Music: Five key moments in guitar innovator Les Paul’s life (R.I.P., bro)
- Paul, a jazz musician, decided to get more sound out of his guitar by putting a log in the middle. In the process, he invented the solid-body guitar. source
- Paul experiments with a tape recorder in his garage. He layers his guitar’s tone on one song, “Lover,” and invents multi-track recording. source
- Paul divorces his first wife and marries Mary Ford, his music partner. The two spend much of the early 1950s as major musical stars, notching hits until 1955. source
- Gibson asks Paul to promote its new solid-body guitar; Paul influenced the guitar’s design only a little, but the guitar’s name helped build Paul’s legend. source
- Paul never gave up his craft and continued to be a musical icon late in life, playing NYC clubs well into his 90s. Paul died Thursday at 94. His legacy is insane. source
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