Biography
Paul, born Lester William Polsfuss (the last name simplified later by his mother to Polfus) in Waukesha, Wisconsin, first became interested in music at the age of eight, when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning to play the banjo, Paul began to play the guitar. By 13, Paul was performing semi-professionally as a country-music guitarist. At the age of 17, Paul played with Rube Tronson's Cowboys. Soon after, he dropped out of high school to join Wolverton's Radio Band in St. Louis, Missouri on KMOX.
In the 1930s, Paul worked in Chicago, Illinois in radio, where he performed jazz music. Paul's first two records were released in 1936. One album was credited to Rhubarb Red, Paul's hillbilly alter ego, and the other was in the backing band for blues artist Georgia White.
Les Paul's 'The Log', one of the first solidbody electric guitars.Paul was unsatisfied by the electric guitars that were sold in the mid 1930s and began experimenting with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created The Log which was nothing more than a length of common "4 by 4" fence post with bridge, guitar neck, and pickup attached. For appearances he attached the body of an Epiphone jazz guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems - feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body.
In 1938, Paul moved to New York and landed a featured spot with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians radio show. Paul moved to Hollywood in 1943, where he formed a new trio. As a last-minute replacement for Oscar Moore, Paul played with Nat King Cole and other artists in the inaugural Jazz at the Philharmonic concert in Los Angeles on July 2, 1944. Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby and artists like the Andrews Sisters, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own in the late 1940s.
In 1941, Paul designed and built one of the first solid-body electric guitars (though Leo Fender also independently invented his own solid-body electric guitar around the same time, and Adolph Rickenbacker had marketed a solid-body guitar in the 30s). Gibson Guitar Corporation designed a guitar incorporating Paul's suggestions in the early fifties, and presented it to him to try. He was impressed enough to sign a contract for what became the "Les Paul" model (originally only in a "gold top" version), and agreed never to be seen playing in public, or photographed with, anything other than a Gibson guitar. That persisted until 1961, when Gibson changed the design without Paul's knowledge. He said he first saw the "new" Gibson Les Paul in a music store window, and disliked it. Though contract required him to pose with the guitar, he said it was not "his" instrument, and asked Gibson to remove his name from the headstock. Gibson renamed the guitar the " SG", and it also became one of the company's best sellers. Later, Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson, and endorses the instrument even today (though his personal Gibson Les Pauls are much modified by him - Paul always uses his own self-wound pickups on his guitars). To this day, the Gibson Les Paul guitar is used all over the world, both by novice and professional guitarists.
In 1947, Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. This was the first time that multi-tracking had been used in a recording. Amazingly, these recordings were made, not with magnetic tape, but with wax disks. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multi-track recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. There is no record of how few 'takes' were needed before he was satisfied with one layer and moved onto the next.
Paul even built his own wax-cutter assembly, based on auto parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. Even in these early days, he used the wax disk setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs. When he later began using magnetic tape, the major change was that he could take his recording rig on tour with him, even making episodes for his 15-minute radio show in his hotel room.
Paul was injured in a near-fatal automobile accident in January 1948 in Oklahoma, which shattered his right arm and elbow. Paul spent a year and a half recovering. Paul instructed the surgeons to set his arm at an angle that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar.
In the early 1950s, Paul made a number of revolutionary recordings with wife, Mary Ford. These records were unique for their heavy use of overdubbing, which was technically impossible before Paul's invention of multitrack recording. Paul's multitracking system was made possible by the introduction of reel-to-reel audio tape recording, developed by Jack Mullin and the Ampex company in the late 1940s, with the backing of radio, film and recording star Bing Crosby.
Crosby gave Les Paul what was only the second of the now-famous Ampex Model 200 recorder, which was the world's first commercially-produced reel-to-reel tape recorder. Using this machine, Paul developed his tape multitrack system by adding an additional recording head and extra circuitry, allowing multiple tracks to be recorded separately and asynchronously on the same tape. Paul's invention was quickly developed by Ampex into commercially-produced two-track and three-track recorders, and these machines were the backbone of the professional recording studio, radio and TV industry in the 1950s and early 1960s.
In 1954 Paul, continued to develop this technology, by commissioning Ampex to build the first eight track tape recorder, at his expense. His idea, later known as "Sel-Sync," in which a specially-modified recording head could simultaneously record a new track and play back previously recorded ones, was the core technology for multi-track recording for the next thirty years.
During his early radio shows, Paul introduced the mythical "Les Paulverizer" device, which was supposed to multiply anything fed into it, like a guitar sound or a voice. This even became the subject of comedy, with Mary Ford multiplying herself and her vacuum cleaner with it so she could finish the housework faster (a typical joke in the pre-feminist era). Later Paul made the myth real for his stage show, using hidden equipment which over the years has become smaller and more visible. Currently he uses a small box attached to his guitar - it is not known how much of the device remains off-stage. He typically lays down one track after another on stage, in-sync, and then plays over the repeating forms he has recorded. With newer digital sound technology, such an effect is available commercially.
In the late 1960s, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to the studio occasionally. He recorded an album Lester and Chester with Chet Atkins. He and Mary Ford (born Iris Colleen Summers) divorced amicably in December 1964, as she could no longer tolerate the itinerant lifestyle their act required of them.
In 1978, Les Paul and Mary Ford were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1983. In 1988, Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck, who said, "I've copied more licks from Les Paul than I'd like to admit." Les Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in May 2005 for his development of the solid-body electric guitar.
As of 2006, At the age of 90, Les Paul won two Grammys at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played. He also performs weekly at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in New York City, despite the arthritis that has stilled all but two of the fingers on his left hand.
Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul
I'm Still In Love With You
Les Paul Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And when you smiled at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
That it was love at sight and
I was right to love you as I do.
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
When you are not around.
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
For I'm so proud of you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
I never knew what they could do.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
You're telling ev'ry one I know
I'm on your mind each place we go
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
I have always placed you far above me.
I just can't imagine that you love me.
And after all is said and done,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
The lyrics of Les Paul’s “I Can’t Believe That You’re in Love With Me” is about the singer’s disbelief that the person he loves actually reciprocates his feelings. Despite being in love with this person from the first time he saw her, the singer never thought that such a person could ever love him back. He notes that this person’s blue eyes and kisses have made him feel things he never thought he could. He wonders why someone so special would choose to love him, which fills him with immense pride and gratitude. He notes that when this person is not around, everything seems to go wrong, and he feels blue every day.
The chorus of the song, “I can’t believe that you’re in love with me”, is repeated throughout the song, emphasizing the singer’s disbelief that this person he’s in love with, who he sees as being so much better than him, would actually return his feelings. It’s a song that explores the themes of love, humility, gratitude, and disbelief.
The lyrics are simple yet impactful, and it’s a testament to Les Paul’s exceptional guitar-playing skills that the music is just as captivating as the lyrics. The song is a classic, and it depicts the euphoria of being in love and the disbelief that comes with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday you came my way,
You appeared before me yesterday,
And when you smiled at me,
When you expressed happiness at me,
In my heart I felt a thrill you see,
I was excited in my heart
That it was love at sight and
I realized that I fell in love with you at first sight
I was right to love you as I do.
It was good for me to love you the way I do
Still I never dreamed that you could love me too.
However, I never expected that you would also love me
Your eyes of blue, your kisses too,
Your blue eyes and kisses
I never knew what they could do.
I did not know the effect they could have on me
You're telling ev'ry one I know
You are informing everyone I am acquainted with
I'm on your mind each place we go
I am on your mind wherever we happen to be
They can't believe that you're in love with me.
They find it hard to believe that you love me
I have always placed you far above me.
I have always considered you better than me
I just can't imagine that you love me.
I cannot fathom that you love me
And after all is said and done,
After considering everything,
To think that I'm the lucky one.
I consider myself fortunate
I can't believe that you're in love with me.
I cannot comprehend that you love me
Skies are gray. I'm blue each day
The skies are gloomy, and I am sad each day
When you are not around.
When you are not present
Ev'ry thing goes wrong, my dear I've found
Everything goes wrong, as I have discovered
But when you're by my side I fill with pride
However, when you are with me, I feel proud
For I'm so proud of you
Since I am so proud of you
It all seems too good to me to all be true
It appears too good to be factual
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: CLARENCE GASKILL, JIMMY MC HUGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sophie Milton
@Miguel Barranco Membrives
?? You mean faster, I think.
Apparently to you that means "better"
I listened to Lizzy with Sykes and was stunned by his speed and precision - but it also did not otherwise move me. It seemed technical brilliance without soul.
Brian Robertson is a far better guitarist because he plays with feeling. He can play fast when needed but most of the time chooses not to, instead playing with emotion, creating melody and serving the song.
Scott Gorham is also a great guitarist. His guitar solos are very melodic and always serve the song.
The combination of Robertson and Gorham was wonderful and without doubt Lizzy's best line-up.
Eric Bell is a great guitarist. He always serves the song and has a very unique approach and phrasing.
His playing on the early Lizzy albums and particularly Vagabonds is truly stellar.
Listen to the delicay of his touch and phrasing on Slow Blues. Listen to the superb melodic content of the work on Little Girl In Bloom.
That trio sparking off one another is an awesome demonstration of what a good band can do - however it was a more niche flavour of rock and very unlikely to ever have the huge widespread appeal that the later band had.
Shame ......Eric Bell is a unique and distinctive player.
Gary Moore is one of those guitarist who frustrate me - he could and did play some wonderful guitar.
His solo on Still In Love was absolutely classic and one of his best, demonstrating that he does have the knowledge, taste and ability to do that.
- but watch a GM concert and what he does for at least 95% the time is play ultra fast and flashy which is pretty much as emotionally empty and meaningless as when any Joe Soap does it.
Playing fast is a mere physical exercise and given the effort almost anyone can do it. Like any other physical ability all it takes is a lot of repetitive exercise so it is within reach of all able bodied people.
But all that physical practice does is give you the motor-skills to connect the musical world within yourself to get out into the outside world.
Unfortunately, a great many guitarists achieve that level of ability but then don't actually have anything to say that is worth hearing, so when it comes time to solo they don't really serve the song or add anything to the emotional statement. Instead they just give you a couple of minutes demonstration of how goddam fast they can play.
They may also use multiple unusual scales or modes but it doesn't really make a bit of difference because the hailstorm of notes is coming at you so fast that there is no time for the nuances of the different scales to be apparent.
"Tapping" is another area I have serious reservations about.
It especially appeals to those people who are already playing too fast! :-D
Like speed itself, used sparingly as a spice or a brief flavour it can be great. Jeff Beck uses it that way sometimes.
But tapping is another of those things which are engaging for about the first 10 seconds. It rapidly becomes tedious not least because by the very nature of it's technique it is structured on Repetition.
There are a handful of players who have the taste and restraint to use it well.
Unfortunately there are about a million who have mastered the mechanics of doing it but have not cracked the far greater challenge of how to use it in an interesting musical context.
It's like watching a weight-lifter. I go because "they say this guy can lift half a ton"
So I watch him do it the first time and go "wow, he really can do it."
But then it's over - I do not stay to watch him do it again because although it's a remarkable feat it is simply boring.
As such I never learned to tap or even tried. The amount of effort and number of hours of grinding practice needed to master it were not worth it for the amount of times I would use it in any musical context.
If it was something I could learn to do well in a couple of afternoons practice I would learn it, a useful trick to drop in for a few seconds as a flavour.
But I have met and seen hundreds of guitarists who can play "Eruption" flawlessly but can't play rhythm - which is what you do for about 98% of the time - can't invent and play a slow melodic solo, can't create musical hooks and do not serve the song or have the ability really to do so.
EVH brought Tapping to the wider world and is remembered especially for that.
But Eddie was a really, REALLY good guitarist on every other level. For instance he was a superb rhythm player.
Unfortunately a lot of wannabe guitarists did not go "I'll study EVH rhythm guitar technique" or "I'll study EVH's wonderfully melodic solo creation."
They just learned to play Eruption ...... and now they want to play it to you all night, in every song.
- Notice how in the "Still in Love" solos there is a LOT of space and what that does is leave the flavour of the last musical statement hanging in the air to be savoured.
There is no time for that to happen if the guy is playing 800 notes per minute.
(I'm a guitarist and not at all good but it does mean that I have some insight into how complex a certain chord sequence is to solo over or how difficult a certain thing is to execute.
But simply as a human being, I know whether or not a piece of music has moved me :-) )
gtrsuite
Gary Moore is one of my all-time favorite guitarists. Some of the best music that a Les Paul could oooze out- But Brian Robertson was my favorite Thin Lizzy guitarist. The Scott Gorham/Brian Robertson duo was second to none.
Pete Young
@Gerry Diamond Right on the money.
Pete Young
@Micael Håkans No they all had there”space and time”and are equally important.
redsky106
Totally agree ,,,,
Ian Marsden
@Mateus Barboza An opinion bro!
Gerry Diamond
Hard to separate between Gorham and Robertson in terms of who was best. Together they were an incredible duo and brought out the best in each other, which for me is much more important.
Harold-Sweat-Head
Robbo always knew when to leave gaps and let the music breathe. Wonderful player. Probably Lizzy's best.
Pete Young
@Sophie Milton Gary Moore never played”fast”if you compare to those speed freaks but of course it’s fast compared to Robbo.Just listen to Black Rose there’s nothing fast on there just amazing playing from both Gary&Scott.
Luis Mangiaterra
@Sophie Milton your absolutely right, that's why everybody and their grandma are playing fast nowadays.
But none of it sounds good.
Miguel Barranco Membrives
@Harold-Sweat-Head I supposed they represent the two types of guitarrist: the feeling one a d the fast, I like Robbo because the solos are incredible, but Sykes is technicallly superior and he can play melodically too, for example the solos in Thunder and Lighting are great. I love Thin Lizzy, those songs were amazing.