Les Paul: “The Wizard of Waukesha,” Master of Guitar and Invention part 2

The first tangible result of Paul’s experimentation with guitar-making was a contraption he called “The Log,” constructed from a four-by-four fence post with a bridge, guitar neck and pickup attachment. To improve the aesthetics of the instrument, he added an Epiphone jazz guitar body on either side of the plank. The addition of the jazz guitar eliminated the feedback, preventing the acoustic body from resonating too much with the amplifier, and allowed the sound of the strings to be sustained and generated through the guitar body.

When 1937 arrived, Paul had made his name as a brilliant jazz guitarist with a successful jazz trio. Led by his love for jazz, he he moved to New York to play a featured guitar spot with Fred Waring’s Pennsylvanians, giving his playing a suddenly national audience. Thanks in part to his national exposure via radio broadcasts, many young musicians started to take to his style. Greatly influenced by the stylings of Django Reinhardt in the beginning, he eventually established his own style that was fluid and swinging. Incorporating rapid runs, repeated and fluttering single notes and a very chunky rhythm, he also added stylish country western licks and tongue-in-cheek effects. His rather saucy style was not always appreciated by critics, but the purpose of music for Paul had always been to have a good time and not to impress others in the music community. Despite not being able to read music, he had an unrivaled sense of musical structure and an incredibly astute ear, and could arrange songs in his head on the spot during recording sessions. There has always been a jazz twinge to his work, and he implemented rapid lead solo line and bent blues notes even into the pop songs he recorded. Similarly, his influence in the jazz community has been profound, and important jazz guitarists, including George Benson, Stanley Jordan and Pat Martino have cited him as a major influence for them and an innovator in the field in general.

In 1941, Paul left his New York job shortly after almost being electrocuted during a session in his Queens basement studio. While recovering from this accident, he spent time designing and building one of the first solid-body electric guitars (the other being one built by Leo Fender during the same time), and after a long period of recovery during which he played a variety of radio spots, he moved to Hollywood in 1943. His jazz trio gained local attention, recording several pieces for MacGregor, and he was asked to play in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in L.A. on July 2, 1944 as a replacement for Oscar Moore, who was unable to attend. This concert is still considered by most to be one of the greatest jazz guitar performance in music history, featuring work with Nat Cole and other memorable pieces. It was during this time that Paul also connected with Bing Crosby, who had featured his trio on his radio show. Crosby sponsored his recording endeavors and recorded six different tracks with him, including a 1945 hit “It’s Been a Long, Long Time.” On his own, Paul continued to record in every imaginable style, exploring the depths of his versatility with jazz, country and even Hawaiian tracks of music.

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