It seems every few days we come to find another legend, another icon, another image from our lives has passed on. Today, a massive loss to the world of music. Les Paul, a pioneer of rock 'n roll and modern studio recording technology, died at the age of 94. Paul had been battling illness and cancelled a standing gig at New York's Iridium several weeks ago. While there aren't enough words to truly convey Paul's impact, Keith Urban said it beautifully for so many.
"I have a mix of emotions today. On one hand, I am deeply saddened at Les Paul’s passing, and on the other a feeling of incredible gratitude and awe for his unquantifiable contribution to the world of music. His name adorns so many of the creations that I communicate through every night out here on the road…He is also very present every time I set foot in the studio and am able to lay multiple tracks as I record, when I use echo, etc., the list of his inventions, in addition to his famous signature model Gibson, are extraordinary. I also feel that even in his nineties, the fact he was still playing every Monday night in New York is perhaps the most beautiful and inspiring achievement of all. As Vince Gill would say, “Go rest high on that mountain Les…cause son, your work on earth is done.”
God Speed Les Paul.
2 Comments:
I feel bad about Les Paul's passing My family and I listened to Les Paul and Mary Ford all the time
Although he had a recording studio nearby in New Jersey and lived in the suburbs of New York, I never went to his concert but I had a few of
their albums. God bless Les Paul and Mary Ford.
I never got to see Les Paul either but he was on my list. His personality just came through in his playing. He was a flirt and loved one-liners and zingers. A real showman. It's a shame I missed out on one of his shows but he lived a long full life, that's for sure.
A quick story told to me by a friend of a friend of a friend....Charlie Daniels is a big Gibson Les Paul collector. He was having a conversation with someone and talking about Les in the past tense. The person he was talking to said you do know Les is still with us (this was a few years ago). He said no, I thought he was gone! Because of that talk he got in touch with Les and got to play with him. Sometimes it's funny how things happen.
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