- Wikipedia

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This article is about the musician. For the guitar named after him, see Gibson Les Paul.

Les Paul
$\"Paul$ Paul c. January 1947
Background information
Birth name	Lester William Polsfuss
Born	(1915-06-09)June 9, 1915 Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	August 12, 2009(2009-08-12) (aged 94) White Plains, New York, U.S.
Genres	Jazz country blues rock and roll acoustic music
Occupations	Musician songwriter inventor luthier
Instruments	Vocals guitar harmonica
Years active	1928\u20132009
Labels	Capitol, Columbia, RCA Victor, Decca
Spouses	\n Virginia Webb \n (m. 1937; div. 1949) \n Mary Ford \n (m. 1949; div. 1964)

Website	www.les-paul.com

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 \u2013 August 12, 2009), 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 country music.^[1] In the 1950s, he and his wife, singer and guitarist Mary Ford, recorded numerous records, selling millions of copies.\n

Paul is credited with many recording innovations. His early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound),^[2] delay effects such as tape delay, phasing, and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.^[3] His licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques, and timing set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]\n

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[8] He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an \"architect\" and a \"key inductee\" with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.^[9] Paul is the only inductee in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.^[10]\n

\n\n

Year\n	Single\n	Chart positions\n
^US\n	^CB\n	^{US Country}\n	^UK^[94]\n
1945\n	\"It's Been a Long, Long Time\" (with Bing Crosby)\n	1\n	\n	\n	\n
1946\n	\"Rumors Are Flying\" (with The Andrews Sisters)\n	4\n	\n	\n	\n
1948\n	\"Lover\"\n	21\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Brazil\"\n	22\n	\n	\n	\n
\"What Is This Thing Called Love?\"\n	11\n	\n	\n	\n
1950\n	\"Nola\"\n	9\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Goofus\"\n	21\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Little Rock Getaway\"\n	18\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Tennessee Waltz\"\n	6\n	\n	\n	\n
1951\n	\"Jazz Me Blues\"\n	23\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Mockin' Bird Hill\"(gold record)\n	2\n	\n	7\n	\n
\"How High the Moon\"(gold record)^A\n	1\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Josephine\"\n	12\n	\n	\n	\n
\"I Wish I Had Never Seen Sunshine\"\n	18\n	\n	\n	\n
\"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise\"(gold record)\n	2\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Whispering\"\n	7\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Just One More Chance\"\n	5\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Jingle Bells\"\n	10\n	\n	\n	\n
1952\n	\"Tiger Rag\"\n	2\n	\n	\n	\n
\"I'm Confessin'\"\n	13\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Carioca\"\n	14\n	\n	\n	\n
\"In the Good Old Summertime\"\n	15\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Smoke Rings\"\n	14\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Meet Mister Callaghan\"\n	5\n	4\n	\n	\n
\"Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me\"\n	15\n	22\n	\n	\n
\"Lady of Spain\"\n	8\n	\n	\n	\n
\"My Baby's Comin' Home\"\n	7\n	11\n	\n	\n
1953\n	\"Bye Bye Blues\"\n	5\n	14\n	\n	\n
\"I'm Sitting on Top of the World\"\n	10\n	8\n	\n	\n
\"Sleep\"\n	21\n	31\n	\n	\n
\"Vaya Con Dios\"(gold record)\n	1\n	1\n	\n	7\n
\"Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)\"\n	15\n	25\n	\n	\n
\"The Kangaroo\"\n	25\n	23\n	\n	\n
\"Don'cha Hear Them Bells\"\n	13\n	28\n	\n	\n
1954\n	\"I Really Don't Want To Know\"\n	11\n	33\n	\n	\n
\"South\"\n	\n	18\n	\n	\n
\"I'm a Fool to Care\"\n	6\n	13\n	\n	\n
\"Auctioneer\"\n	\n	28\n	\n	\n
\"Whither Thou Goest\"\n	10\n	12\n	\n	\n
\"Mandolino\"\n	19\n	22\n	\n	\n
1955\n	\"Song in Blue\"\n	\n	17\n	\n	\n
\"Someday Sweetheart\"\n	\n	39\n	\n	\n
\"No Letter Today\"\n	\n	27\n	\n	\n
\"Hummingbird\"\n	7\n	6\n	\n	\n
\"Amukiriki\"\n	38\n	24\n	\n	\n
\"Magic Melody\"\n	96\n	43\n	\n	\n
1956\n	\"Texas Lady\"\n	91\n	47\n	\n	\n
\"Cimarron (Roll On)\"\n	\n	48\n	\n	\n
\"Moritat\"\n	49\n	\n	\n	\n
\"Nuevo Laredo\"\n	91\n	\n	\n	\n
1957\n	\"Cinco Robles\"\n	35\n	24\n	\n	\n
1958\n	\"Put a Ring on My Finger\"\n	32\n	43\n	\n	\n
\"Jealous Heart\"\n	\n	71\n	\n	\n
1961\n	\"Jura\"\n	37\n	81\n	\n	\n
\"It's Been a Long, Long Time\"\n	105\n	\n	\n	\n

v t e National Medal of Arts recipients (2000s)
2000	\n Maya Angelou \n Eddy Arnold \n Mikhail Baryshnikov \n Benny Carter \n Chuck Close \n Horton Foote \n Lewis Manilow \n National Public Radio, cultural programming division \n Claes Oldenburg \n Itzhak Perlman \n Harold Prince \n Barbra Streisand \n
2001	\n Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation \n Rudolfo Anaya \n Johnny Cash \n Kirk Douglas \n Helen Frankenthaler \n Judith Jamison \n Yo-Yo Ma \n Mike Nichols \n
2002	\n Florence Knoll Bassett \n Trisha Brown \n Philippe de Montebello \n Uta Hagen \n Lawrence Halprin \n Al Hirschfeld \n George Jones \n Ming Cho Lee \n William \"Smokey\" Robinson \n
2003	\n Austin City Limits \n Beverly Cleary \n Rafe Esquith \n Suzanne Farrell \n Buddy Guy \n Ron Howard \n Tabernacle Choir \n Leonard Slatkin \n George Strait \n Tommy Tune \n
2004	\n Andrew W. Mellon Foundation \n Ray Bradbury \n Carlisle Floyd \n Frederick Hart \n Anthony Hecht \n John Ruthven \n Vincent Scully \n Twyla Tharp \n
2005	\n Louis Auchincloss \n James DePreist \n Paquito D'Rivera \n Robert Duvall \n Leonard Garment \n Ollie Johnston \n Wynton Marsalis \n Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts \n Tina Ramirez \n Dolly Parton \n
2006	\n William Bolcom \n Cyd Charisse \n Roy DeCarava \n Wilhelmina Holladay \n Interlochen Center for the Arts \n Erich Kunzel \n Preservation Hall Jazz Band \n Gregory Rabassa \n Viktor Schreckengost \n Ralph Stanley \n
2007	\n Morten Lauridsen \n N. Scott Momaday \n Craig Noel \n Roy Neuberger \n Les Paul \n Henry Z. Steinway \n George Tooker \n Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival (University of Idaho) \n Andrew Wyeth \n
2008	\n Stan Lee \n Richard M. Sherman \n Robert B. Sherman \n Olivia de Havilland \n Hank Jones \n Jes\u00fas Moroles \n Ford's Theatre Society \n Fisk Jubilee Singers, (Fisk University) \n Jos\u00e9 Lim\u00f3n Dance Foundation \n The Presser Foundation \n
2009	\n Bob Dylan \n Clint Eastwood \n Milton Glaser \n Maya Lin \n Rita Moreno \n Jessye Norman \n Joseph P. Riley Jr. \n Frank Stella \n Michael Tilson Thomas \n John Williams \n Oberlin Conservatory of Music \n School of American Ballet \n
\n Complete list \n 1980s \n 1990s \n 2000s \n 2010s \n

v t e Rock and Roll Hall of Fame \u2013 Class of 1988
Performers	\n The Beach Boys\n Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson \n The Beatles\n George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr \n The Drifters\n Ben E. King, Rudy Lewis, Clyde McPhatter, Johnny Moore, Bill Pinkney, Charlie Thomas, Gerhart Thrasher \n Bob Dylan \n The Supremes\n Florence Ballard, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson \n
Early influences	\n Woody Guthrie \n Lead Belly \n Les Paul \n
Non-performers (Ahmet Ertegun Award)	\n Berry Gordy \n

Authority control databases $\"Edit$
International	ISNI 2 3 VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	Germany United States France BnF data Japan Italy Australia Czech Republic Spain Netherlands Norway Latvia Croatia Sweden Poland Israel Finland Belgium
Artists	MusicBrainz Discography of American Historical Recordings Grammy Awards
People	Trove DDB
Other	IdRef SNAC

Early life

Career

Early career

Guitar builder

Multitrack recording

Les Paul and Mary Ford

Radio and television programs

Later career

Artistry

Personal life

Death

Awards and honors

Concerts and exhibitions

Discography

Albums

Solo career

With Les Paul And His Trio

Hit singles

Singles

Compositions

See also

References

Bibliography

External links

Les Paul

Les Paul

Talk channels

Main Milestones