The Guardian: ‘Paul McCartney asked for my autograph!’ Su Pollard on Hi-de-Hi! and her amazing celebrity encounters
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Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss, known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype, called the Log, served as inspiration for the Gibson Les Paul. Paul taught himself how to play guitar, and while he is mainly known for jazz and popular music, he had an early career in co…
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science · American guitarist, songwriter and inventor (1915–2009) · guitarist · banjoist · inventor · jazz guitarist · radio personality · musical instrument maker · composer · musician · also Les Paul, Lester William Polsfuss, Paul
Born 9 June 1915 · Died 12 August 2009 · Q262399
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2026· 1 entry
2023· 1 entry
Released album “Armed Forces Radio Service 1945”.
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2015· 3 entries
A yearlong celebration of Paul's 100th birthday kicked off in Times Square with performances by musicians including Steve Miller, Jose Feliciano, and Neal Schon, a memorabilia exhibition, and a proclamation from the Les
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The Guardian: Black Beauty: Les Paul's original Gibson Les Paul goes up for auction
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Released album “Icon”.
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2013· 1 entry
Released album “Guitar Monsters”.
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2011· 2 entries
The Guardian: Les Paul: Google's best doodle yet?
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For Paul's birthday on June 9–10, an interactive Google Doodle was shown on the Google homepage where the Google logo itself is formed as a Les Paul guitar and the user was able to play and record music
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2010· 4 entries
The Guardian: The Trial of Qwerty; Les Paul: The Final Words of a Pioneer and Guitar Legend; Archive Hour; Farming Today | Radio review
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Awarded New Jersey Hall of Fame (2010).
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The Guardian: Les Paul: the innovator
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Released album “The Absolutely Essential Collection”.
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2009· 11 entries
Released album “How High the Moon: Hits & Rarities From the Wizard of Waukesha”.
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Was buried in Prairie Home Cemetery, Waukesha, Wisconsin
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The Guardian: Les Paul: The rock'n'roll pioneer who didn't play rock
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The Guardian: Legendary guitarist and inventor Les Paul dies aged 94
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The Guardian: Obituary | Les Paul
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The Guardian: Michael Tomasky: Les Paul, great American
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The Guardian: Guitar hero Les Paul dies aged 94
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Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York
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Died 2009-08-12.
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Paul was named one of the top ten electric guitarists of all time by Time magazine
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The concert film Les Paul Live in New York was aired on public television showing Les Paul performing on his 90th birthday at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York and in archival clips
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2008· 1 entry
Released album “Vaya Con Dios”.
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2007· 3 entries
Released album “The Essential Collection”.
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Was given the National Medal of Arts from U
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The biographical film Les Paul Chasing Sound was aired on the public television series American Masters
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2006· 1 entry
At the age of 90, he won two Grammy Awards at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played
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2005· 7 entries
Released album “Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 4”.
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Released album “Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 1”.
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Released album “Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 3”.
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Released album “Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 2”.
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Released album “American Made World Played”.
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Awarded National Inventors Hall of Fame (2005).
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Won Best Pop Instrumental for "Caravan" and Best Rock Instrumental for "69 Freedom Special
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2004· 1 entry
Received an Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award in Engineering and a Lifetime Achievement in Music Education from the Wisconsin Foundation for School Music
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2001· 3 entries
Released album “20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Les Paul”.
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Released album “Jazz at the Philharmonic”.
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Was honored with the Special Merit/Technical Grammy Award, which recognizes "individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of audio technology," a select awa
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2000· 1 entry
A cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society
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1999· 1 entry
Released album “Trio”.
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1997· 3 entries
Released album “The Complete Decca Trios-Plus (1936-47)”.
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Released album “V-Disc - A Musical Contribution By America's Best”.
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Released album “Chester & Lester / Guitar Monsters”.
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1995· 2 entries
In 1995, Paul established the Les Paul Foundation, which was designed to remain dormant until his death.
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Paul established the Les Paul Foundation, which was designed to remain dormant until his death
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1991· 3 entries
And the Les Paul Spirit Award in 2016
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Released album “The Legend and the Legacy”.
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The Foundation established the Les Paul Innovation Award in 1991 and the Les Paul Spirit Award in 2016.
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1989· 1 entry
Released album “Masters of the Guitar: Together”.
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1988· 2 entries
Awarded Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988).
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Was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by guitarist Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit
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1983· 2 entries
Awarded Grammy Trustees Award (1983).
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Paul received a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement
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1982· 1 entry
Released album “Early Les Paul”.
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1976· 2 entries
And Chet Atkins received the Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental
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Released album “Chester & Lester”.
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1969· 1 entry
Paul produced the album Poe Through the Glass Prism for RCA
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1968· 1 entry
Released album “Now!”.
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1965· 1 entry
Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to his studio occasionally
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1964· 1 entry
Paul and Ford divorced in December 1964.
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1960· 2 entries
Sales of the original Les Paul model had dropped, so a more modernistic model was introduced (today called the Gibson SG), but then still bearing the Les Paul name
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And Mary Ford received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
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1958· 1 entry
And their son, Robert (Bobby), was born the following year
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1954· 1 entry
But the girl was born prematurely and died when she was four days old
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1953· 1 entry
Paul paid for part of the funeral's cost
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1952· 1 entry
Paul invented the flange effect, wherein two recordings of the same sound run slightly asynchronously, causing phase cancellations that sweep through the frequency range
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1950· 2 entries
Released album “The New Sound!”.
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Featuring his trio (himself, Ford and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics
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1949· 2 entries
Paul married Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers)
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Crosby gave Paul one of the first Ampex Model 200A reel to reel tape recorders
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1948· 1 entry
“What Is This Thing Called Love?”
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1946· 1 entry
His mother complimented him on a song she had heard on the radio, when in fact she had heard George Barnes, not Paul
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1943· 2 entries
Moved to Hollywood where he performed on radio and formed a new trio
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Where he served in the Armed Forces Radio Network, backing such artists as Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters, and performing in his own right
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1941· 3 entries
But Gibson showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire and Broadcaster guitars in 1950 (the Broadcaster was renamed the Telecaster in 1951 because of a trademark conflict with Gretsch, which sold the Broa
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Paul suffered an electric shock and nearly died
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They had two children, Les Paul Jr. (Rusty) (1941–2015), and Gene Paul (1944), who was named after actor-songwriter Gene Lockhart.
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1940· 1 entry
Les Paul revisited his experiments with the train rail
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1938· 1 entry
Landing a featured spot with Fred Waring's radio show
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1937· 1 entry
With rhythm guitarist Jim Atkins (older half-brother of guitarist Chet Atkins) and bassist/percussionist Ernie "Darius" Newton
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1936· 1 entry
Credited to "Rhubarb Red", Paul's hillbilly alter ego
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1934· 1 entry
Where they continued to perform country music on radio station WBBM and at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair
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1915· 1 entry
Born 1915-06-09.
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1909· 1 entry
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Peace — for their prominent position in the international movement for peace and arbitration.
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