Originally posted on sciy.org by Rich Carlson on Thu 13 Aug 2009 03:44 PM PDT
Les Paul Dies
By JON PARELES
Richard Drew/Associated Press
Les Paul in 2004.
Update | 5:44 p.m. Les Paul, the virtuoso guitarist and inventor whose solid-body electric guitar and recording studio innovations changed the course of 20th-century popular music, died Thursday in White Plains. He was 94.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, Gibson Guitar announced.
Mr. Paul was a remarkable musician as well as a tireless tinkerer. He played guitar with leading prewar jazz and pop musicians from Louis Armstrong to Bing Crosby. In the 1930s he began experimenting with guitar amplification, and by 1941 he had built what was probably the first solid-body electric guitar, although there are other claimants. With his electric guitar and the vocals of his wife, Mary Ford, he used overdubbing, multitrack recording and new electronic effects to create a string of hits in the 1950s.
Mr. Paul’s style encompassed the twang of country music, the harmonic richness of jazz and, later, the bite of rock ’n’ roll. For all his technological impact, though, he remained a down-home performer whose main goal, he often said, was to make people happy.
Compositions
Les Paul's compositions include "Walkin' and Whistlin' Blues", "Danger, Men at Work", "Waitin' So Long", "Golden Sands", "Dance Hall Blues", "Big Eyed Gal", "Deep in the Blues", "Mammy's Boogie", "Hip-Billy Boogie", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "Come Back to Me", "Cowpokin'", "Les's Country Blues", "Ham 'N' Grits", "Song in Blue", "Magic Melody", "Pacific Breeze", "All I Need is You", "Hawaiian Charms", "Take a Warning", "Mountain Railroad", "Move Along, Baby (Don't Waste My Time)", and "Suspicion", a song he composed in 1948, which was recorded by Tex Williams, Jo Stafford, and the Ray Noble Orchestra. "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" was published in 1953 with lyrics by Paddy Roberts and Marcel Stellman and with music composed by Les Paul.
Composer Richard Stein (1909-1992) sued Les Paul for plagiarism, charging that Les Paul's "Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgălăi" (Romanian for "Sledge with Bells"). A 2000 cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group Vaya Con Dios that credited Les Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (UCMR–ADA).[29]
[edit]Discography
[edit]Albums
Feedback (1944) - compilation
Les Paul Trio (1946) - compilation
Hawaiian Paradise (1949)
The Hit Makers! (1950)
The New Sound (1950)
Les Paul's New Sound, Volume 2 (1951)
Bye Bye Blues! (1952)
Gallopin' Guitars (1952) - compilation
Les and Mary (1955)
Time to Dream (1957)
Lover's Luau (1959)
The Hits of Les and Mary (1960) - compilation
Bouquet of Roses (1962)
Warm and Wonderful (1962)
Swingin' South (1963)
Fabulous Les Paul and Mary Ford (1965)
Les Paul Now! (1968)
Guitar Tapestry
Lover
The Guitar Artistry of Les Paul (1971)
The World is Still Waiting for the Sunrise (1974) - compilation
The Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford (1974) - compilation
Chester and Lester (1976) - with Chet Atkins
Guitar Monsters (1977) - with Chet Atkins
Les Paul and Mary Ford (1978) - compilation
Multi Trackin' (1979)
All-Time Greatest Hits (1983) - compilation
The Very Best of Les Paul with Mary Ford (1983) - compilation
Tiger Rag (1984) - compilation
Famille Nombreuse (1992) - compilation
The World Is Waiting (1992) - compilation
The Best of the Capitol Masters: Selections From "The Legend and the Legacy" Box Set (1992) - compilation
All-Time Greatest Hits (1992) - compilation
Their All-Time Greatest Hits (1995) - compilation
Les Paul: The Legend and the Legacy (1996; a four-CD box set chronicling his years with Capitol Records)
16 Most Requested Songs (1996) - compilation
The Complete Decca Trios—Plus (1936-1947) (1997) - compilation
California Melodies (2003)
Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played (2005)
Les Paul And Friends: A Tribute To A Legend (2008)
[edit]Singles
"It's Been a Long, Long Time" - Bing Crosby & The Les Paul Trio (1945)
"Rumors Are Flying" - Andrews Sisters & Les Paul (1946)
"Lover (When You're Near Me)" (1948)
"Brazil" (1948)
"What Is This Thing Called Love?" (1948)
"Nola" (1950)
"Goofus" (1950)
"Little Rock 69 Getaway" (1950/1951)
"Tennessee Waltz" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1950/1951)
"Mockingbird Hill" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)
"How High The Moon" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)
"I Wish I Had Never Seen Sunshine" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)
"The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)
"Just One More Chance" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1951)
"Jazz Me Blues" (1951)
"Josephine" (1951)
"Whispering" (1951)
"Jingle Bells" (1951)
"Tiger Rag" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"Carioca" (1952)
"In the Good Old Summertime" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"Smoke Rings" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"Meet Mister Callaghan" (1952)
"Take Me In Your Arms And Hold Me" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"Lady of Spain" (1952)
"My Baby's Coming Home" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1952)
"Bye Bye Blues" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
"I'm Sitting On Top Of The World" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
"Sleep" (Fred Waring's theme song) (1953)
"Vaya Con Dios" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
"Johnny (Is The Boy For Me)" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
"Don'cha Hear Them Bells" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1953)
"The Kangaroo" (1953)
"I Really Don't Want To Know" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)
"I'm A Fool To Care" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)
"Whither Thou Goest" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)
"Mandolino" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1954)
"Hummingbird" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)
"Amukiriki (The Lord Willing)" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)
"Magic Melody" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1955)
"Texas Lady" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)
"Moritat" (Theme from "Three Penny Opera") (1956)
"Nuevo Laredo" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1956)
"Cinco Robles (Five Oaks)" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1957)
"Put A Ring On My Finger" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1958)
"Jura (I Swear I Love You)" - Les Paul & Mary Ford (1961)
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