U2 GUITARIST The Edge has paid tribute to Les Paul, the musician who has been credited with inventing and then popularising the electric guitar. Paul died at the age of 94 at his home in New York on Thursday.
In the late 1940s he pioneered the Log, the prototype that would become the solid body electric guitar that led to the rock and roll sound. The first “Gibson Les Paul” was produced in 1952 and the make remains one of the most popular and iconic in music.
Two years ago, The Edge donated his favourite guitar, a cream Les Paul Custom, to an auction to benefit Music Rising, the charity set up to help musicians in New Orleans whose musical instruments were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It fetched $240,000 (€170,000).
The Edge said: “His legacy as a musician and inventor will live on and his influence on rock and roll will never be forgotten.”
He said Les Paul’s virtuosity as a musician and his craft as a guitar-maker “disproves the cliche that you can only be famous for one thing”.
Among the other musicians paying tribute to Les Paul were former Guns N’ Roses lead guitarist Slash, who has his own version of the familiar sunburst Gibson Les Paul.
“Les Paul was a shining example of how full one’s life can be. He was so vibrant and full of positive energy. I’m honoured and humbled to have known and played with him over the years, he was an exceptionally brilliant man.”
