We say farewell to an icon of American music. Les Paul, 94, died on August 13, 2009. It is hard to imagine what our music would sound like today without his innovations. The best-known is the electric guitar. Elvis, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Dave Matthews, and other rock stars would have had very different effects on society, if they would have been noticed at all. Besides the guitar, Mr. Paul constantly looked for ways to manipulate the sound. Amplifiers and effects were very important interests as well. He would look for places with different reverberation. He even told of a story when he and Mary Ford were traveling. He wanted her to come into the bathroom of a hotel to hear what it sounded like.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to see Les Paul live. In fall of 2006, I traveled to New York City.y daughter, Katie who was 14 at the time, and I went to the Iridium Jazz Club for his show. I will never forget how we were waiting outside, first in line along Broadway, and Katie was listening to her iPod. The music of choice? Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The man we were about to see was responsible for that classic work. The show itself was outstanding partly because our table was right at his feet, but also because of the musicians around him. At 91, he could entertain like few others of any age. That was an unforgettable experience.
Most of us have heard of Les Paul, but few take the time to imagine what his life was like. We look back on reverb and delay effects and they seem so obvious and common, but he had the vision of what these things could do for music. We hear of the Les Paul guitar, but not everyone knows how much of a musician he was.
He was a true living legend in the 20th and into the 21st century. Les Paul will be a permanent fixture in any respectable history book. He not only affected music, he affected our society. Debate may rage on as to whether the music was positive or negative to our culture, but there is no doubt Mr. Paul had an impact. I encourage your thoughts and memories.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to see Les Paul live. In fall of 2006, I traveled to New York City.y daughter, Katie who was 14 at the time, and I went to the Iridium Jazz Club for his show. I will never forget how we were waiting outside, first in line along Broadway, and Katie was listening to her iPod. The music of choice? Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. The man we were about to see was responsible for that classic work. The show itself was outstanding partly because our table was right at his feet, but also because of the musicians around him. At 91, he could entertain like few others of any age. That was an unforgettable experience.
Most of us have heard of Les Paul, but few take the time to imagine what his life was like. We look back on reverb and delay effects and they seem so obvious and common, but he had the vision of what these things could do for music. We hear of the Les Paul guitar, but not everyone knows how much of a musician he was.
He was a true living legend in the 20th and into the 21st century. Les Paul will be a permanent fixture in any respectable history book. He not only affected music, he affected our society. Debate may rage on as to whether the music was positive or negative to our culture, but there is no doubt Mr. Paul had an impact. I encourage your thoughts and memories.
Jim Meck
Facebook group: "Jim Meck - official group"
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JimMeck
MySpace: www.myspace.com/JimMeck
Twitter: www.twitter.com/JimMeck
MySpace: www.myspace.com/JimMeck
Jim earned his B.S. in Music Ed from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. He is also a gigging local musician. He will be appearing in Eastern PA nearly every weekend. Check his website for more info.
No comments:
Post a Comment