RIP Les Paul

Guitarist Les Paul (real name Lester William Polsfuss), inventor of the solid-body guitar and creator of the Gibson line of instruments that bears his name, passed away yesterday (2009, Aug. 13) in White Plains, NY, at the ripe old age of 94.

This long and beautiful NY Times commemoration recalls his career, also recounting some delightful anecdotes, including the now overused one of how his piano teacher wrote to his mother, "Your boy, Lester, will never learn music." (It seems that a story like this is now very common, among musicians and others, and is almost obligatory for those who would later bring about a great change in their field, from John Cage to Einstein.)

In a 1991 interview, with a certain amount of humility, he said

"The only reason I invented these things was because I didn't have them and neither did anyone else. I had no choice, really."

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