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Milwaukee celebrates the world of Les Paul.
By Steve Aust
For those under the age of 50, Les Paul is almost a mystical, yet largely unknown cultural figure, similar to revered pinstriper Von Dutch. Music aficionados know that he played a central role in the electric guitar’s evolution, but he’s often grossly underrated for his musical contributions.
However, Paul hasn’t been forgotten in his native Wisconsin. Milwaukee’s Discovery World hired Poblocki (West Allis, WI) to fabricate a 300-sq.-ft., mechanical sign, as well as several other complementary environment graphics for the exhibit, which will continue until the end of the year.
Major moments
Born Lester William Polfuss on June 9, 1915, in Waukesha, an outlying Milwaukee suburb, Paul began playing the harmonica at the age of eight. After beginning his professional musical career at age 17, he played with a variety of jazz and country ensembles. He played with Nat King Cole at the inaugural Jazz at the Los Angeles Philharmonic concert in 1944, and teamed with Bing Crosby, the Andrews Sisters and his wife, Mary Ford, to record numerous pop-chart hits.
Ultimately, however, Paul cemented his greatest musical legacy through experimentation. Seeking to improve upon the crude electric guitars available in the 1930s, Paul began experimenting with his own version. One of his more novel, and famous, attempts was “the Log,” which entailed a 4 x 4 fence post with a bridge, neck and pickup wedged into an Epiphone hollow-body guitar. The Gibson Guitar Co. used his template to develop the original Gibson Les Paul guitar, and he maintained a long-term relationship with the company.
Later, he pioneered multi-track recording. Initially, he etched acetate discs and layered multiple recordings onto the master. But, the development of magnetic tape and reel-to-reel playback exponentially broadened recording possibilities. Bing Crosby, seeing the potential performance and efficiency of reel-to-reel recording, subsidized the production of an Ampex Model 300, the first commercially produced reel-to-reel recorder, and gave one to Paul. Using this machine, Paul honed multi-track recording and such sound effects as echoes and flanging. These techniques enhanced the dozens of Top 40 recordings he and Ford produced.
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