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Gibson Guitar Corporation

Type	Private
Industry	Musical instruments
Founded	1902[1], Kalamazoo, Michigan
Founder(s)	Orville Gibson
Headquarters	Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Area served	Global
Key people	Orville Gibson, Ted McCarty, Les Paul, Seth Lover
Subsidiaries	Aeolian, Baldwin, Chickering, Electar, Epiphone, Garrison, Gibson Amphitheatre, Hamilton, Kramer, Maestro, MaGIC, Slingerland, Steinberger, Tobias, Valley Arts Guitar, Wurlitzer
Website	Gibson.com

The Gibson Guitar Corporation is a Nashville, Tennessee-based guitar and instrument manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 in Kalamazoo, Michigan by Orville Gibson as "The Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co., Ltd." and was a maker of mandolin instruments^[1]. Gibson invented archtop guitars by using the same type of carved, arched tops found on violins. By the 1930s, the company was also making flattop acoustic guitars, as well as one of the first commercially available hollow-body electric guitars, used and popularized by Charlie Christian. It was bought by Chicago Musical Instruments in 1944, which was then acquired by the E.C.L. conglomerate that changed its name to Norlin Inc. This was seen as the beginning of an era of mismanagement.

Gibson sells guitars under a variety of brand names^[2] and built one of the world's most iconic guitars, the Gibson Les Paul. Many Gibson instruments are among the most collectible guitars. Gibson was at the forefront of innovation in acoustic guitars, especially in the big band era of the 1930s; the Gibson Super 400 was widely imitated. In the early 1950s, Gibson introduced its first solid-body electric guitar and in 1952 began producing its most popular guitar to date—the Les Paul, designed by Ted McCarty and Les Paul. After being purchased by the Norlin corporation in the late 1960s Gibson's quality and fortunes took a steep decline until early 1986, when the company was acquired by its present owners. Gibson Guitar is a privately held corporation owned by its chief executive officer Henry Juszkiewicz and its president David H. Berryman.

Gibson has pursued legal action against manufacturers selling similar guitars and been active in environmental issues. In the late 2000s the company came under scrutiny for potential violations of the Lacey law. Authorities say wood was mislabeled to hide illegal ebony wood exports from India and that emails show an intent to illegally import rosewood and ebony wood from Madagascar. Gibson claims authorities are bullying him without filing charges. The issues has raised concerns among guitar owners on whether they could be punished for unknowingly owning guitars with illegally obtained wood, which led to some initiatives to protect individual consumers from the Lacey law.

History[link]

Gibson mandolin orchestra:

• 1920 F-4     • 1917 H-2
• 1924 K-4 mando-cello

• 1929 mando-bass

Orville Gibson
(pre 1910)

L-5

ES-150

ES-175D

Super 400 CES

Orville Gibson (born 1856, Chateaugay, New York) started making mandolins in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The mandolins were distinctive in that they featured a carved, arched solid wood top and back and bent wood sides. Prior to this, mandolins had a flat solid wood top and a bowl-like back similar to a lute. These bowl-back mandolins were very fragile and unstable. Disdainful of the shape, Orville Gibson characterized them as "potato bugs". Gibson's innovation made a distinctive, darker-sounding mandolin that was easier to manufacture in large numbers. Orville Gibson's mandolin design, with its single-pieced carved sides and a single-pieced neck, was patented in 1898; it would be the only innovation he patented. Orville Gibson died in 1918 of endocarditis (inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and valves).^[3]

Orville Gibson began to sell his unique instruments in 1894 out of a one-room workshop in Kalamazoo Michigan. In 1902 Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co, Ltd. was incorporated to market the instruments. Initially, the company produced only Orville Gibson's original designs. Aware of changing trends, the company hired designer Lloyd Loar in 1919 to create newer instruments.^[4]

During the 1920s Gibson was responsible for many innovations in banjo, guitar and mandolin design. In 1922, the Gibson F5 mandolin model was introduced. That particular model later became known as the ultimate bluegrass mandolin. Gibson soon became the leading manufacturer of archtop guitars, particularly the L-5 model, also a Loar design. Loar left the company in 1924.^[5]

In the 1930s, Gibson began exploring the concept of an electric guitar. In 1936 they introduced their first "Electric Spanish" model, the ES-150. Other companies were producing electric guitars but the Gibson is generally recognized as the first commercially successful electric guitar. Other instruments were also "electrified"; such as steel guitars, banjos and mandolins.

During World War II, instrument manufacturing basically stopped at Gibson due to shortages of wood and metal. Only a few instruments were made with whatever parts were at hand. Gibson did war production instead, making wood parts for various military needs. Such shortages continued for a few years after the war and the only notable change occurred in 1946 when the Gibson name on the instrument headstock changed from a cursive script to the block style used to this day. This is seen at the head of the information block at top.

In 1944 Gibson was purchased by Chicago Musical Instruments, which took over marketing and sales of Gibson products while allowing the Kalamazoo factory to operate largely independently.

The ES-175 was introduced in 1949. The model has seen some variations over the years but it is still in production.

1953 Les Paul
Goldtop

Les Paul Custom

Les Paul Standard

Les Paul Junior

Gibson and Ted McCarty[link]

In 1948, Gibson hired music industry veteran Ted McCarty, who was promoted to company president in 1950. During his tenure (1950–1966), Gibson greatly expanded and diversified its line of instruments. The first notable addition was the "Les Paul" guitar. McCarty was well aware of the strong sales of the Fender Telecaster. In 1950, Gibson decided to make a solid-body guitar of its own according to its own design philosophy despite the fact many other guitar manufacturers were contemptuous of the concept of a solid-body guitar. Designed by the guitarist Les Paul, it was released as his signature model in 1952. The "Les Paul" was offered in several models, including the Custom, the Standard, the Special, and the Junior.^[6]

L-5 CES

Byrdland

ES-350T

ES-335T

In the mid-50s, the Thinline series was produced. Many guitarists did not like the bulk of a full-size archtop and wanted a thinner guitar. TheByrdland was the first produced. The first Byrdlands were slim, custom built, L-5 models for guitarists Billy Byrd and Hank Garland. Later, a shorter neck was added. Other guitarists who tried Gibson samples liked the idea and the model went into production. Other models such as the ES-350T and the ES-225T were introduced as less costly alternatives.^[7]

In 1958, Gibson introduced the ES-335T model. Similar in size to the hollow-body Thinlines, the ES-335 family had a solid center, giving the string tone a longer sustain.

Explorer

Flying V

non-reverse (left) & reverse Firebird

Gibson SG

In the late 50s, McCarty was aware that Gibson was perceived as a "conservative" company, generally making traditionally shaped instruments. He decided to change that. In 1958, Gibson produced two new designs: the eccentrically shaped Explorer and Flying V. These "modernistic" guitars did not sell initially. It was only in the late 1960s and early 70s when the two guitars were reintroduced to the market that they sold very well. The Firebird, in the early 60s, was a reprise of the modernistic idea, though less extreme. In the 1950s, Gibson also produced the Tune-o-matic bridge system and its version of the humbucking pickup, the PAF ("Patent Applied For"), first released in 1957 and still sought after for its sound.^{[citation needed]}

In 1961 the body design of the Les Paul was changed due to the demand for a double-cutaway body design.^[8] Les Paul did not care for the new body style and let his endorsement lapse. The new body design then became known as the SG (for "solid guitar"). The Les Paul returned to the Gibson catalog in 1968 due to the influence of players such as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Peter Green. Both the Les Paul and the SG became very popular with rock and roll and blues guitar players.

The 70s to today[link]

On December 22nd 1969 Gibson parent company, Chicago Musical Instruments, was taken over by a South American brewing conglomerate, E.C.L. Gibson, Inc. remained under the control of CMI until 1974, when it became a subsidiary of Norlin Musical Instruments (a member of Norlin Industries - named for ECL president Norton Stevens and CMI president Maurice Berlin). This began an era widely perceived as being characterized by corporate mismanagement and decreasing product quality similar to Fender's period under CBS ownership.

Gibson left Kalamazoo in 1984, then previous factory became Heritage Guitars

Gibson Showcase at Nashville

Gibson Factory at Memphis

Between 1974 and 1984 production of Gibson guitars was shifted from Kalamazoo to Nashville, Tennessee. Early Nashville-built guitars suffered from both inexperienced workers and climate-control problems in the humid South.^{[citation needed]} The Kalamazoo plant was kept going for a few years as a custom-instrument shop, but was closed in 1984; several Gibson employees led by plant manager Jim Duerloo established Heritage Guitars in the old factory, building versions of classic Gibson designs. The company was within three months of going out of business before it was bought by Henry E. Juszkiewicz, David H. Berryman, and Gary A. Zebrowski in January 1986.^[9] The survival and success of Gibson today is largely attributed^{[by whom?]} to this change in ownership.^{[citation needed]} Currently, Juszkiewicz is CEO and Berryman is president. More recently new production plants have been opened, such as Memphis, Tennessee, as well as Bozeman, Montana. The Memphis facility is used for semi-hollow and custom shop instruments, while the Bozeman facility is dedicated to acoustic instruments.

In mid 2009 Gibson reduced its work force to adjust for a decline in guitar industry sales in the United States.^[10]

In 2011, Gibson acquired the Stanton Group, including Cerwin Vega!, KRK Systems and Stanton DJ. Gibson then formed a new division, Gibson Pro Audio, which will deliver professional grade audio items, including headphones, loudspeakers and DJ equipment.^[11]

Gibson announced a partnership with the Japanese-based Onkyo Corporation in 2012. Onkyo, known for audio equipment and home theater systems, became part of the Gibson Pro Audio division.^[12]

Instruments[link]

Brand names[link]

Gibson also owns and makes instruments under such brands as Baldwin,^[2] Epiphone,^[13] Kalamazoo,^{[citation needed]} Kramer,^[14] Maestro,^[15] Slingerland,^[2] Steinberger,^[16] Tobias,^[17] Valley Arts^{[citation needed]} and Wurlitzer.^[2]

Gibson purchased Garrison Guitars in 2007.^[18]

Gibson serial numbers[link]

Gibson models may not be easily identified by serial number alone,^[19][20] and as of 1999 the company has used six distinct serial numbering systems.^[19] By 2006, that number had risen to seven.^[20]

In 1977, Gibson introduced the serial numbering system in use until 2006.^[20] An eight digit number on the back shows the date on which the instrument was produced, where it was produced and its order of production that day (e.g. first instrument stamped that day, second, etc.).^[19]

An exception is the year 1994, Gibson's centennial year; many 1994 serial numbers start with "94", followed by a 6-digit production number^{[citation needed]}.

The Gibson website provides a book to help with serial number deciphering.^[19]

After 2006[link]

In 2006 Gibson introduced a 9 digit serial number system.^[20] The system is largely the same as the 8 digit system used since 1977,^[19] but the 6th digit now represents a batch number.^[20]

Recent innovation[link]

MaGIC[link]

In 2003,^[21] Gibson debuted its ethernet-based^[22] communications protocol, MaGIC, which it had developed in partnership with 3COM, Advanced Micro Devices and Xilinx.^[21] Replacing traditional analog hook-ups with a digital connection that would, "satisfy the unique requirements of live audio performances" may have been the goal of this project.^[22]

This system may require a special pickup,^[21] but cabling is provided by standard Cat-5 ethernet cord.^[21][22]

Self-tuning guitar[link]

The Gibson "self-tuning guitar", also known as a "robot model", an option on some newer Les Paul, SG, Flying V and Explorer instruments,^{[citation needed]} will tune itself in little more than two seconds using robotics technology developed by Tronical GmbH.^[23]

Corporate social responsibility[link]

Gibson's corporate social responsibility efforts include a participation in Music Rising, which facilitated the replacement of tens of thousands of privately owned, hurricane-damaged instruments.^[2]

Unauthorized copies[link]

Gibson has sought legal action against those that make and sell guitars too-similar to their own.

In 1977 Gibson sued Hoshino/Elger for copying the Gibson Les Paul.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, Gibson sued Fernandes Guitars in a Tokyo court for allegedly copying Gibson designs. Gibson did not prevail.^[24]

Gibson also sued PRS Guitars in 2005, to stop them from making their Singlecut model. The lawsuit against PRS was initially successful.^[25] However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed the lower court decision and ordered the dismissal of Gibson's suit against PRS.^[26]

Authorized Gibson designs[link]

Gibson makes authorized copies of its most successful guitar designs. They are less expensive than those bearing the Gibson name. A former competitor, Epiphone was purchased by Gibson and now makes competitively priced Gibson models, such as the Les Paul, sold under the Epiphone brand,^[27] while continuing to make Epiphone-specific models like the Sheraton and Casino. In Japan, Orville by Gibson once made Gibson designs sold in that country.^[28]

Recent criticism and controversy[link]

Gibson has come under scrutiny for allegedly importing illegal rare wood in potential violations of the Lacey Act.^[29] Though no charges have been filed, two police raids of Gibson factories found ebony wood from India with misleading labels authorities say were used to hide violations of Indian export law.^[29] Gibson claims the labeling was a mistake and that the transaction was approved by Indian authorities.^[29]

On November 17, 2009 federal authorities seized six guitars and several pallets of alleged endangered and illegal, rare ebony wood that Gibson had purchased and stored at their factory.^[30][31] Until the investigation has been concluded, Henry E. Juszkiewicz, CEO and Chairman of Gibson Guitar Corporation, has taken a leave of absence as a board member of the Rainforest Alliance.^[32]

On June 2011, the United States Department of Justice filed a civil case against Gibson. Authorities said Gibson sourced unfinished ebony wood, in the form of blanks, from Nagel, Germany, which obtained it exclusively from a supplier in Madagascar. Gibson acquired the ebony to manufacture fingerboards. Madagascar prohibits the logging of ebony wood and export of unfinished ebony. The filing also made mentioned internal e-mails from 2008 and 2009 that discussed plans to harvest ebony wood and rosewood in Madagascar.^[33][34] The case against Gibson Guitar was the first under the amended Lacey Act, which requires importing companies to purchase legally harvested wood and follow the environmental laws of the producing countries.^[34]

In January 2011, Gibson Guitar filed a motion to recover the materials seized in the raid and to overturn the charges made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.^[35][36] The court denied the motion. According to reports that quote a special agent on the case, the prosecution expects to use the material as evidence.^[36]

Gibson Guitar's offices and factories in Nashville and Memphis were raided again by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife on August 24, 2011. Details were not released about the nature of the raid or what was found due to the ongoing legal proceedings.^[30] According to a statement issued by Gibson Guitar the following day, these raids focused on rare wood imported from India.^[37][38] In the release, Gibson said authorities were "bullying Gibson without filing charges" and stating further: "Gibson has complied with foreign laws and believes it is innocent of any wrong doing. We will fight aggressively to prove our innocence." He also criticized the government's use of the Lacey Act because it interprets and enforces the laws of other nations.^[37][39]

If the prosecution is successful, Gibson would face felony charges that could result in large fines or jail terms for executives involved.^[40] Gibson Guitar is considered a progressive company for its promotion of sustainability and forest certification.^[40] Although the Rainforest Alliance certified the wood used by Gibson Guitar,^[34] its FSC certificates only applied to specific product lines. If wood was sourced from Madagascar, the wood could not have been used in products labeled or sold as FSC-certified.^[40]

The case has also raised concerns for musicians who lack documentation of vintage instruments made of traditional, non-sustainable materials.^[29][41] However, senior officials from the Justice Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have stated that musicians who unknowingly possess instruments made from illegal wood would not be treated as criminals. Instead, they insisted that the government's aim is to target individuals and businesses that profit from the trafficking of these protected species. Despite these assurances, lobbying efforts by Juszkiewicz resulted in a proposed bill that would protect musicians who unknowingly possess materials that violate the Lacey Act, while also exempting wood supplies purchased by companies before May 22, 2008 and requiring the government publish a database of illegal wood sources for the public.^[42]

See also[link]

• David Harvey (luthier)
• Jim Triggs (luthier)
• List of Gibson players

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gibson guitars

• Official website, Gibson Guitar Company

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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69. ^ Tianen, Dave (June 23, 2008). "Paul Brings Bit of Manhattan to the Pabst". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed August 24, 2009.
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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