RIP Les Paul
You may not know who Les Paul is but if you like music you have heard his influence.
When I was a kid I played the guitar and the first real guitar I had was a Gibson Les Paul. My dad bought it for me because “It’s a good quality guitar that you will have for years and years”. At the time I didn’t realize that Les Paul was an actual person I thought it was just a brand name. As I started playing more seriously I quickly came to realize that he was in fact a person and a very talented, creative, and ingenious one at that.
A musician that was constantly tinkering with things I soon came to realize he was a man after my own heart. The Chicago Tribune had a nice piece on him that does a good job of chronicling his life. You can read it by clicking here.
As far as that first guitar goes I still have it. It unfortunately became unplayable after an accident at a band practice many years ago. I have never been able to get rid of it however because I always think one day I will get if fixed.
This summer when Ryan asked for a guitar for his graduation I let him pick out the guitar he wanted and as you may have guessed he picked a Les Paul as well.
My old Les Paul
Ryan's Les Paul