Inner Light: Les Paul 1915

Les Paul past away August 13th 2009, at 94 years old, due to complications of Pneumonia. A guitar virtuoso, and inventor, his creations are without a doubt responsible for the way we create, produce and music today. Les performed with jazz and pop musicians from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby. With his wife Mary Ford singing, and Les playing guitar, using overdubbing and multitracking, a first in those times, they wrote a string of hit songs in the 1940's and 50's. Les played a key role in the birth of rock and roll in the early 1950s when he teamed up with Gibson.

I started playing guitar at the age of 7. I remember going to Steve's music in Montreal for the first time with my brother, some friends and an awesome young couple Benjamin and Elyce Russell. Who volunteered their Saturdays to teach us guitar at Sun Youth & in the Jeanne-Mance Park in the summer. (Thanks Ben and Elyce! You're generosity has made me the person I am today & for giving me the gift that keeps giving) I remember being awestruck to see so many guitars and amplifiers, I remember back then and still to this day Les Paul's, and all the special guitars were hung up on the back wall. Rightly so. Every guitar player young or old, wants a Les Paul eventually. If you are lucky enough to be able to afford one. I personally have always wanted a custom White Les Paul. We've all heard and have seen a Les Paul played by rock legends Jimmy Page, Slash, Pete Townsend, Jeff Beck, and countless others.

I must admit I didn't know Les Paul was real person till later in my teens. I happened to be watching a show on PBS, and it showed this old guy playing a Les Paul, and he sounded absolutely amazing. I'd never seen anything like it. I mean I grew up listening to shredders like Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert etc. To see this guy, who was probably in his late 70's or early 80's play like that just blew me away. I mean even Steve Vai, who is arguably one of the best guitar players in the world period, said he got his ass kicked by Les. Check out what Steve had to say about him in his myspace blog .

A funny and crazy story that shows what an exemplary person Les was. Way back when, maybe in the late 1940s, he was driving around from gig to gig. It was a late night, and he drove over a bridge not knowing the bridge was out. The car tumbled down in a gully. Les badly injured his right arm. The doctors told him that if they set it properly, he might never be able to bend it again. So he told them to set it at the proper guitar-playing angle. That's dedication in my book.

Thanks Les Paul for be and amazing person, who helped shaped music to what is it today. As well as inspiring so many people, who inspired me with the gift of guitar and music.