Yesterday the 95-th year of life died inventor Les Paul electric guitar.
Leaves legend - it is always an occasion for mourning. When the legend is tightly woven into the line of life for many generations, linen era, is an occasion to think about. Surprisingly, the death of Paul Woods seemingly does not fall under any one of these cases. Yes, his name on the ear for more than half a century, but only as a common noun. Himself a musician widespread popularity never used, in the sense that music lovers all over the world do not suffer from insomnia in anticipation of his concerts and new albums, not listened to his every word.
At the same time overestimate the importance of this man for modern music, and that already there, culture in general, quite difficult.
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Children with passion who was born in Leicester, William Polsfussa was radio. Guitar, he picked up at an early age, but not proved himself a virtuoso - if little boys in the beginning of the last century played the guitar. Her career began on radio Chicago and St. Louis as a singer-entertainer. Given the nature of work involving the stylistic diversity, the Forest willy-nilly had to sing country music, and blues, and God knows what. In early 1930 he was in his first band - «Pensilvanians» Fred Waring.
Now about that no one remembers, and hardly one in a hundred guitarists name the year when the world heard the instrument, which dnes they get their daily bread.
So, in 1941, thanks apparently to his childhood passion, Les Paul independently collected the first real electric guitar.
However, wide dissemination of tools and other revolutionary movements, many of which are now already want to dismiss, there still remained a dozen years. During these years, Wood began a solo career and played on recordings of Bing Crosby, who gave him first in his life record apparatus. At the same time Paul's career nearly cut short due to a traffic accident in 1948. His right arm was severely damaged, but the musician demanded from her doctors to grow together so that he could continue to play the guitar.
Only in the early 1950's now a musical giant Gibson together with Les Paul electric guitar developed.
About this, as we know it now. This tool and received the name Les Paul and his well-known form. It was then that is a tool without which there would be no rock 'n' roll, in any case, such as it was. Neither Paul McCartney or The Edge of U2 (both for many years enjoyed Les Paul), no ... but in general none of those whom we know and love. That is talent, obviously, always break through, but perhaps today we would have had to deal with pianist Slash and, say, a violinist McCartney.
Despite the recognition of professional fame invented instrument Forest brought about the same amount of money received for their invention of a machine Mikhail Kalashnikov.
Paul continued to experiment with sound, one of the first to use the records of the overlay and the echo, but the phenomenal, to be honest, the achievements still become the property of the whole world, without making the world a star of their author.
In his notes, as solo and as part of an educated wife Iris Summers (who coined the nickname Paul Mary Ford), the duo, he followed the traditional blues and country, without going into the wilds of the avant-garde and maintaining accessible, but without excessive flirting with pop culture .
Last album Forests as a musician «American Made World Played» was released in 2005. For him, he is likely to set merit, won a Grammy.
In recent years, Les Paul several times a week, appeared in the New York club «iridium Jazz Club». He died yesterday, August 13, at New York Hospital from complications of pneumonia. He was 94.
Of course, he lived a long and, without doubt, a decent life.
Perhaps one of the most decent, that can afford a musician. Coeval century, he saw how his offspring keeps on growing stronger, overgrown with new opportunities. When a person goes, it is always sad, but the tragedy in the case of Woods, Paul said was inappropriate. However, the fact remains: this man, without whom there would be a lion's share of all modern music, died. His death will not cause changes in the history of culture, on which he had long ceased to influence, then everything will just go on without him, although the name will be repeated for a long time. Just to remember to whom it belonged in reality.
http://www.gazeta.ru/culture/2009/08/14/a_3236280.shtml