"First and foremost, he's a musician."

[prjacobs]

Les Paul explains multi tracking. Even back then, some people thought it was cheating.

http://youtu.be/q6-gOwIA0rM

[Paul Marossy]

That was cool. Les Paul was amazing. Stuff was so much more interesting musically back then than most of the "pop" stuff out now. So they had some 15 million records sold at the time that video was made?! That's amazing. 

[danjazzny]

Amazing man, musician, and inventor. And what a great sense of humor!   

[prjacobs]

That was cool. Les Paul was amazing. Stuff was so much more interesting musically back then than most of the "pop" stuff out now. So they had some 15 million records sold at the time that video was made?! That's amazing. 

Paul, what's really music to my ears is how early pop and also early country is an outgrowth of jazz and swing. Les Paul, Jimmy Bryans, Speedy
West. etc., build upon that great musical foundation.
For example... (Hopefully... I'm on the Megabus)... Here's Ella Mae Morse and Tennessee Ernie Ford's I'm Hogtied Over You. Great playing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYdle0vfUQ

[Obsidian]

Thanks for sharing! My parents completely negated anything classical, jazz related, in fact, I barely got any blues at all, just 80's pop and some rock songs. While i obviously know about Les Paul, I still never stopped to listen, and I cannot figure out for the life of me why.

You brightened up my evening quite a bit.

[prjacobs]

Here's a comment about Les Paul from my friend Paul Nowinski, who is one of the most amazing bass players in the world! I'd posted this Les Paul video on my facebook page and he says...

Awesome guy.
Super sharp and funny
Worked with him on many gigs.
His claim of inventing the electric guitar is sort of overplayed tho.
There were electric guitars around many years earlier
than his model in hollow and solid bodies forms.
He did have alot to do with its gaining huge popularity tho.
Really the first major "endorser"
Actually with the Les Paul model as we know it Les just made suggestions on a fairly developed model
that was designed and made by Ted McCarty ,the gibson guitar
factory wiz that they put Lesters name on because of the huge popularity of his TV show at the time put on by Listerine.
He was a constant experimenter and insane showman of the highest level but his claim of inventing the solid body electric guitar is only a legend.
He was a MAJOR pioneer in multitrack recording world tho.

[Paul Marossy]

Paul, what's really music to my ears is how early pop and also early country is an outgrowth of jazz and swing. Les Paul, Jimmy Bryans, Speedy
West. etc., build upon that great musical foundation.
For example... (Hopefully... I'm on the Megabus)... Here's Ella Mae Morse and Tennessee Ernie Ford's I'm Hogtied Over You. Great playing.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYdle0vfUQ

Yeah I can definitely hear the jazz/swing influence in the earlier "pop" music.