Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, which made the sound of rock and roll possible. Paul taught himself how to play guitar and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in country music. He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionGuitarist
Date of Birth9 June 1915
CityWaukesha, WI
CountryUnited States of America
We go in there and we work on altering those ideas and in many cases go in different directions.
Steve used to walk through the room I stayed in to get to the bathroom. One day, he must have been 5 years old, Steve said to me, 'Are you Mr. Paul?' I said yes. He was looking at my guitar and I asked him, 'Do you play guitar?' And he said, 'A little bit.' So I handed him my guitar and he played it and I said, 'Gee, you're good. Someday you'll be doing what I'm doing.' I was his mentor . . . but then I watched him take everything he admired and copied and learned and become Steve Miller. He's a very, very good blues guitarist.
It has to be said, we must all own up that without Les Paul, generations of flash little punks like us would be in jail or cleaning toilets. This man, by his genius, made the road that we still travel today. I don't know how he did it, but I'm so grateful he did, said Keith Richards, as quoted in the
The worst is over. I am doing better.
If Waukesha needs more, I have more. All they've got to do is ask.
You can't go to the store and buy a good ear and rhythm.
As far as I'm concerned, I'm just a guitar player, and my job is to go out there and play and entertain and do my thing.
I have younger friends who don't work, and they aren't doing so well. My secret is to keep going, keep working.
There are times when you want to go where you used to go and you can't go there.
You learn fast from others how to be an entertainer as well as a musician; you don't necessarily have to get out there and just play - you can be an entertainer, too.