InfoAnda - Revered guitar player-inventor Les Paul dead at 94

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Greece plunges deeper into debt turmoil | 22 April 2010
Taiwan's jailed ex-leader asks to be set free | 12 November 2010
Andrew Lloyd Webber urges men to get cancer tests | 12 January 2010

EU, US to press Bosnia over blocked reforms | 9 October 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Revered guitar player-inventor Les Paul dead at 94

Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Asia Pacific World Search Search: Revered guitar player-inventor Les Paul dead at 94 By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY,AP Music Writer AP - Saturday, August 15 NEW YORK - Musicians worldwide are paying tribute to Les Paul, the music icon whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock 'n' roll. He died this week at age 94. ADVERTISEMENT Paul, a guitar virtuoso, performed with some of early pop's biggest names and produced a slew of hits, many with wife Mary Ford. But it was his inventive streak that made him universally revered by guitar gods as their original ancestor and earned his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the most important forces in popular music. "He actually taught himself to play guitar in order to demonstrate his electronic theories," said Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. "All of us owe an unimaginable debt to his work and his talent." Paul, who died Thursday in White Plains, N.Y., of complications from pneumonia, was a tireless tinkerer, whose quest for a particular sound led him to create the first solid-body electric guitar. His invention became the standard instrument for legends like Pete Townshend and Jimmy Page. "The name Les Paul is iconic and is known by aspiring and virtuoso guitar players worldwide," said Kiss front man Paul Stanley. "That guitar is the cornerstone of a lot of great music that has been made in the last 50 years." Paul also developed technology that would become hallmarks of rock and pop recordings, from multitrack recording that allowed for multiple layers of "overdubs" to guitar reverb and other sound effects. "He was a futurist, and unlike some futurists who write about it and predict things, he was a guy who actually did things," said Henry Juskiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar, which mass produced Paul's original invention. Private services are being planned for New York and Waukesha, Wis., Paul's home town, according to an obituary posted by the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City, where until recently Paul had played every week. Public memorial tributes also are being planned. A musician since childhood, Paul experimented with guitar amplification for years before coming up in 1941 with what he called "The Log," a 4-by-4 piece of wood strung with steel strings. He later put the wooden wings onto the body to give it a traditional guitar shape. The use of electric guitar gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s. Leo Fender's Broadcaster was the first mass-produced solid body electric on the market in the late 1940s. Gibson solicited Paul to create a prototype for a guitar and began making the Les Paul guitar in 1952. The Who's Townshend, Steve Howe of Yes, jazz great Al DiMeola and Led Zeppelin's Page all made the Gibson Les Paul their trademark six-string. Born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915, he began his career as a musician, billing himself as Red Hot Red or Rhubarb Red. He toured with the popular Chicago band Rube Tronson and His Texas Cowboys and led the house band on WJJD radio in Chicago. In the mid-1930s he joined Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians and soon moved to New York to form the Les Paul Trio, with Jim Atkins and bassist Ernie Newton. His first records were released in 1944 on Decca Records. Later, with Ford, his wife from 1949 to 1962, he earned 36 gold records for hits including "Vaya Con Dios" and "How High the Moon," which both hit No. 1. He had met Ford, then known as Colleen Summers, in the 1940s while working as a studio musician in Los Angeles. For seven years in the 1950s, Paul and Ford broadcast a TV show from their home in Mahwah, N.J. (Ford died in 1977, 15 years after they divorced). Paul and Ford were both seriously injured in a 1948 car crash. Among other injuries, Paul's right elbow was crushed and doctors set it at an angle so he could continue to play guitar, Robb Lawrence, a former concert tech for Paul, says in the 2008 book "The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy." Paul had made his first attempt at audio amplification at age 13. Unhappy with the amount of volume produced by his acoustic guitar, he tried placing a telephone receiver under the strings. Although this worked to some extent, only two strings were amplified and the volume level was still too low. By placing a phonograph needle in the guitar, all six strings were amplified, which proved to be much louder. Paul was playing a working prototype of the electric guitar in 1929. His work on recording techniques began in the years after World War II, when Bing Crosby gave him a tape recorder. Drawing on his earlier experimentation with his homemade recording machine, Paul added an additional playback head to the recorder. The result was a delayed effect that became known as tape echo. Tape echo gave the recording a more "live" feel and enabled the user to simulate different playing environments. Paul's next idea was to stack together eight mono tape machines and send their outputs to one piece of tape, stacking the recording heads on top of one another. The resulting machine served as the forerunner to today's multitrack recorders. Many of his songs with Ford used overdubbing techniques that Paul had helped develop. Paul's use of multitrack recording was unique. Before he did it, most recordings were made on a single tape. By recording each element separately, from the vocals to instrumentation on different tracks, they could be mixed and layered, adding to the richness in sound. In 1954, Paul commissioned the first eight-track tape recorder, later known as "Sel-Sync," in which a recording head could simultaneously record a new track and play back previous ones. In the late 1960s, Paul retired from music to concentrate on his inventions. His interest in country music was rekindled in the mid-'70s, and he teamed with Chet Atkins for two albums. The duo won a Grammy for best country instrumental performance of 1976 for their "Chester and Lester" album. In 2005, he released the Grammy-winning "Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played," his first album of new material since those 1970s recordings and his first official rock CD. Among those playing with him: Peter Frampton, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Richie Sambora. "They're not only my friends, but they're great players," Paul told The Associated Press. "I never stop being amazed by all the different ways of playing the guitar and making it deliver a message." Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. ___ Associated Press writer Luke Sheridan contributed to this report. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Sign in to recommend this article » 0 users recommend Related Articles: Entertainment & Lifestyle 'Hoggish': the Wall St Journal's take on WoodstockAFP - 2 hours 13 minutes ago "Bandslam" star Aly Michalka sees teen years fadingReuters - 2 hours 30 minutes ago Polish village prays for Madonna to visitReuters - Saturday, August 15 Aerosmith cancels troubled tour after Tyler injuryReuters - Saturday, August 15 New Orleans rapper sentenced to life in prisonAP - 2 hours 7 minutes ago Most Popular – Entertainment Viewed Burglars steal $15m from Saudi princess Millions of salmon fail to turn up in Canada US study uncovers powerful anti-cancer compound Sweden's Princess Madeleine to marry: palace Rare flowering of Chinese tree in Belgium View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Community - Intellectual Property Rights Policy - Help

Other News on Saturday, 15 August 2009
Vote leaders take campaigns across Afghanistan
Merkel, Medvedev tout 'strategic' economic cooperation
U.S. business welcomes Obama export control review
US industrial output rebounds, consumer prices flat
Spain's economy shrinks, bucking eurozone trend
Hundreds mourn Kennedy sister at funeral
Russia says Cape Verde ship sighting untrue | International |
World faces growing health inequalities: WHO
US consumer inflation in steepest drop since 1950
Thirteen killed in Hamas, pro-al Qaeda group clashes | International |
World's oldest schoolboy dies aged 90 in Kenya | International |
Google users search more, very loyal: comScore | Technology |
Taiwan's president criticized for typhoon response
Suicide attack kills 1 Afghan soldier in the south
Taiwan flood death toll could top 500: president
Court: Mich. prison OK to stop man's kosher meals
Afghan election an early test of Obama's war plan
Lead poisoning sickens 600 kids in China
Shriver laid to rest; Sen. Kennedy misses funeral
China cracks down on drunken driving after outcry
Obama takes healthcare plan to conservative West
5 who killed niece in exorcism avoid jail in NZ
18 years later: 1st Gulf War casualty laid to rest
China Merchants Bank plans $2.6 bln rights issue
Oops! Crew tears out remnants of old NY river fort
3 bombs in Baluchistan kill 1, wound 18
Maine town wins fight to save its curbside mailbox
Mourners gather in Pa. for 3 dead in plane crash
Taiwan president says typhoon has killed about 500
Athiest bus ads create free speech debate in Iowa
China objects to Philippine oil project
Polish village prays for Madonna to visit | Entertainment |
Aerosmith cancels troubled tour after Tyler injury | Entertainment |
Time Traveler looks to cash in on popular book | Entertainment |
Bandslam star Aly Michalka sees teen years fading | Entertainment |
Aerosmith cancels troubled tour after Tyler injury
New Orleans rapper sentenced to life in prison
Jackson had long history with estate executor
Arrest warrant issued in Mass. for Bobby Brown
Revered guitar player-inventor Les Paul dead at 94
US videogame sales sink for fifth consecutive month: NPD
Reality TV villain Omarosa entering a seminary
Blast rocks Afghan capital
Cargo ship that vanished spotted off Cape Verde islands
Taliban claim blast in Afghan capital | International |
Google users loyal: comScore
Mud-slinging on Afghan vote trail
US building tech tools to foil online censors
No normal ties with Ukraine under current leaders: Medvedev
Taiwan seeks foreign aid after typhoon catastrophe | International |
Gaza clashes between Hamas, Islamist radicals kill 13
Merkel, Medvedev tout 'strategic' economic cooperation
Iraqi journalists protest government pressure
Iran elections-Jackson death videos spur online viewing
Nineteen killed in Mexico prison riot | International |
BetOnSports founder pleads guilty in U.S. court
Google users search more, very loyal: comScore
Three killed in suicide blast in Pakistan's Swat | International |
Britain suspends Turks and Caicos government | International |
Let them eat cake at Gulag city birthday party | International |
South Korea's Lee seeks arms cut deal with North | International |
Colonial BancGroup, 4 other banks shut down
SKorea's Lee renews aid offer to NKorea
Palace assault trial ends in acquittals
Pakistan lifts tribal area political activity ban
Grad student imprisoned in Iran returns to US
Car bomb explodes at NATO headquarters in Kabul
Controller bantering on phone before crash
Taiwan seeks foreign aid after typhoon catastrophe
Suspect in Calif. toll plaza killings in court
Huge blast at NATO headquarters rocks Kabul
Leaked Radiohead song has fans on alert for new EP | Technology |
Huge blast rocks Afghan capital
US Senator Webb to meet Myanmar's junta leader
BetOnSports founder pleads guilty in U.S. court | Technology |
Police clash with steel workers in China: report
U2's Bono pays tribute to Eunice Kennedy Shriver
South Korea's Lee seeks arms cut deal with North
US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 707
Event on Abu Ghraib soldier canceled over threats
NY police interview husband of wrong-way driver
Japan voices remorse for WWII, ex-premiers visit shrine
Kate Winslet goes from Oscar win to TV series
Hollywood sees win in China WTO case as first step
Pakistani c.bank buys 31.6 bln rupees of govt paper
Summary: WTO rules on China, but piracy persists
Malaysia 'well-positioned' to weather global crisis: IMF
Hilary Duff brings her charity work to Colombia
Aerosmith cuts short US tour due to Tyler's injury
US-ENTERTAINMENT Summary
Miami rapper Pitbull ready for "Rebelution"
Police respond to Jon & Kate's house for argument
MC Hammer plans companion piece for 1990 hit album
Seinfeld to be first guest on new Jay Leno show | Entertainment |
Juanes gets heat for playing peace concert in Cuba
40 years later, Woodstock a thriving business | Entertainment |
Leaked Radiohead song has fans on alert for new EP | Entertainment |
Arrest warrant issued for Bobby Brown
Arrest warrant issued for Bobby Brown | Entertainment |
Investor alleges she was Madoff's 20-year mistress
Kelly Clarkson and LeBron James in "get schooled"
Kelly Clarkson and LeBron James in get schooled | Entertainment |
MC Hammer plans companion piece for 1990 hit album | Entertainment |
Hollywood sees win in China WTO case as first step | Entertainment |
Miami rapper Pitbull ready for Rebelution | Entertainment |
U.S. senator meets Suu Kyi, Myanmar junta leader | International |
Islamist leader among 22 killed in Gaza fighting
Pre-vote bomb at Kabul NATO base kills seven Afghans
Hamas hits Qaeda allies in Gaza, over 20 dead | International |
Iran detainees tortured, beaten to death: Karroubi
Islamist leader among 24 killed in Gaza fighting
Blast at NATO base in Kabul, three dead: official
Ransom demand: lost ship has shades of le Carre | International |
Chavez visits Fidel Castro for 83rd birthday | International |
Iran's leader appoints new judiciary chief: report | International |
South Korea's Lee seeks arms cut deal with North | International |
Madagascar's Rajoelina says only he can lead transition | International |
Colombia, US finalize deal on military bases
US senator meets Myanmar's democracy leader
Obama touts health care reform
Report says Bollywood icon detained at US airport
Catholic leaders urge Sri Lankan Tamils' release
Thai elephant hurt by mine gets artificial leg
Campaign tactics back as Obama presses health care
Steel workers in China protest plant purchase
Bowing to typhoon anger, Taiwan leader says sorry
AP NewsAlert
Facebook to face off with new Web rivals | Technology |
US senator meets Myanmar ruler, Suu Kyi
U.S. senator meets Suu Kyi, Myanmar junta leader
7 die, 91 wounded in blast near NATO HQ in Kabul
Parched parts of California scorched by wildfires
Philippines to ramp up fight against militants
S.Korean president calls for arms talks with North
Pakistan cuts policy rate by 100 bps to 13 pct
China to start cutting carbon emissions in 2050: FT
Bollywood star held in U.S. airport, fans outraged | Entertainment |
40 years later, Woodstock a thriving business
Sex and blood and MozartDon Giovanni
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph		BlogMeter 1.01