Tributes for guitar legend Les Paul; dead at 94

AP - By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY

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Musicians worldwide are paying tribute to Les Paul, the music icon whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock 'n' roll.

The guitar virtuoso who died Thursday at age 94 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 died in suburban White Plains of complications from pneumonia. He was remembered as 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.