra II", "Les Paul Custom", "Les Paul Black Beauty", "Les Paul Prophecy Series", "Zakk Wylde Custom Les Paul Model", "Slash signature Les Paul Models" and the "Les Paul Studio", and the most current, "Joe Bonamassa '59 Gold Top Les Paul".^[25][26][27]

Gibson Robot Guitar[link]

Gibson Robot Guitar
(alongside assorted guitar effect pedals)

In 2007, Gibson announced an idea to create a computerized Les Paul, dubbed the "Robot Guitar". It was released on December 7, 2007. The guitar has a computer integrated into the body with a "master control" knob next to the volume knobs, which can be pulled out, turned, or pressed to issue different commands to the guitar. One of the more notable features is the ability to tune the guitar to standard tuning simply by pulling out on the master control knob and strumming the guitar, while the tuning pegs adjust themselves to standard tuning. Another use of the master control knob is to be able to tune the guitar to alternative tunings, such as drop D, by pressing on the control knob to fit the setting. The new Les Paul has a new custom silverburst blue finish.^[28] While the product was advertised in the American popular press as a "world's first", similar systems, some external, have been in use for decades.

Gibson Dark Fire[link]

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Gibson announced a new interactive computerized Les Paul that produces more sounds, named the Dark Fire. It was released on December 15, 2007. The guitar has a computer integrated into the body and controlled by the "Master Control Knob" (MCK) The MCK allows players the ability to change the pickups and coils, adjust each tone and tunings automatically and simultaneously, even during a song being played. Like the Robot, the Dark Fire features the ability to tune the guitar; however, in an improvement over the Robot, the player can tune it up to 500 times per battery charge, allowing the tuning pegs to adjust themselves to different tuning styles. Using the "Chameleon Tone Technology" Gibson claims this guitar will produce every imaginable guitar sound. In addition to the improved and advanced tuning features, the guitar has three various types of pickups, which includes: Burstbucker (humbucker), a P-90 single-coil and a bridge-mounted piezo acoustic―all of which contribute to organic blends of original sounds.

Gibson Dusk Tiger[link]

Gibson has made another guitar in the robot series: The Dusk Tiger. This third robot guitar has lightweight 45 gram tuners and chameleon tone editor support (which means you can make your own sounds by modeling in chameleon tone).

Les Paul Ukulele[link]

In Early 2011, Epiphone released information about a Ukulele version of the Les Paul, which would feature a semi acoustic solid mahogany body in cherry sunburst, concert sized ukulele, which was made available in June 2011 at a retail price of $179 a piece.^[29]

Signature models[link]

Slash[link]

Gibson Slash "Appetite" Les Paul

Slash with one of his signatures in 2007

Slash has collaborated with Gibson on eleven signature Les Paul models—three through Gibson USA; four through the Gibson Custom Shop; and four through the Gibson subsidiary Epiphone.

The first of these guitars was the Slash "Snakepit" Les Paul Standard, which was introduced by the Gibson Custom Shop in 1996. It has a transparent cranberry red finish over a flame maple top, a relief carving of the smoking snake graphic off the cover of Slash's Snakepit's debut album, It's Five O'Clock Somewhere, hand carved by Bruce J. Kunkel (owner of Kunkel Guitars kunkelguitars.com), and a mother of pearl inlay of a cobra wrapped up the length of the ebony fretboard. Production was limited to 50, with Slash receiving the first four including the prototype, the only one with the carving on the body turned 90 degrees to be viewed right side up when displayed on a guitar stand. In 1998 Slash's studio was broken into and his guitars were stolen, including the "Snakepit" prototype, so the Gibson Custom Shop built him a replica. These guitars are by far the rarest and most collectible of any of the Gibson Slash signature guitars, they sold for around $5,000 new, the Hollywood Guitar Center was asking $20,000 for one in 2002. In 1997, Epiphone released a more affordable version of the "Snakepit" Les Paul, featuring a decal of the smoking snake logo and standard fretboard inlay.^[30]

In 2004, the Gibson Custom Shop introduced the Slash Signature Les Paul Standard. This guitar features a plain maple top with a Dark Tobacco Sunburst finish, and has a piezo pickup with a switch located near the tone and volume knobs.^[30] In 2008, Epiphone issued the Slash Signature Les Paul Standard Plus Top, which was modeled after the Gibson Custom Shop model.^[30] It has a solid mahogany body, flame maple top, and a Dark Tobacco Burst finish.^[31] The A.F.D. guitar weighs on the upward side of 10lbs.

In 2008, Gibson USA released the Slash Signature Les Paul Standard, an authentic replica of one of two Les Pauls Slash received from Gibson in 1988. It has an Antique Vintage Sunburst finish over a solid mahogany body with a maple top. Production was limited to 1600.^[32] The Gibson Custom Shop introduced the Slash "Inspired By" Les Paul Standard. It is also a replica of the 1988 Les Paul Standard, and features a carved 3 piece maple top, one-piece mahogany back, and rosewood fingerboard, with a Heritage Cherry Sunburst finish. Two versions were made available—the "Aged by Tom Murphy," aged to resemble the original guitar as it is today (a limited number of these were signed by Slash in gold marker on the back of the headstock), and the "Vintage Original Spec," created to resemble the guitar as it was when Slash first received it.^[33][34]

Two more models were introduced in 2008. Gibson USA issued the Slash Signature Les Paul Goldtop, modeled after a 1991 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop that was stolen from Slash's collection in 1999 and never recovered.^[35] It features a mahogany body and a hand-carved maple top with Gibson's classic Bullion Gold finish. Production was limited to 1000.^[36] Epiphone again introduced a more affordable version of the Gibson model, featuring a traditional Les Paul body with a maple top, a mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, and Epiphone's classic Goldtop finish. Production was limited to 2000.^[37]

In 2010, Gibson USA released the Slash "Appetite" Les Paul Standard as a tribute to Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction. It resembles the original Les Paul Standards of the late '50s, including the 1959 Les Paul replica Slash used for the recording of the album. It has a maple top with a nitrocellulose Sunburst finish, rosewood fingerboard with mother of pearl inlay, and a Slash headstock graphic. It also features Slash's signature Seymour Duncan pickups.^[38] The Gibson Custom Shop introduced the Slash "Appetite" Les Paul Standard. Production was limited to 400, with 100 guitars hand-aged and signed by Slash himself, and another 300 finished with the Custom Shop's VOS process.^[39] Epiphone issued a more affordable version of the "Appetite" Les Paul, production of which was limited to 3000.^[40][41]

Jeff Beck[link]

Many great off-the-shelf electric guitars have had their reputations elevated by the legendary artists who have played them. Once in a while, however, a heavily modified instrument is used to make such groundbreaking music that the erstwhile “one-off” becomes iconic in and of itself. The best known and most revered of these is arguably Jeff Beck’s Oxblood Les Paul, a guitar from the heart of tone history. Now, Gibson Custom unveils the most accurate recreation of the Jeff Beck Oxblood Les Paul ever produced. From its aged and authentic Oxblood finish to the custom-tailored neck profile modeled precisely from Beck’s original instrument to the blistering and powerful sounds produced by Gibson’s legendary Burstbucker humbucking pickups, the new Jeff Beck Oxblood Les Paul from Gibson Custom leaves nothing to chance. It is simply one of the most exact replicas of any historic guitar ever produced by the master craftsmen at Gibson Custom.

As such, the new Jeff Beck Oxblood is available in very limited numbers. The first 50 of these historic guitars will be carefully aged by the master luthiers at Gibson Custom to look exactly like Beck’s original, then personally hand-signed, numbered and played by Beck himself. The next 100 guitars will be prepared with Gibson Custom’s pioneering V.O.S. finish, bringing the total run to just 150 rare instruments. Each one also comes with a standard Gibson Custom case and a certificate of authenticity.

Gibson Gary Moore Les Paul

Gary Moore[link]

The late Northern Irish blues/rock guitarist Gary Moore also created his own signature Gibson Les Paul in the early 1990s. Characterised by a yellow flame top, no binding and a Gary Moore truss rod cover. It featured two open-topped humbucking pick-ups, one with "zebra coils" (one white and one black bobbin). Gary formerly owned Peter Green's vintage Les Paul Standard with the accidentally reversed pick-up magnet that gives it its unique sound.

In 2009, Gibson released another Gary Moore signature guitar, the Gibson Gary Moore BFG Les Paul. The Gary Moore BFG is much like their previous Les Paul BFG series, while having the style of Moore's 1950s Les Paul Standards.

Peter Frampton 54 Custom with three humbuckers

Peter Frampton[link]

Guitar Center added a replica of the "Black Beauty" Les Paul Custom, with three pickups, that Peter Frampton used as his main guitar from his days in Humble Pie through his early solo career, photographed playing the instrument on the front jackets of his albums Frampton and Frampton Comes Alive. It has all the same qualities such as the three uncovered humbucking pickups and missing pickguard. The Black Beauty was not issued until 1957; however, the one given to Frampton by a fan named Mark Mariana was a '54 that had been routed out for a middle pickup.

Michael Bloomfield[link]

Blues guitar star Michael Bloomfield may not have been the first to make the then-out-of-production Les Paul Standard his own in the mid-1960s, but his popularity and influence with the Butterfield Blues Band are often credited with helping seed the renewed interest which compelled Gibson to return the original Les Paul to full production later in the decade. Bloomfield first played a 1954 Les Paul goldtop (with the strings wrapped around the tailpiece rather than suspended and intonated over a bridge) while with Butterfield in 1966, but he swapped the guitar (plus $100) to noted guitar technician Dan Erlewine in exchange for a 1959 Les Paul Standard. This guitar was characterised by mismatched volume and tone control knobs (a reflector-topped "tone" knob for the bridge pickup volume, two top-hatted knobs for neck pickup volume and bridge pickup tone, and a cylindrical "speed knob" for the neck pickup tone), a missing cover on the rhythm/treble toggle switch, a truss rod cover with "Les Paul" engraved in script (this feature had actually originated with the early Les Paul SG models, not the original Les Paul single cutaways), and a crack in the wood behind the tailpiece. Because the guitar was lost in the 1970s (Bloomfield scholars believe a Canadian venue owner claimed it as compensation after Bloomfield missed a scheduled performance and never reclaimed the instrument), Gibson used hundreds of photographs of the late blues guitarist's instrument (and consulted with Bloomfield's family) to produce the limited-edition Bloomfield signature. The company produced one hundred Bloomfield models with custom-aged finishes and one hundred more with the company's Vintage Original Specifications finishing in 2009. They reproduced the tailpiece crack, the mismatched volume and tone control knobs, and the "Les Paul"-engraved truss rod cover, but included a toggle switch cover. The headstock was characterised by the kidney-shaped Grover tuning keys installed on the guitar before Bloomfield traded for it, and the pickups were Gibson Burstbucker 1 (at the neck) and Burstbucker 2 (at the bridge).

Roger Daltrey & Pete Townshend with his modified Les Paul Deluxe

Pete Townshend[link]

In 2005, Gibson issued three Pete Townshend signature edition Les Paul Deluxe guitars, based on Townshend's heavily customised "#1" Wine Red 1976 Les Paul Deluxe, "#3" Gold top 1976, and "#9" Cherry Sunburst 1976. These guitars were modified by Alan Rogan and used extensively on stage and in the studio with The Who. In addition to the two mini-humbuckers the guitar carried, Rogan modified Townshend's originals with a DiMarzio humbucker in the middle. Toggle switches located behind the guitar's tailpiece turned the pickup on and off and added volume boost. The control knobs were wired for volume, one for each pickup and a master volume. The reissues differed from Townshend's originals in that the reissues had an inlay at the first fret while the originals did not.

Jimmy Page[link]

Jimmy Page with his Les Paul

Gibson has produced three Jimmy Page signature models. The first was issued in the mid-1990s. It was based on a stock Les Paul Standard of the time (rather than the more prestigious and historically correct 1958/1959 re-issues issued by the Gibson Custom Shop). The modifications were based on Jimmy Page's "#2" 1959 Les Paul, which had been modified with push-pull potentiometers on all four control knobs, as well as mini push-pull switches under the pickguard. This first version of the Jimmy Page Signature did not have the mini-switches under the pickguard, nor did it replicate the custom-shaved neck profile of Jimmy Page's guitar, but it did include the four push-pull pots. With all four pots pushed down, the guitar operated as normal. Pulling up the tone pot for the Bridge or Neck pickup turned the respective pickup into a single coil, rather than humbucking pickup. Pulling up the volume pot for either pickup changed it from series (stock) to parallel. The first iteration of the Jimmy Page Signature utilized Gibson's then-current high-output humbuckers: a 496R in the neck position and a 498T at the bridge.

In 2005, after 2 years of research and development utilizing Jimmy Page's actual guitar, Gibson Custom Shop issued a limited run of Jimmy Page Signature guitars based on Jimmy Page's No. 1 1959. This time, Gibson worked directly from Jimmy Page's actual guitar, which he lent to Gibson for the project. The guitar featured just one push-pull pot, just like Page's No. 1, which reversed the phase of the pickups in the up position, which in Page's own words gave "a close approximation to the Peter Green sound." Gibson also went to great lengths to replicate the accuracy of the pickups, creating two custom pickups, which were available only in this guitar. The pickups were based on the Burstbucker vintage-style pickups, but featured stronger Alnico magnets and slightly higher output than the other Burstbuckers, as well as slightly higher treble response, which accurately reproduced the sound of the pickups in Page's guitar. Gibson also replicated the neck profile, which was heavily modified prior to Page acquiring the guitar, and the Grover tuners that Page favored.

Several years later, Gibson issued its third Jimmy Page Signature guitar, this one based closely on Jimmy Page's #2. Put out by the Gibson Custom Shop in an extremely limited run of 325 guitars, this guitar more accurately reproduced Page's heavily modified No. 2 than the original Signature model of the 1990s, and featured the 4 push-pull pots, the two mini-switches under the pick guard, accurate tuners and sound-accurate pickups (the same pickups that were used in the 2005 Jimmy Page No. 1 Signature), as well as an accurate neck profile. As in the original Signature model of the 1990s, pulling up the neck or bridge volume pots switched the respective pickups' coils from series to parallel, and pulling up the tone pots switched the respective pickups from humbucking to single coil. The two push-button DPDT switches mounted beneath the pickguard provide universal switching functions, regardless of the positions of the push-pull pots. With the switch mounted toward the bridge-end of the pickguard in the out position, the bridge pickup's phase is reversed. With the switch mounted toward the neck-end of the pickguard in the out position, both pickups are wired in series and out of phase. With both switches out, both pickups are in series and in phase. The Jimmy Page "Number Two" Les Paul is finished in the Gibson Custom Shop's painstakingly devised "Page Burst Version Two", a sunburst finish that accurately replicates the deep, rich, reddish-brown to amber appearance of the original guitar, and which has been approved by Page himself. With a total production number of 325 units, these are some of the most expensive guitars Gibson has ever issued. The initial 25, autographed by Jimmy Page, priced at as much as $25,000 new, with prices rising in the collector market. Although gibson made 100 more with the same level of quality only the 25 remain signed.

Ace Frehley
with his 3pick-ups Les Paul

Billy Gibbons
with Les Paul Goldtop

Buckethead
with his white Les Paul

Ace Frehley[link]

The Ace Frehley (KISS) signature model, released in 1997, has three humbucking DiMarzio pick-ups, a cherry sunburst finish (AAAA), a color image of Frehley's face in his Kiss make-up on the headstock, and mother-of-pearl lightning bolt inlays, and Ace's simulated signature on the 12th fret. There was a limited edition, Gibson Custom Shop run of only 300 guitars that were built with Dimarzio PAF, Super Distortion, and Dual Sound pickups. The production run model was only built with Dimarzio Super Distortion pickups. This was one of Gibson's best selling artist runs. These guitars now value between $4000-$12000.

Billy Gibbons[link]

Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top has a signature model and pick-up based on his favorite "Pearly Gates" Les Paul. Gibbons' authorized Les Paul is a re-issue of the 1959 Les Paul Standard, considered to be the "Holy Grail" of electric guitars by many renowned players and guitar enthusiasts.

Buckethead[link]

Buckethead's signature model has an oversized chambered mahagony body, alpine white maple top, a 27" scale length, and a push/pull switch on the bridge). The electronics are also re-wired to make use of the two arcade-style "killswitch" buttons on the guitar. This guitar is identical to the Les Paul that Buckethead toured with in 2009.

Sammy Hagar[link]

Sammy Hagar's signature Les Paul model is equipped with dual "zebra-striped" humbuckers on a red flame maple top. The headstock is inlayed with the logo of Sammy's new supergroup, Chickenfoot.

Billie Joe Armstrong
with his Les Paul Junior

Zakk Wylde
with his bullseye Les Paul

Neal Schon
with his Les Paul Custom

Billie Joe Armstrong[link]

Billie Joe's signature guitar is a Les Paul Junior, based on the vintage Junior he uses that is named 'Floyd.' It has one Billie Joe Armstrong signature pickup, the H-90, a humbucking version of the famous P-90 pickup. Used mainly through 2004–present

Zakk Wylde[link]

Features Zakk's trademark bullseye graphics, EMG 81 and EMG 85 humbucking pickups and raw, unfinished necks.

Perhaps due to fact that only 50 of these guitars were made by Gibson, Aged edition Zakk Wyldes Bullseye Les Paul guitars are extremely sought out by metal musicians and collectors alike. The custom design crew at Gibson conducted the redesign of Zakk Wylde's guitar seriously as it mirrors every chip and dent you'd find on Zakk's legendary No. 1 Les Paul custom.

Neal Schon[link]

The Neal Schon Signature Les Paul model has a carved mahogany top, mahogany back, multi-ply black/white binding on top, chrome-plated hardware and a Floyd Rose tremolo. The one-piece mahogany neck has a scarfed heel joint a "Schon custom" slim-taper neck profile. The 22-fret ebony fingerboard features pearl split-diamond inlays and single-ply white binding. The pickups are a DiMarzio Fast Track/Fernandes Sustainer in the neck position and a Gibson BurstBucker Pro in the bridge position. In addition to the standard Les Paul electronics (individual pickup volume and tone controls, plus three-way selector switch), the Schon Signature features two mini-toggles – an on/off for the Sustainer and an octave effect – along with a push/pull pot for midrange cut. Only 60 of these guitars made it to production and sold out in days upon release.

Eric Clapton[link]

When Eric Clapton plugged his 1960 Les Paul into a Marshall amplifier in the mid 60's he created a new classic rock tone that has been revered and copied by countless guitarists since, thus playing a major part in renewed interest of the guitar that moved Gibson to return the original Les Paul to full and permanent production. Clapton played a 1960 Standard as a member of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and in the early days of Cream. The guitar was said to have been stolen while Clapton was preparing for the first Cream tour in 1966, following the recording of Fresh Cream, and was long considered an iconic instrument by Clapton's fans and Les Paul guitar admirers. Gibson announced production of the Clapton 1960 Standard (popularly known as the "Beano Burst", in honour of the British comic Clapton is seen reading on the jacket photograph of Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton) in mid-to-late 2010. The company had Clapton's own direct cooperation and consultation on the project, which was based on the few available photographs of the musician with the guitar and on Clapton's own recollection of the instrument. Gibson says the instrument "accurately represents what Eric Clapton personally feels his 1960 Les Paul should be", with Clapton consulting on the design of the guitar. Production is limited to 55 hand-aged instruments signed by Clapton (who was allowed to keep the first five of these instruments), another 95 hand-aged instruments, and 350 Vintage Original Spec instruments, but all five hundred instruments feature period-correct hardware, two Gibson reproduction PAF humbucking pickups, and subtly figured "antiquity burst" maple tops.

Steve Jones[link]

Steve Jones (Sex Pistols)

Legendary guitarist of the Sex Pistols Steve Jones signed a Les Paul Custom with pin-up girl stickers ^[42].

Marc Bolan[link]

British glam-rock star Marc Bolan's unusual Les Paul was reproduced as a signature model. It was a 1950s Standard body with a 1970s Custom neck; the guitar was known to have gone through three necks in Bolan's lifetime.

The prototype was introduced at the 2011 NAMM exhibition. As with the Eric Clapton "Beano Burst," Gibson was probably forced to refer to photographs of the instrument to reproduce it. (Bolan is seen holding the instrument on the outer gatefold jacket of T. Rex, his first album after shortening the band name from "Tyrannosaurus Rex".) The actual guitar was among the possessions stolen by ardent fans from Bolan's home, within weeks of his premature 1977 death in a road accident. Gibson announced the availability of the Marc Bolan signature Les Paul in February 2011.

Lou Pallo[link]

Lou Pallo, a longtime member of Les Paul's performing trio until the virtuoso's death in 2009, earned a signature Les Paul model in late 2010. Known as "The Man of a Thousand Inversions" thanks to his much-admired rhythm guitar work as well as his capable soloing, Pallo played a Les Paul Custom in the Les Paul Trio. However, the Les Paul on which he consulted for its design features a Standard headstock and body but Custom fretboard block inlays including at the first fret. The body wood is natural-coloured mahogany while the top is ebony-painted maple and bound in single-ply binding like the production Standard. The guitar features, unusually, a black-covered P-90 single-coil pickup at the neck—the same pickup that was standard on the Les Paul from 1952 to 56—and a double-coil Dirty Fingers pickup without a cover but with a black pickup frame at the bridge. The familiar "rhythm/treble" poker chip around the toggle switch is also black, and the guitar features no pickguard. (Interviewed for the guitar's introduction, Pallo himself said he had actually wanted the guitar to feature a cream-coloured pickguard, cream-coloured Dirty Fingers frame, cream-coloured P-90 cover, and cream-coloured poker chip.) The Lou Pallo model also features a small reproduction of Pallo's signature in the twelfth-fret inlay; Gibson was said to have wanted Pallo's signature (which has a resemblance to Les Paul's) on the headstock in place of the familiar Les Paul signature decal, but Pallo rejected the idea out of respect to his longtime friend and partner and suggested the inlay signature instead. Four hundred Lou Pallo models have been made, with the guitar hitting the market in December 2010. Pallo himself introduced the guitar at New York's Iridium club, where the Les Paul Trio played for many years, and performed the big-band classic "Begin the Beguine" on the instrument after giving the crowd an introduction to the instrument.

Matt Heafy[link]

Matt Heafy, one of the guitarists in American metal band Trivium is currently working on a signature 6 string and 7 string Les Paul with Epiphone, he was seen playing the prototype on the Dream Theater A Dramatic Turn Of Events Tour. From the 2 pictures of Heafy playing the guitar live. Its a Les Paul Custom in matte black with EMG pickups. Matt has said in multiple interviews that '(I) chose Epiphone, because I have to work my way up, from an Epiphone, Gibson USA, then a Gibson Custom. The thing is if it was a Gibson Custom, the kids would be paying $6000 for it, and they can't afford that. I want it to be affordable but something I will use on stage"

Paul Landers[link]

Paul Landers, co-guitarist of the German Neue Deutsche Härte band Rammstein has recently announced a signature guitar with Gibson based on his custom-built guitar he began using during the Liebe ist für alle da tour. It features a mahogany body with a maple cap finished in satin black with silver binding only around the front of the body. The neck is also made of mahogany and features an Obeche fingerboard with no inlays or binding. Hardware includes a hardtail tune-o-matic bridge and Grover locking keystone tuners. The guitar also feature chrome-covered EMG pickups; an 81 in the bridge, and a 60 in the neck. It also only has a single volume control and a 3-way pickup toggle switch.

Paul Kossoff[link]

Paul Kossoff, the lead guitarist for Free and Back Street Crawler before his premature death, was known to favour a 1959 Les Paul Standard and respected especially for his economical solos and striking vibrato. In 2011-12, Gibson's Custom Shop struck a reproduction of Kossoff's 1959 Standard, featuring a so-called "green-lemon" flametop, two-piece carved maple top, mahogany body and neck, Custom Bucker humbucking pickups, and kidney-bean shaped Grover tuners similar to those Kossoff had installed on the instrument. The Custom Shop has made 100 Kossoff models in the aging treatment to reproduce the condition of the guitar at the time of Kossoff's death, with another 250 instruments receiving the VOS finish.

Les Paul users[link]

Les Paul imitations[link]

Gibson Les Paul specifications during 1958–60 varied from year to year and also from guitar to guitar. Typical 1958 Les Paul Standard necks had a thicker "club-shaped" neck, thinner frets and lower fret height, which changed during the course of 1959 to develop into typical 1960 necks with a thinner cross-section and wider, higher frets. On the other hand, Les Paul Customs from the same period had totally different frets and were referred to as "The Fretless Wonder", which were designed for jazz guitarists of the day with thick flat-wound strings and they are generally unsuitable for modern blues-based playing. Coupled with a luxurious use of selected, naturally seasoned, quality tone wood, with its timbre and tendency to cause notes to sustain, and the hand-wound Seth Lover designed "PAF" humbucking pickups, the 1958–60 Les Paul Standard is the most valuable of vintage electric guitars.^[43] The huge premium it commands, starting in the late 1960s following Eric Clapton's recording with Bluesbreakers, began inspiring replicas and imitations.

Although early Les Paul imitations in the 1960s and 1970s, such as those made by Höfner, Hagström, Harmony Company and Greco Guitars differed visibly from Gibson's design, with different electronics, and even bolt-on necks, in the late 1970s some Japanese companies came very close to perfecting copies of the original 1958–60 Standards. It is considered among vintage guitar experts that the early and mid-1970s marked a low point in the quality of guitars from the major manufacturers including Gibson, which helped contribute to the popularity of the Japanese-made vintage replicas. These guitars later became known as "lawsuit" guitars. The actual lawsuit referred to, was brought by the Norlin Corporation, the parent company of Gibson guitars, in 1977, and was based on an Ibanez headstock design that had been discontinued by 1976. Ibanez settled out of court, and by 1978 had begun making guitars from their own designs.^{[citation needed]}

ESP Guitars makes seven types, the Eclipse series, James Hetfield Truckster, and Kirk Hammett KH-3 from ESP, the LTD EC series and Truckster, the Edwards E-LP series, and the Navigator N-LP series, which are based on the Les Paul design. Certain EC models have 24-fret necks and active electronics using EMG pickups instead of the standard passive pickups and 22 frets found in the traditional Les Paul. The Edwards and Navigator lines are made in Japan, and available retail only on the Japanese market; they come standard with Gotoh hardware and Seymour Duncan pickups (EMG pickups in a few models), and unlike the EC and Eclipse series guitars, which are updated variants on the Les Paul, these are made to be as close to the Gibson 1959 Les Paul design as possible, in the vein of the late 1970s and 1980s "Lawsuit" model guitars from Tokai, Burny, and Greco, complete with Gibson style headstocks.

Heritage Guitars, founded in 1985 by four long-time Gibson employees when Gibson relocated to Nashville, continues to build high-quality guitars in the original factory at 225 Parsons Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Many of their models evoke memories of Gibson's late-1950s/early-1960s "golden years." The H-150 and H-157, for instance, are reminiscent of the original Les Paul and Les Paul Custom, while the H-535 is a modern version of the Gibson ES-335. Because Heritage guitars are built in the original factory, some do not consider them imitators at all, but a continuation of the Kalamazoo legacy.

In 2006 Gibson lost a lawsuit against PRS Guitars,^[44] Gibson claiming PRS was stealing the Les Paul shape and design.

Gibson lost the trademark for Les Paul in Finland. According to the court, "Les Paul" has become a common noun for guitars of a certain type. The lawsuit began when Gibson sued Musamaailma, which imports Tokai guitars, for trademark violation. However, several witnesses testified that the term "Les Paul" denotes character in a guitar rather than a particular guitar model. The court also found it aggravating that Gibson had used Les Paul in the plural form and that the importer of Gibson guitars had used Les Paul as a common noun. The court decision will become effective, as Gibson is not going to appeal.^[45]

References[link]

Notes[link]

Further reading[link]

• Electric Guitar Man: The Genius of Les Paul (Library Binding). Edwin Brit Wyckoff. Enslow Elementary (April 2008). ISBN 978-0-7660-2847-0
• 50 Years of the Gibson Les Paul: Half a Century of the Greatest Electric Guitars (Paperback). Tony Bacon. Backbeat Books 1st edition (April 26, 2002). ISBN 0-87930-711-0
• Million Dollar Les Paul: In Search of the Most Valuable Guitar in the World (Paperback). Tony Bacon. Jawbone Press 1st edition (2008). ISBN 978-1-906002-14-5

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gibson Les Paul

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lester William Polfuss

• Gibson's Les Paul front page
• Gibson Les Paul History

Les Paul
Les Paul playing a Gibson Les Paul in a live show at Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Lester William Polsfuss[1]
Born	(1915-06-09)June 9, 1915 Waukesha, Wisconsin, United States
Died	August 13, 2009(2009-08-13) (aged 94) White Plains, New York, United States[2]
Genres	Jazz, country, blues, rock and roll
Occupations	Innovator, Inventor, Musician, Songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, Banjo, Harmonica
Years active	1928–2009
Website	lespaulfoundation.org
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009)^[3][4][5]—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible.^[6] 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),^[7] delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.^[8]

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.^{[9][10][11][12]} 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.^[13] 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.^[14]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

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.^[15] Paul's mother was related to the founders of Milwaukee's Valentin Blatz Brewing Company and the makers of the Stutz automobile.^[16] His parents divorced when he was a child.^[17] The Prussian 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^[18] and Rhubarb Red.^[19]

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.^[20] 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.^[21] 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[link]

Paul migrated to Chicago in 1934, where he continued to perform on radio, and met pianist Art Tatum, whose playing influenced him to a career devoted to guitar rather than original plans of taking on the piano. ^[22] 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.^[23]

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.^{[citation needed]} One of Paul's prize possessions was a Selmer Maccaferri acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow.^[18]

Paul formed a trio in 1937 with singer/rhythm guitarist Jim Atkins^[24] (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.^[25]

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. In 1945, Richard D. Bourgerie made an electric guitar pickup and amplifier for professional guitar player George Barnes. Bourgerie worked through World War II at Howard Radio Company making electronic equipment for the American military. Barnes showed the result to Les Paul, who then arranged for Bourgerie to have one made for him.

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.^[26]

Les Paul, ca. January 1947 (Photograph by William P. Gottlieb)

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.^{[citation needed]} 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. Paul was particularly enamored by the famous Andrews Sisters, who hired The Les Paul Trio as their opening act while they toured in 1946. Lou Levy, the sisters' manager and a music publishing giant of the big band era and beyond, once said, "Watching his fingers work was like watching a locomotive go."^[27] The trio's longtime conductor, Vic Schoen, said of Les, "You could always count on him to come up with something no one else had thought of,"^[28] while Maxene Andrews once remembered, "It was wonderful having him perform with us. He'd tune into the passages we were singing and lightly play the melody, sometimes in harmony. We'd sing these fancy licks and he'd keep up with us note for note in exactly the same rhythm...almost contributing a fourth voice. But he never once took the attention away from what we were doing. He did everything he could to make us sound better."^[29] Two Decca recordings from 1946 pairing Paul with The Andrews Sisters ("Rumors Are Flying" and "It's a Pity to Say Goodnight") exist today to well affirm such comments. Paul's many hits with wife Mary Ford recording her vocals in triplicate in the 1950s produced a sound eerily similar to the harmonious blend of The Andrews Sisters.^[30] As Les Paul biographer Mary Alice Shaughnessy noted of Paul's association with The Andrews Sisters, "Les welcomed the opportunity to study them in full flight."^[31]

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.^[32]

Guitar builder[link]

The Gibson Les Paul, one of the world's most popular electric guitars, was named after the man who invented it.

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.^[33][34] 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 (the Fender "Broadcaster" later changed to "Esquire" for copyright reasons, a single pickup model) in 1948. 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 had a second pick-up added and became known as the Telecaster.

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.^[35] 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^{[citation needed]}. 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^{[citation needed]}. 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.^[36]

On January 30, 1962, the US Patent and Trademark Office issued Paul a patent, Patent No. 3,018,680, for an "Electrical Music Instrument."^[37]

Multitrack-recording innovations[link]

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.^[38]

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.)^[38][39]

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 multiple 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.^[40]

Les Paul & Mary Ford[link]

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,^[38] where the microphone is less than 6 inches (15 cm) from the singer's mouth. This produces a more-intimate, less-reverberant sound than is heard when a singer is 1 foot (30 cm) 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[link]

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.^[41]

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 until his death.^[42]

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[link]

Les Paul, May 2004

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.^{[citation needed]} 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.

In 1987, Paul underwent heart surgery. He then 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 Colaianni, originally at Fat Tuesdays, and later at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in the Times Square area of New York City.^[43][44][45]

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 "Sleigh 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.^[46]

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. Until they ended their show on WGN, Steve and Johnnie continued 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[link]

On August 13, 2009,^[4][5] Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York.^[47] His family and friends were by his side.^[48] Paul is survived by his four children and his companion Arlene Palmer.^[49] His attorney told the media that he had made several hospital stays over the previous few months.^[50] 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." ^[51][52][53]

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.^[54][55] 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.^[56]

Awards and honors[link]

Paul was initiated into the Gamma Delta chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at the University of Miami in 1952.^[57] He has earned the Presidential award from the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.^{[58][dead link]}

In 1979, Paul and Ford's 1951 recording of "How High the Moon" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[59] Paul received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983, and in 2001 the Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award.^[60]

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".^[61] In 2005, he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his development of the solid-body electric guitar.^[62] 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.^[63] In 2007, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.^[64]

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^[65][66] 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.^[67] The exhibit was facilitated by a group of local musicians under the name Partnership for the Arts and Creative Excellence (PACE).^[68] Paul played a concert in Milwaukee to coincide with the opening of the exhibit.^[69]

Paul's hometown of Waukesha is planning a permanent exhibit to be called "The Les Paul experience."^[70]

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.^[71]

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.^[72]

In August, 2009, Paul was named one of the ten best electric guitar players of all-time by Time magazine.^[73]

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.^[74]

On November 23, 2011, Paul was ranked at #18 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[75]

In 2010, Paul was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.^[76]

Personal life[link]

Les Paul with pianist John Colianni.

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.^[77]

Paul was the instructor of rock guitarist Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band, to whom Paul gave his first guitar lesson.^[78] Miller's father was best man at Paul's 1949 wedding to Mary Ford.

Paul resided for many years in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Discography[link]

Hit singles[link]

Albums[link]

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[link]

"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[link]

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", “Pacific Breeze”, “Mountain Railroad”, “Move Along, Baby (Don’t Waste My Time)”, "Five Alarm Fire", and "Walkin' and Whistlin' Blues".

See also[link]

Biography portal

• Ampex
• Discovery World
• Gibson Les Paul
• Gibson SG
• List of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
• Mary Ford

References[link]

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2. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/14/arts/music/14paul.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1 Les Paul Obituary New York Times accessed 9/29/09
3. ^ "Guitar legend Les Paul dies at 94 - Entertainment - Music - TODAY.com". Today.msnbc.msn.com. 2009-08-13. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32403755/ns/today-entertainment/t/guitar-legend-les-paul-dies/#.Tx9MCG_OXQg. Retrieved 2012-03-26. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "the site of LES PAUL – The Wizard of Waukesha". Lespaulonline.com. http://www.lespaulonline.com/indexo.html. Retrieved March 27, 2011. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ ^{a b} "In Pictures: 'Les Paul Memorial Service'". Monsters and Critics. August 21, 2009. http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/features/article_1496730.php/In-Pictures-Les-Paul-Memorial-Service?page=4. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
6. ^ Voices from the Smithsonian Associates. Les Paul, Musician and Inventor. Archived at www.archive.org.
7. ^ Guitarist and recording pioneer Les Paul dies, aged 94. The List. August 12, 2009.
8. ^ The Wizard Of Waukesha. PBS.
9. ^ Houston, Frank (July 8, 1999). "Father of invention". Salon.com. http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/1999/07/08/paul/print.html. Retrieved August 14, 2009. 
10. ^ Staff writer (October 12, 2005). "Les Paul, 90, Releases Tribute Album"^{[dead link]}. CBC. Accessed August 24, 2009.
11. ^ Swing Licks for C6th Lap Steel. The Steel Guitar Forum.
12. ^ Benson, John (November 12, 2008). Rock hall to honor Les Paul. Vindy.com.
13. ^ "Exhibits | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. http://rockhall.com/exhibits. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
14. ^ "The Architects of Rock and Roll featuring Les Paul, Alan Freed and Sam Phillips | The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum". Rockhall.com. http://rockhall.com/exhibits/the-architects/. Retrieved 2011-08-19. 
15. ^ "Book Excerpt: The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy 1915–1963". Gibson.com. http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/the-les-paul-legacy/. Retrieved March 27, 2011. 
16. ^ Masino, Susan; Paul, Les (2003). Famous Wisconsin Musicians. Oregon, Wisconsin: Badger Books. pp. 9–11. ISBN 1-878569-88-0. 
17. ^ Henry, David (August 12, 2009). "Les Paul, Pioneer of Electric Guitar, Inventor, Dies at 94". Bloomberg. Accessed August 24, 2009.
18. ^ ^{a b} American Masters (2007 Season)—"Les Paul: Chasing Sound"—thirteen WNET New York
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External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lester William Polfuss

• Official website
• History of Les Paul
• Les Paul at the Internet Movie Database
• 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)
• "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
• Les Paul at Find a Grave

Persondata
Name	Polfuss, Lester William
Alternative names	Paul, Les
Short description	American jazz guitarist, country guitarist, songwriter and inventor
Date of birth	June 9, 1915
Place of birth	Waukesha, Wisconsin
Date of death	August 12, 2009
Place of death	White Plains, New York