Les Paul, 90, Breaks the Record for Oldest Artist Ever to Debut on Billboard's Top 200!

His new all star CD, 'Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played', released on August 30 by Capitol/EMI, Debuted at #152 in the U.S., #28 in Austria, #186 in Canada, and #38 in Germany.





Paul's First New Album Since His 1978 Grammy-Winner Features Collaborative Tracks With Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Frampton, Billy Gibbons, Buddy Guy, Beth Hart, Steve Miller, Keith Richards, Johnny Rzeznik, Richie Sambora, Neal Schon, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Sting, Joss Stone, and More.

From Eric Clapton to Joss Stone, Keith Richards to Sting, the artists joining Paul on the rock-charged album share one clear common bond: Les Paul is one of their most respected and beloved mentors. With advanced arthritis limiting his own ability to shred like the younger guns, and always more of a melodic pluck-and-flutter player himself, Paul was happy to set loose his rock & roll descendents on the leads and solos before adding his own signature riffs, trills and staccato exclamations to the arrangements.

"It has to be said, we must all own up that without Les Paul, generations of flash little punks like us would be in jail or cleaning toilets. This man, by his genius, made the road that we still travel today. I don't know how he did it, but I'm so grateful he did”, said Keith Richards, as quoted in the "Les Paul & Friends" CD package.
Capitol/EMI Music Catalog Marketing has joined with other Les Paul admirers to honor Les Paul throughout his 90th year with new product releases, honors and awards, including new CD releases, two new books, and a host of special events fit for the father of the electric guitar.

Produced by Bob Cutarella and Fran Cathcart, "Les Paul & Friends" is an all-star collaborative CD, earning high praise from critics around the world. Rolling Stone's David Fricke summarized the CD, Paul's first straight-ahead rock album, as "Classic rock and R&B songs by Les Paul with a hot licks army of disciples."

Les Paul, born June 9, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is not just one of the world's finest guitarists of all time, but is also a Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer, five-time Grammy Award winner, the inventor of the solid body electric guitar, and the pioneer of numerous enduring studio techniques, including multi-track recording and the use of reverb. His signature Les Paul line of Gibson guitars debuted in 1952 and quickly grew into a family of four models, the Junior, Special, Standard and Custom, all of which became Gibson classics. Gibson's Les Paul guitars, including new custom models from Jimmy Page, Neal Schon and Joe Perry, are universally hailed as the best and are the top choice for many of the world's premier players.

Les Paul continues to play weekly shows at New York's Iridium Jazz Club, with 8 pm and 10 pm sets every Monday evening. Paul is often joined onstage by friends, from world-known musicians to aspiring players who arrive toting their own Les Paul guitars.

One of the most important figures in the development of the electric guitar and studio recording techniques. Les Paul worked as a professional musician from his late teens, and was leading his own trio in New York City by the age of 21. After serving with Armed Forces Radio in World War Two, he became a staff musician with NBC radio in Los Angeles.
His experimentation with guitars became a frenzy in the late 1940s, building the first solid-body electric guitar in 1946 and releasing a six-way overdub, "Lover," which became a hit for Capitol, as did its flip side, "Brazil." Les Paul's sound was like nothing before it: fast, multi-layered, and deep.

He married the singer Mary Ford (born Colleen Somerset) in 1949, and together they recorded some of the biggest hits of the 1950s: "How High the Moon," "Vaya con Dios," "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise," and "Mockin' Bird Hill." He overdubbed both his guitar work and her vocals, working almost exclusively in his home studio, using an 8-track tape deck he designed and built himself.

Paul and Ford divorced in 1963, and he retired from recording except for an occasional appearance. He cut a solo (overdub) album for London, "Les Paul Now," in 1968, and a collaboration with Chet Atkins in 1976. He returned to live work in 1984, appearing with a trio in New York City jazz clubs.

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[Edited 12/22/05 1:02am]

Nice one CHICO-sauve.


From the instrument...



...Gibson Les Paul


To the technology...



...Multi-track recording.



Les Paul made many musical things possible that are simply taken for granted today...



...Congrats LP.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

What model is he using? It's not like anything I've seen. Looks like it has a Bigsby on it?
[Edited 12/22/05 12:39pm]

Impressive. Several weeks back, he was chosen as the ABC World News Tonight as the person of the week.

andyman91 said:

It looks like a variation of the Les Paul "Recording" model...



...that was introduced in 1971.



Don't think it sold that well.



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

He could play anything and he plays the ugliest damn thing that ever had his name on it!

andyman91 said:

You'll notice that you've never seen anyone else play one of these things.

Technically, it had some interesting things going for it.
As you noted though, the thing was anything but sexy looking.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

And the body looks totally flat, like the cheap Studio model, I think.

But then Brian May's guitar is ugly, too, and I'm sure he loves it just about as much as anyone has ever loved a guitar.

andyman91 said:

Brian's Red Special is to be worshiped upon

theAudience said:

just trying to teach you a little something.

Clapton does Somebody Ease My Troublin' Mind and Jeff Beck does Good News, both with Sam Cooke on the vocal track.
[Edited 12/22/05 21:35pm]

Stax said:

sam cooke??
so do u like the album???

CHIC0 said:

I have not heard the whole disc. I have heard the Clapton/Cooke track, however, and I like it.