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Joe Pass Signature Epiphone Emperor

The Epiphone Company is a musical instrument manufacturer founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos. Epiphone was bought by Chicago Musical Instrument Company, which also owned Gibson Guitar Corporation, in 1957. Epiphone was Gibson's main rival in the archtop market^{[citation needed]}. Their professional archtops, including the Emperor, Deluxe, Broadway and Triumph, rivaled (and some contend surpassed) those of Gibson^{[citation needed]}. Aside from their guitars, Epiphone also made upright basses, banjos, and other stringed instruments. However, the company's weakness in the aftermath of World War II allowed Gibson to absorb it.^[1]

The name "Epiphone" is a combination of proprietor Epaminondas Stathopoulos' nickname "Epi" and "phone" (from Greek phon-, "sound"/"voice"),^[2] as well as a play on one meaning of the word "epiphany," namely a sudden inspiration frequently presenting itself as supernatural in origin.^[3]

History[link]

1945 Epiphone Blackstone archtop guitar, made in New York

Epiphone started in 1873, in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (now İzmir, Turkey), where Greek founder Anastasios Stathopoulos made his own fiddles and lutes (oud, laouto). Stathopoulos moved to the United States of America in 1903, and continued to make his original instruments, as well as mandolins, from Long Island City in Queens, New York. Anastasios died in 1915, and his son, Epaminondas, took over. After two years, the company was known as The House Of Stathopoulos.^[4] Just after the end of World War I, the company started to make banjos. The company produced its Recording Line of Banjos in 1924, and, four years later, took on the name of the "Epiphone Banjo Company". They produced their first guitars in 1928. Epi Stathopoulos died in 1943. Control of the company went to his brothers, Orphie and Frixo. In 1951, a four month long strike forced a relocation of Epiphone from New York to Philadelphia. The company was bought out by their main rival, Gibson in 1957.^[5]

Epiphone instruments made between 1957 and 1969 were made in the Gibson factory at 225 Parsons Street and on Elenor Street. Only solid guitars with flat tops and backs were made at the Elenor Street plant (both Gibson and Epiphone) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. These Epiphone instruments were effectively identical to the relevant Gibson versions, made with same timber, materials and components, and by the same people as the contemporary equivallent Gibson guitars. They shared the Gibson serial-number sequence.

Some specific examples of Gibson-made Epiphone instruments from this period includes the Epiphone Casino (similar to the Gibson ES-330), the Epiphone Cortez (similar to the Gibson B-25), the Epiphone Olympic Special (similar to the Gibson Melody Maker), the Epiphone Sorrento (similar to the Gibson ES-125TC, except for a few cosmetic changes), and the Epiphone Texan (similar to the Gibson J-45, apart from a change in scale-length). The other Kalamazoo-made Epiphones had technical or cosmetic relationship with the similar Gibson version.

Casino[link]

1970–present[link]

In the early 1970s, Epiphone began to manufacture instruments in Japan.^[6] From the 1980s, Epiphones were manufactured mainly in Korea but also in Japan by contractors licensed by Gibson.^[6][7] One of these contractors was Samick,^[7] which also built instruments under license for other brands and in its own name. The brand was primarily used to issue less expensive versions of classic Gibson models.^[7]

These guitars were constructed using different woods (usually Nyatoh^{[citation needed]}, for example, instead of Mahogany), were fastened with epoxies rather than wood-glues^{[citation needed]}, and were finished in hard, quick-to-apply polyester resin rather than the traditional nitro-cellulose lacquer used by Gibson^{[citation needed]}. Nitro-cellulose lacquers are applied very thinly, and as a result, do not impede the resonance of the instrument as much as resin finishes do. Nitro-cellulose, being a solvent-based lacquer, requires many more very thin coats, resulting in a lighter thinner finish because of much more hand-applied cutting and polishing. It is therefore much more time-consuming and consequently expensive to apply. Resin finishes are much quicker and cheaper to apply. These particular budget considerations, along with others such as plastic nuts and cheaper hardware and pickups, allow for a more affordable instrument.

Samick has stopped^[when?] manufacturing guitars in Korea^{[citation needed]}. In 2002, Gibson opened a factory in Qingdao, China, which manufactures Epiphone guitars^{[citation needed]}. With few exceptions, Epiphones are now built only in the Qingdao factory^{[citation needed]}.

Unique Epiphone models, including the Emperor, Zephyr, Riviera and Sheraton, are built to higher quality standards than the company's "Gibson copy" line^{[citation needed]}. Epiphone also produces a range of higher quality instruments under the "Elitist Series" moniker, which are built in Japan^{[citation needed]}. The "Masterbuilt" acoustics are manufactured in Qingdao^{[citation needed]}.

Current Epiphone serial numbers give the following information^[8]:

Korea

• I = Saein
• U = Unsung
• S = Samick
• P or R = Peerless
• K = Korea

China

• DW = DeaWon
• EA = Gibson/QingDao
• EE = Gibson/QingDao
• MC = Muse
• SJ = SaeJung
• Z = Zaozhuang Saehan
• BW = China

Japan

• No letter or F = FujiGen
• J or T = Terada

Czech Republic

• B = Bohêmia Musico-Delicia

Indonesia

• SI = Samick Indonesia

Example: SI09034853 SI = Samick Indonesia, 09 = 2009, 03 = March, 4853 = manufacturing number.

Several Epiphone guitars have been produced in the United States since 1971. The Epiphone Spirit and Special were produced in the early 1980s in Kalamazoo^{[citation needed]}. In 1993, three historic Epiphone acoustic guitars, the Texan, Frontier, and Excellente, were produced by Gibson Acoustic in Montana^{[citation needed]}. The Paul McCartney Texan was produced in 2005, and in 2009, the Epiphone Historic Collection was created, beginning with the 1962 Wilshire, built by Gibson Custom. Several other models, such as the Sheraton and John Lennon Casinos, were built in Japan and assembled and finished by Gibson USA^{[citation needed]}.

YYMMFF12345

• YY year
• MM month
• FF factory-code
• 12345 production#

• FACTORY NUMBER CODES—for some models starting in 2008, if serial # begins w/numbers
• [NOTE: The factories identified by these codes are based on patterns that forum members have observed. The numbers appear as the 5th and sixth digits in the serial number.]
• 11 = MIC sticker on a '08 Masterbuilt
• 12 = DeaWon or Unsung (China—uncertainty remains as to which factory)
• 15 = Qingdao (China) -- electric
• 16 = Qingdao (China) -- acoustic
• 17 = China - factory unknown MIC sticker on a J160E
• 18 = China - factory unknown found on one 2009 model bass
• 20 = DaeWon or Unsung (China—uncertainty remains as to which factory)
• 21 = Unsung, Korea
• 22 = ??? Korea (factory still unknown)
• 23 = ??? Indonesia (factory still unknown, probably Samick,)
• I = Indonesia (this letter has appeared as the 5th digit on two authentic new models made in Indonesia

Imperial Series and Elitist[link]

During the mid 1990s Epiphone released a series called the Imperial Series. These were remakes of the classic Epiphone archtops of the 1930s and '40s. Each instrument was hand made in the Fujigen Workshop in Japan^{[citation needed]}. This short lived series was discontinued in 1993, after only 42 Emperors were made^{[citation needed]}. Several other models, including De Luxe, Broadway and Triumph models, were also produced in varying quantities.

Production was moved back to Nashville and Bozeman for a similar limited run of instruments (250 each of Emperors, Sheratons, Rivieras and Texans)^{[citation needed]}. These guitars were the "Centennial Series" in honor of one hundred years of Gibson, and were the last significant number of American made Epiphone guitars.

Current status[link]

Epiphone is now a subsidiary of Gibson. Because of this subsidiary relationship, many of the instruments look the same as the more expensive Gibson versions. However Epiphone still maintains its own line of archtop guitars.

Epiphone also manufactures its own line of amplifiers.

Current products[link]

Amplifiers[link]

Gibson produced Epiphone amplifiers in the 1960s. These were basically copies or variations of Gibson and Fender amplifiers^{[citation needed]}. They used a tube design, and some had reverb and tremolo. Gibson decided to launch a new line of Epiphone amplifiers in 2005 with many different models, including the So Cal, Blues Custom, and the Epiphone Valve Junior. The Valve Hot Rod and Valve Senior were released in 2009. The Valve Hot Rod is a 5 watt amp like the Valve Junior, but has a gain and reverb control. The Valve Senior offers 20 watts of power, with a full equalizer, gain, volume, reverb, and presence control.

Guitars[link]

Epiphone currently makes the following guitars^[when?]:

Gibson copies[link]

• The Explorer
• Several Versions of the SG guitar Including G400, G310, SG Special and SG Custom.
• Around 20 Versions of the Epiphone Les Paul
• The Firebird
• The Thunderbird
• The Blackbird
• The ES-175
• Gibson ES-295
• The EDS-1275 Dual-neck
• The Hummingbird
• Gibson J-200
• The LP-100
• Tom DeLonge Signature
• Epiphone Les Paul Ukulele
• Zakk Wylde ZV, Custom Les Paul

Epiphone models[link]

• Several versions of the Sheraton
• Several versions of the Casino
• Several versions of the Epiphone Texan
• The Dot
• The Riviera in 6- and 12-string versions
• The Broadway
• Masterbilt
• The Emperor Regent
• Several versions of the Zephyr:
  • Zephyr Blues Deluxe
  • Zephyr Regent
• The Wildkat
• The EM-2
• The Thunderbird IV Bass
• The Wilshire
• The Alleykat
• Nick Valensi Riviera P-94
• The Viola Bass
• Jack Casady Bass
• The Coronet
• Epiphone Wilshire
• Graveyard Disciple
• The Prophecy Series
• The Zenith Bass

In recent years^[when?] Epiphone introduced a series of acoustic guitars named Masterbilt after a line of guitars of the 1930s. Today's Masterbilt guitars are manufactured in China^{[citation needed]}.

Discontinued models[link]

• Epiphone Demon
• Epiphone Genesis
• Epiphone Slasher
• Epiphone Supernova
• Gibson/Epiphone Spirit
• Epiphone Crestwood
• Epiphone Coronet
• Epiphone Olympic
• Epiphone Pro
• Epiphone Fat-210
• Epiphone Fat-310
• Epiphone T-310
• Epiphone Rivoli bass
• Epiphone Sorrento
• Epiphone Scroll (three models)
• Epiphone Evolution
• Epiphone 1939 Emperor Reissue
• Epiphone EM-1
• Epiphone Flamekat
• Epiphone ES-295
• Epiphone Zephyr Regent
• Epiphone El Segundo Bass
• Epiphone Embassy Special IV Bass
• Epiphone Embassy Standard IV Bass
• Epiphone Embassy Standard V Bass
• Epiphone Biscuit
• Epiphone MD-100
• Epiphone 1962 Wilshire Reissue (Limited production run to 100 copies)
• Epiphone Paul McCartney 1964 Texan
• Epiphone Les Paul Custom Plus
• Epiphone Les Paul Studio Chameleon
• Epiphone Les Paul '56 Gold Top Reissue
• Epiphone John Conolly (Sevendust) signature Les Paul
• Epiphone AJ-500RC 12 Fret
• Epiphone EN-546CE
• Epiphone MB-500
• Epiphone Mahogany Ukulele
• Epiphone Nighthawk
• Epiphone Les Paul Junior '57 reissue
• Epiphone Acoustic
• Epiphone Joe Bonamassa Signature Goldtop Les Paul
• Epiphone Spotlight

Players of Epiphone[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Epiphone

• [1]
• Official site
• McCartney And His Casino On Cover Of Guitar Player
• Epiphone Serial Numbers
• Epiphone Serial Numbers Guide
• Epiphone Facebook group to reissue American made Epiphone archtops
• Unofficial Epiphone Guitars Wiki

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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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

Joe Bonamassa
Bonamassa in Manchester, 2010
Background information
Born	(1977-05-08) May 8, 1977 (age 35) New Hartford, New York United States
Genres	Blues rock, hard rock, rock and roll
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, theremin
Years active	1989–present
Labels	J&R Adventures, Provogue
Associated acts	Bloodline, Black Country Communion, Beth Hart
Website	Official website
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Gibson ES335 Fender Stratocaster Fender Telecaster Gibson Flying V

Joe Bonamassa (born May 8, 1977) is an American blues rock guitarist and singer. He began his career playing guitar in the band Bloodline, which featured the offspring of several famous musicians (such as Miles Davis, Robby Krieger and Berry Oakley of The Allman Brothers Band)^[1]. He released his first solo album A New Day Yesterday in 2000, and has since released nine more solo studio albums, four live albums and three live DVDs, along with two albums with the band Black Country Communion and one album in collaboration with vocalist Beth Hart^[2]. He tours the world regularly, and has developed a large following in the U.K. especially. His most recent album, Driving Towards The Daylight, reached #2 on the U.K. Top 40 Albums Chart, and he completed an arena tour there in 2012. In 2009 he was the recipient of the Classic Rock Magazine "Breakthrough Artist of the Year" award^[3], and The Guardian said of him: "the 32-year-old from upstate New York has consolidated a reputation as the pre-eminent blues-rock guitarist of his generation"^[4].

Bonamassa has collaborated with numerous artists, including B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Beth Hart, Paul Rodgers, Leslie West, Jon Lord, Vince Gill, Sandi Thom and Glenn Hughes. He also plays with Hughes in Black Country Communion, along with Jason Bonham and Derek Sherinian^[5].

Joe Bonamassa's music contains a mix of several different genres: although it is primarily blues rock, since relocating to Santorini, Greece in 2009 to record the album Black Rock (named after the studios in which it was created), his music has gained eastern influences, with the addition of instruments such as the bouzouki and clarino (for instance, on Black Lung Heartache from Dust Bowl and Athens to Athens from Black Rock ^[6]). He has also covered songs by John Hiatt and Leonard Cohen^[7].

Early life[link]

Bonamassa was born and raised in New Hartford, New York. His parents owned and ran a guitar shop. He is a fourth-generation musician; with a great-grandfather and grandfather who both played trumpet, and a father who plays guitar, Bonamassa credits his parents with fostering an appreciation of music in his life as early as he can remember. When he was a young child, he would listen to his parents' large record collection. He recalls at age 7, sitting with his parents on Saturdays and listening to Guitar Slim, Bonnie Raitt, Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, Eric Clapton, and Jethro Tull. Thus, he sees his music as an amalgam of all the various rock and blues he heard as a child.^[8]

He received his first guitar from his father at the age of 4, and by age 7 he was playing Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix tunes note for note. At the age of 11, during a short period of being mentored by Danny Gatton, he learned such styles as country and jazz as well as polka. During this time with Gatton, Bonamassa sat in with Gatton's band whenever they played in New York. He first opened for B. B. King at 12 years of age. At 14, he was invited to attend a Fender guitar event; during that trip to the West Coast he met Berry Oakley, Jr., with whom he founded the group Bloodline, along with Miles Davis' son Erin and Robby Krieger's son Waylon. They released one album which produced two chart singles — "Stone Cold Hearted", and "Dixie Peach." He has since played with Buddy Guy, Foreigner, Robert Cray, Stephen Stills, Joe Cocker, Gregg Allman, Steve Winwood, Paul Jones, Steve Lukather, Ted Nugent, Warren Haynes, Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks, and Jack Bruce.

Influences[link]

Unlike other successful blues-rock guitarists, Bonamassa cited his influences as being British and Irish blues acts, rather than American artists. Within the blues genre, hearing the traditional blues players, as with Guitar Slim, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and all the traditional American blues players, (with the exception of B.B. King), comparing the music in the United States to the "European" versions of the blues, Bonamassa found the English blues, fostered by the Jeff Beck Group, Eric Clapton and the Irish blues player Rory Gallagher, to be far more interesting to him than the original Delta blues players.^[8] In an interview in Guitarist magazine (issue 265), he cited the three albums that had the biggest influence on his playing: John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton (the Beano album), Rory Gallagher's Irish Tour and Goodbye by Cream. He also stated that Stevie Ray Vaughan's Texas Flood was a big influence at a young age.

Bonamassa performing in Stafford, Texas, 2007

He elaborated further on his influences in his interview:

"You know, my heroes were the Columbine guys – Paul Kossoff, Peter Green, Eric Clapton. There’s so many - there’s Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher – another Irish musician who played the same things, but don’t tell him that. But those guys were my guys – Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page. There’s a certain sophistication to their approach to the blues that I really like, more so than the American blues that I was listening to. B. B. King’s a big influence – he’s probably my biggest traditional influence. I love Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson and T-Bone Walker and stuff like that, but I couldn’t sit down… I was always forcing myself to listen to whole records by them, where I’d rather listen to Humble Pie do "I'm Ready" than Muddy Waters, you know? I think, the English interpretation of the blues just hit me a lot better, you know?"

And in his October 2008 interview with Express & Star:

“When I heard Kossoff playing "Mr. Big" and when I heard Clapton playing "Crossroads" and when I heard Rory Gallagher playing "Cradle Rock", I was like, 'This is way cooler'.... "British blues are my thing. When I heard Rod Stewart and the Jeff Beck Group singing "Let Me Love You", it changed my life. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. Those are my influences".

These influences are evident in his music, but Bonamassa has been influenced by other artists; notable examples include B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Danny Gatton, Eric Johnson, Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy. Bonamassa's style of playing incorporates rock, blues-rock, Delta blues, electric blues, jazz, country - and even prog rock as evidenced by Yes's "Heart of the Sunrise" and the "Würm" section of "Starship Trooper" being regular features of live performances.

Solo career[link]

Bonamassa's solo début, in 2000, was his Top 10 Blues disc A New Day Yesterday, named after the 1969 Jethro Tull classic that Bonamassa makes his own with what allmusic.com called “a jaw-dropping performance”. Produced by the late Tom Dowd, the album featured guest shots by Gregg Allman, Rick Derringer and Leslie West. "Miss You, Hate You" remains a cornerstone of Bonamassa's repertoire, as does "Cradle Rock". Bonamassa followed it up in 2002 with "So, It's Like That", which included "Pain And Sorrow". The album was his first to hit #1 on Billboard's Blues Chart.

Joe Bonamassa performing at the Manchester Apollo, October 2010

In 2003 – designated "Year Of The Blues" by Congress – Bonamassa returned with Blues Deluxe. In the liner notes, Harris Cohen observed that Bonamassa, "never loses touch with the raw emotion that makes the blues what it is." Reviewing "Blues Deluxe", former Creem editor Jaan Uhelszki added, "New York guitar phenom walks tall in the blues tradition…jettisoning fiery riffs inspired by John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Elmore James, and Albert Collins into the future with furious playing, a hard-rock sensibility, and a grizzled voice that owes a debt to Gregg Allman. Equally inspired by the Delta blues and the mid-'60s British blues boom, the young firebrand … is able to fuse those two schools together, creating edgy blues rock." Had To Cry Today followed in 2004.

In 2006, Bonamassa released his fifth full-length studio album, You & Me. This album also reached #1 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart. For the recording of this album, he enlisted Jason Bonham, while "Your Funeral And My Trial", featured harmonica player L.D. Miller, and the bassist Carmine Rojas. The title of the album was taken from the Django Reinhardt song "Vous et Moi" (1942). The violin introduction of that song inspired Bonamassa to write "Django", the seventh track on the album. Longer live versions would later appear on Live From Nowhere in Particular in 2009, and at the Royal Albert Hall Concert (Live DVD). For this tour, Bonamassa used former Johnny Winter Bassist Mark Epstein and former Kenny Wayne Shepherd drummer Bogie Bowles.

Bonamassa performing on a double necked guitar in Madrid, Spain on June 2, 2009

Sloe Gin was released in August 2007, and spent several weeks at the top of the Billboard Blues Chart. Bonamassa's touring band underwent another change for this album's tour; bassist Carmine Rojas replaced Mark Epstein, and keyboardist Rick Melick was added. Both of the new band members took part in the recordings of You & Me and Sloe Gin, and toured on select dates during promotion of You & Me.

Bonamassa presented his first live show as a DJ on the UK radio station Planet Rock on November 9, 2008, playing tracks from B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton.

In November 2008, Bonamassa announced he would be playing at the Royal Albert Hall in London on May 4, 2009. Tickets for the concert sold out in less than a week. Bonamassa described the event to the Express & Star as "the complete culmination of 20 years of work for me."^{[citation needed]}

At the Royal Albert Hall concert, Bonamassa mentioned that the first song that he learned to play was "Further on Up the Road" and he then introduced Eric Clapton and together they performed the song. Later Bonamassa paid tribute to the Paul Jones Radio Hour on BBC Radio for playing his material on the air, then introduced Paul Jones who played the harmonica on a Sonny Boy Williamson II song, "Your Funeral, My Trial."

In March 2010, Bonamassa released his tenth full-length solo album Black Rock^[9] which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Blues Charts and #38 on the Billboard 200.

In May 2010, Ian Anderson guested at his concert at London's Hammersmith Apollo, and they played "A New Day Yesterday" along with "Locomotive Breath". At the end of 2010, Bowles announced his departure and Tal Bergman took over as touring drummer.

The Bonamassa, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian supergroup is now called Black Country Communion. The band were forced to add 'Communion' to their original name Black Country after another band with the same name raised an objection.

In March 2011, Bonamassa released his eleventh full-length solo album, Dust Bowl, followed in September of the same year by a collaboration with Beth Hart called "Don't Explain".

In early 2012, Bonamassa completed the recording of his twelfth studio album. The title was confirmed by Bonamassa in a post on his official Facebook page on March 12 2012 as Driving Towards The Daylight^[10]. Bonamassa debuted the title track during his UK Tour in the same month^[11]

Discography[link]

DVDs[link]

Live at the Rockpalast was released in 2005, and recorded at the Burg Satzvey in Mechernich, Germany.^[12]

A live DVD titled A New Day Yesterday, Live was given away for a short period of time with So, It's Like That. This concert was later re-released as a full CD and DVD.

An instructional DVD, Signature Sounds, Styles and Techniques, was released in 2006.

A live DVD, Joe Bonamassa: Live From Royal Albert Hall was released in September 2009, featuring Eric Clapton as a guest performer.

Bonamassa's performance with pedal-steel guitarist Robert Randolph, Randolph's Family Band and Pino Daniele at the 2010 edition of Crossroads Guitar Festival appears on the Crossroads 2010 DVD. The song they played is Going Down.

A live DVD, "Joe Bonamassa Live from New York Beacon Theatre" was released in 2012.

References[link]