i heard this on the way home from work the other day

terry gross interviewing les paul on

fresh air


i really didn't realize how ill and how much pain he was in. i didn't know he continued to play (at clubs) YEARS after he couldn't move his fingers due to arthritis (although that didn't stop him)

wow, just give a listen at the link above. for those that prefer NOT to listen, there is also a transcript

les paul.. I LOVED HIM

of course my FAVORITE:


and he's rippin' it up here


Les Paul, Guitar Innovator, Dies at 94
By JON PARELES
Les Paul, the virtuoso guitarist and inventor whose solid-body electric guitar and recording studio innovations changed the course of 20th-century popular music, died Thursday in White Plains, N.Y. . He was 94.

The cause was complications of pneumonia, the Gibson Guitar Corporation and his family announced. .

Mr. Paul was a remarkable musician as well as a tireless tinkerer. He played guitar alongside leading prewar jazz and pop musicians from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby. In the 1930s he began experimenting with guitar amplification, and by 1941 he had built what was probably the first solid-body electric guitar, although there are other claimants. With his guitar and the vocals of his wife, Mary Ford, he used overdubbing, multitrack recording and new electronic effects to create a string of hits in the 1950s...............

oh and THIS is one of THE best albums (yeah, i still say album) EVER. i mean that too

american made world played. les paul and friends

don't believe me - oh ye of little faith? TAKE A LOOK AT THIS!
Track List
01 Introduction 00:14
02 Love Sneakin' Up On You - Sting & Joss Stone 03:25
03 Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo - Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Edgar Winter & Noah Hunt 05:05
04 Somebody Ease My Troublin' Mind - Sam Cooke & Eric Clapton 03:32
05 So Into You - Peter Frampton 04:40
06 How High The Moon - Les Paul & Alsou 02:09
07 Bad Case Of Lovin' You - Billy Gibbons 03:54
08 I Wanna Know You - Neil Schon & Beth Hart 06:21
09 (Ain't That) Good News - Sam Cooke & Jeff Beck 04:04
10 Let Me Roll It - Richie Sambora 04:03
11 Caravan - Les Paul 02:08
12 Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl - Buddy Guy, Keith Richards & Rick Derringer 04:01
13 All I Want Is You - Johnny Rzeznik 04:17
14 69 Freedom Special - Les Paul & Friends 05:44
15 Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller 04:45
16 I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know - Joe Perry, Mick Hucknall & Kenny Olsen 06:49

pic:

Jennifer Taylor for The New York Times

Les Paul at Carnegie Hall in 2005. More Photos >

$800 to $900 to tune a guitar by robotics

is a small price to pay if you're a musician (in my most humble opinion). i have posted on gibson before (i own one. a 12 string sunburst)

Gibson shows new self-tuning guitar
Gibson Shows New Guitar With Self-Tuning Robotics Technology in Tokyo
YURI KAGEYAMA
Musicians of the world are getting a new kind of artistic freedom with technology that eliminates the challenging chore of tuning. Robotics technology developed by German company Tronical Gmbh in partnership with Gibson Guitar Corp. enables Gibson's newest Les Paul model to tune itself in about two seconds.
For users who purchase the add-on technology, the guitar recognizes pitch. Then, its processor directs motors on its six tuning pegs to tighten or loosen the strings accordingly. Tronical has offered its "Powertune System" online and through retailers in Germany since March, according to the company's Web site..........



Gibson gets official with the self-tuning Robot Guitar