Les Paul
The player, designer, and all-around master of the electric guitar on the music and musicians he's k
By Don Waller
Beyond building the prototype for the solid-body electric guitar that bears his name - and for which he still receives royalties - Les Paul invented over-dubbing, multi-track recording, and a dozen other technical innovations that revolutionized the music industry.
All this - as well as his journeys from Waukesha, Wisconsin to Hollywood, from country to jazz, from sideman to instrumental solo star to pop hitmaker with then-wife/vocalist-guitarist Mary Ford - was recently detailed in a 90-minute documentary, Les Paul: Chasing Sound! that premiered as part of the American Masters series last month on PBS.
The DVD version of this doc - featuring an additional 90-minutes' worth of vintage performance clips, side-splitting interviews with the titular subject, and footage of Paul picking live alongside everyone from Tony Bennett and Keith Richards to Merle Haggard and a fistful of fretgrinders more - is set to arrive in-stores via Koch Vision on August 14. At 92-years young, Paul still plays two sets every Monday night at the jazz club Iridium in New York City.
-Don Waller
CityBeat: While the solid-body guitar put you in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, you hold quite a few other patents. Is there anything you wish you would've thought of?
Les Paul: Well, I'm still thinking of - and working on - a better hearing aid. It's one thing to hear another voice - if you're lucky - from across the room. It's another thing to hear one person that you're speaking to in a crowded room. And it's a bigger thing to put a Stradivarius under your chin and hear that properly. That's an awful lot to put in your ear. So I'm working with several different companies and it's coming along good.
Who's the best musician you ever worked with?
Oh, there's so many. In different categories. Art Tatum was just awesome. Chu Berry, Coleman Hawkins, Dizzy Gillespie. It just goes on and on.
But the guy I learned the most from was a gravedigger named Dean Hewitt who used to come down to the club in New York and play piano with us. And the fascinating thing about him was he didn't know where C or D was or anything else. All he knew was that if you put your thumb on the first note, then he'd play the melody and the chord that followed right after that. He played what he heard in his head. And what I learned from him was wherever you lay your hand, you could just go from there - doesn't matter what key you're in.
So who's the best singer you ever worked with?
I think Mary [Ford]. Because you could tell her what to do and she'd do it. But that might not apply to Ella Fitzgerald, who's a tremendous singer.
How has your playing evolved over the years?
Well, I tipped a car over [in 1948] and wound up with an elbow that they finally hinged together so it's in a certain position and I can't move it any other way. That not only gave me a couple years in the hospital, it gave me time to think about all the things I wanted to change about my playing, but were too much of a habit. But when you have that much time to think about it, you can make those changes.
Then when the arthritis became serious and all of a sudden I find that the only thing I can use is my thumb, I had to learn to play all over again. And that's where people like Count Basie come in. I was watching him sitting there in a wheelchair and he only had one hand on the piano and one note to play - but it was the right note. [Laughs]
Any advice for young players?
Yes. No matter how much they love music, the first thing they should do is find out if they have an ear for it. The second thing is that they know rhythm. If they don't have an ear for music or don't sense rhythm, they're not gonna buy it in a store or pick it up from somebody else. They shouldn't be playing guitar; they should be a plumber. So find out if you qualify.
The next thing is, you'd better roll up your sleeves and work hard. Because - if you live to be 92 - you'll find that the star keeps moving. No matter how good you get, you can be better, and there's no end to how much you can learn and how things can progress, so you've got to practice and practice and practice.
What's your favorite solo you've ever played?
I'm still tryin' to play it. [Laughs]
What did you do during your 1965-76 retirement from performing?
Well, I tried goin' out and getting drunk. [Laughs] That didn't work so good.
And I tried to manage other people. I found the Young Rascals, Jose Feliciano; took 'em to the record companies. But I found that managing meant you were always involved in a lot of personal problems. And I said, "I don't think this is for me." Then Chet Atkins suggested we do a record [the Grammy-winning, recently reissued Chester & Lester] together.
You're renowned for your sense of humor. What's your favorite musician's joke?
I don't have one. I've heard a bunch, but I'm not a jokester. I do humorous things on stage, but usually it's stuff that's made up right there. I learned way back in show business that people get bored when they know what's comin' next. So what I did is make sure the show was rehearsed - and then it would be nothing like it was rehearsed. And it's worked all the way to last Monday 'cause you surprise the people.
For instance, I'll play a song and when it comes to the bridge, I'll put another bridge from a different song in there. I'll do that to see what happens to the other musicians. Most of the audience doesn't know the difference, but the musicians onstage are now chuckling, wondering if I'm going back to the beginning or am I going to continue with this other song? Whatever it is, I'll deviate from it, to make it interesting. I used to do it with Mary all the time. It kept her interested and made her laughter sincere. The public's not always watching you, but if they see the reaction of the other musicians on stage and that you're doing things to surprise them, they know it must've come right off the cuff [laughs], so I do that a lot.
Of all the honors, awards, and accolades, which one means the most?
I appreciate all of 'em, but I don't take 'em seriously. I don't go around tellin' people about 'em. I try to live a normal life. To do that, you don't put the hat on that some of the stars do. Where you've gotta go by eight guards to get through the door for an autograph. Or you're hard to communicate with because you don't associate with the very people who made you.
I've always been one to say, I was just like him growing up, so I'll give him the break I wished I'd have got when I was 12 years old. He may have saved up a couple hundred dollars and come from Nova Scotia or China and all he wants to do is hear me and meet me and play guitar. So I can't ignore him. It's nice to be nice.
Some people can't add two and two. Some people can add two and two and get four. You're one of those people who can add two and two and get 24. How do you do that?
[Laughs] By being persistent. If you have a dream and really believe that this is where it should go, you'll get there - if you work on it. As of six o' clock this morning, I got out of bed, still working on a new idea. And that'll keep you young, I'm sure.
Published: 08/09/2007
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