He was born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915.
By Adam Bernstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 13, 2009; 1:58 PMLes Paul, 94, a Grammy Award-winning guitar virtuoso and inventor who helped bring his instrument, typically assigned to chug along rhythmically and compliantly, to the forefront of jazz and rock-and-roll performance, died today at a hospital in White Plains, N.Y. He had pneumonia.
Mr. Paul first came to prominence for his fast and flashy jazz-guitar style. In the 1940s and early 1950s, he and singer Mary Ford, his wife, had hits with "How High the Moon," "The Tennessee Waltz," "Vaya con Dios" and "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise."
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Back in my Navy boot camp days Les Paul & Mary Ford were one of my fav musical acts to listen to. We only got to listen to the radio (no TV) for a short time each evening and Les Paul was riding high in the charts during those days.
With his inventions of the electric guitar and sound recording techniques he lead the way into the music that we know today.
R.I.P. Les Paul.
