Paul Les American guitar virtuoso, innovator in the field of sound recording, one of the inventors of electric guitars Date of Birth: 09.06.1915 Country: USA

Biography of Les Paul

Les Paul, an American virtuoso guitarist and innovator in the field of sound recording, was born in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1915. From a young age, Les Paul showed an interest in radio equipment. His professional career began in the early 1930s as a singer-emcee on St. Louis and Chicago radio stations. This radio experience influenced the diversity of Les Paul's work, as he played folk music, jazz, blues, country, and Hawaiian music.

In the late 1930s, Les Paul joined Fred Waring's "Pensilvanians" accompaniment ensemble. In 1941, Les Paul independently invented the first solid-body electric guitar (prior to that, there were only acoustic guitars with pickups). During World War II, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Signal Corps and later worked as an accompanying guitarist for various artists in Los Angeles studios, including Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, and others. Bing Crosby provided Les Paul with one of the earliest tape recording machines, which allowed for magnetic tape-to-tape recording. The result of his experiments with magnetic sound recording were his first solo records, released in 1948 - "Lover" and "Brazil," in which he used the technique of multi-tracking.

However, Les Paul's career was threatened when he was involved in a car accident in December 1948, which completely damaged his right arm. During the operation, Les Paul insisted that his broken arm be set at an angle that would allow him to play the guitar again. After the operation, he underwent a year and a half of rehabilitation. From 1950 to 1952, thanks to an offer from Gibson, Les Paul participated in the development of an electric guitar that would bear his name - the "Les Paul." The Les Paul guitar became one of the most popular electric guitars among rock musicians.

In 1949, Les Paul married Iris Summers. Changing her name to Mary Ford, Les Paul formed a musical duo with her. Together, they released albums that instantly brought them popularity. The duo's albums consisted of songs performed by Mary Ford and instrumental compositions, with Ford occasionally playing the guitar. Her smooth, light voice, typical of country music, balanced Les Paul's virtuoso playing and complex multilayered compositions. In addition to sound layering, Les Paul also experimented with echo effects. His records were marketed as "new sound." One of the advantages of Les Paul's methods was that he implemented his innovative ideas within the framework of accessible popular music rather than the narrow avant-garde.

The records of the early 1950s were in the jazz genre, but after switching to Columbia Records in 1958, the sound of the duo changed towards blues, country, and pop. By the beginning of the 1960s, the duo lost popularity. After several albums in different genres, Les Paul and Mary Ford separated in 1964. Les Paul continued to record for a while and then drifted away from music. His next works were two albums recorded with Chet Atkins in 1977-78. After that, Les Paul mostly ceased his musical activities.

In 2006, at the age of 90, Les Paul received two Grammy Awards for his 2005 album "American Made World Played" - his first album recorded in 27 years. Les Paul still performs once a week at the "Iridium Jazz Club" in New York.