Guitar Hero Les Paul Honored in Cleveland

A legend, an icon, and one of music's original guitar hero's brings his musicianship, experience and his innovation, the electric guitar to Cleveland on November 15, 2008. A week long celebration starting November 10^th will feature Paul in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's annual American Music Masters series. He is one of the most important inventors and innovators of the 20^th century and among the most recognizable names with anything in the realm of guitars. Some of his other life long innovations have been experiments with guitar effects and multi-track recording which proved him a visionary.

When you think of most 93 year olds, a slow moving walker comes to mind. But Mr. Les Paul is no ordinary 93 year old. This pioneer of electric guitars still performs playing guitar live on a weekly basis. To this day you can still check out Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club on Broadway in New York City despite his arthritis affecting his left hand. Paul is a proof that a major component to the fountain of youth may be music and finding a means to connect with your inner child.

Les Paul is a living tribute to the phrase "If you build it they will come". In 1941, his development of the solid body electric guitar was born from the frustration of the audience not being able to hear him and others play. From then on, the world has cranked up the volume and music and rock-n-roll was revolutionized forever.

Paul was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988 by a grateful Jeff Beck, formerly of the Yardbirds. It's not hard to see the influence Les Paul has had on many of this generation's top guitarists the likes of Slash, Ritchie Sambora and Billy Gibbons who like Paul have been "Chasing Sound" the better part of their lives.

The "Father of the Electric Guitar" is rock royalty and presides over an empire of rich sound. It's hard to imagine any successful rock band without thinking of the great guitarist leading its sound explosion. Paul's legacy has been his foresight to bring music to the masses and be heard. And heard he and others have been, loud and clear.

Les Paul is still innovating and developing a new more affordable version of his Gibson LP for the countless guitar heroes waiting to emerge from the dust of video game performances and the need to chase their own sound riff by real riff.