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09 Jun 2011 16:49

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Music: Today would have been Les Paul’s 96th birthday

  • Happy electric guitar day, everyone! Les Paul, the musical legend centrally responsible for developing the electric guitar, as well as a range of musical innovations (he also pioneered multi-track recording), was born today in 1915. Paul led a long and industrious life; and still regularly performed into his 90s, ultimately passing away in 2009 from pneumonia complications. In honor of Paul’s birthday, Google has a pretty cool logo variant up that lets you strum some guitar chords, definitely worth a look if you have a few idle moments. A tidbit about the man’s commitment: he shattered his right arm in a car crash, and had the doctors pin his elbow at a 90-degree angle so he could continue to play, even though he’d lost all movement at his elbow. source

14 Aug 2009 00:45

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Music: Gibson’s CEO says Les Paul had a huge influence on the company

  • The guitar shines in modern music. … In the ’50s and before the ’50s, the guitar was amplified, but it was just louder. In other words, it still sounded just like an acoustic guitar, but you could turn it up. What Les did was turn it into a whole new instrument.
  • Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz • Describing the Les Paul guitar’s role in musical history, and how the guitar became a musical icon. Paul’s influence has helped the company in numerous ways – he convinced Gibson to start selling cheaper models of the namesake model, helping the guitar fly off the shelves and putting it in the hands of the average person. And to think, they laughed at “The Log!” • source

14 Aug 2009 00:26

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Music: More on the coolest guitar hack ever, Les Paul’s “The Log”

When Paul introduced this guitar to guitar manufacturers, they laughed at him, calling it a “broomstick with pickups.” They’re not laughing anymore, kids. source