The music industry suffered an incredible loss last month, with the death of the irreplaceable Les Paul. The guitarist, songwriter, and instrument maker made substantial contributions to the field of music, and is credited with some of the most pertinent innovations of the 20th Century.

Born Lester William Polfus in Waukesha, Wisconsin in 1915, Paul quickly determined the talents that would set him apart from his peers. Picking up his first guitar at the early age of 9, Paul was playing semi-professionally by 13 and quit high school by 17 to pursue his love full-time. Although most parents would quake at such a bold move made by a child, it worked to the benefit of Paul, who soon after started playing in Sonny Joe Wolverton’s Radio Band in St. Louis. Wolverton, Paul’s early mentor, dubbed him “Rubarb Red,” a nickname that followed him to Chicago in the early 30’s during the rise of his radio career. There, he recorded his first songs under the psydonym and also behind blues singer Georgia White.

In the late thirties, Paul began experimenting with the invention that would be his trademark. Unsatisfied with the feedback and additional vibration from acoustic, hollow guitars, Paul created a solid bodied electric guitar in 1941. Calling his creation “the Log,” Paul propositioned his change to Gibson but was initially rejected. Leo Fender thus beat him to the punch with the first mass-produced electric guitar in 1948. The Gibson Les Paul did not make its debut until 1952. Yet, the late start has not stopped the brand of guitar from being one of the most celebrated and sought after for over 50 years.

“I guess the unusual thing about him was that he was very creative and very good at engineering, which is rare,” says Jay Miller, founder and former owner of the Music Loft, a music store chain based in the Research Triangle of North Carolina.

“He played jazz music and very early pop and had no idea that the Les Paul (guitar) would eventually be one of the ultimate harder rock guitars. Beginning with people like Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Eric Clapton and others, the Les Paul became, along with the Fender Stratocaster, one of the ultimate rock guitars.”

Miller, who sold the Gibson brand of guitars for decades, says the electric guitar accomplished one of Paul’s goals, being able to sustain a constant sound nearly indefinitely, “and nothing sustained better than the Les Paul.”

Although produced six years prior, many connoisseurs believe the guitar reached its peak of perfection in 1958 after Paul made a few modifications.

“The years 1958 to 1960 are considered to be something like the holy grail for many guitarists, and the Les Paul’s made today are mostly replicas of that 1958 model. Some of the late 50’s Les Paul’s have been known to sell for as much as $100,000.00,” Miller says.

Unbelievably enough, Paul’s genious expanded far past the mechanics of instrument making. Paul’s work with the recording process is equally, if not more utilized in the music industry today. A few years before sealing the deal with Gibson, Paul also mastered his new idea of multi-track recording and over-dubbing. Paul began experimenting by laying live tracks over previously recorded tracks for additional depth.

His foray led to the popular instrumental, “Lover (When You’re Near Me),” that consisted of the musician playing eight different guitar parts simultaneously. The hit song was the predecessor to modern day multi-track recording. Paul continued to make recordings through the ‘50s with his wife, singer Mary Ford, dubbing his masterful guitar parts over one another to create number one hits such as “How High the Moon” and “Vaya Con Dios.” Paul also contributed other techniques, such as the echo effect, that are still heavily relied upon today.

Paul Koch, a senior in film scoring and music production and engineering at Berklee College of Music, says that Paul’s pioneering efforts in the recording industry are still shaping his current curriculum.

“Imagine if music was still recorded in one take with one microphone with the players strategically scattered around the room to get a good balance between musicians. That’s how it used to be done until Les Paul came around,” Koch says “His innovations paved the way for bands like the Beach Boys and the Beatles to create some of the greatest albums sonically.”

Koch also owns one of the legendary instruments bearing Paul’s name.

“I had always pointed it out in guitar catalogs to my parents, because I thought it was the most beautiful guitar I had ever seen, and the lead singer of my favorite band, Reel Big Fish, has the same one,” he says. “Mine was a gift for my high school graduation, which was amazing. I think I played it every day for about a year afterwards.”

Fans such as Koch and Miller had an opportunity to say goodbye Friday, August 21, at a public memorial in Discovery World in his home state. Paul died on August 13 of pneumonia at age 94.

A timeline commemorating the death of guitar pioneer Les Paul (courtesy: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum)

June 9, 1915: Lester William Polsfuss – a.k.a. Les Paul – is born in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

1928: Les Paul begins performing country music as “Rhubarb Red” at the age of 13.

1939: Les Paul’s jazz trio performs at the White House at the request of President Roosevelt.

1941: Les Paul invents the first solidbody electric guitar.

1946: Les Paul temporarily drops out of music to work on a new guitar sound and recording style.

1947: The technique of multitracking is introduced to the world when Les Paul releases his first eight-track recordings.

1948: Les Paul nearly dies when his car skids off a bridge in a snowstorm.

1949: Les Paul marries singer Mary Ford, with whom he forms a highly successful musical duo.

1950: The Les Paul Show, featuring Paul, Ford and rhythm guitarist Eddie Stapleton, debuts on NBC Radio.

1951: “How High the Moon,” by Les Paul and Mary Ford, becomes a #1 single.

1952: The Les Paul gold-top solidbody electric guitar is brought to the market by Gibson Guitars.

1953: “Vaya Con Dios,” by Les Paul and Mary Ford, becomes a #1 single. The song’s title translates as “May God Be With You.”

1954: Les Paul commissions Ampex to build the first eight-track tape recorder. It features a head, designed by Paul, that can record or play back tracks. Paul’s “Sel-Sync” (Selective Synchronization) design becomes the industry standard for 30 years.

1961: Gibson introduces the new Les Paul model, which has design changes made without Paul’s knowledge. At his request, it is renamed the Gibson SG, and the guitarist temporarily drops his endorsement contract with the guitar maker.

1967: Les Paul Now!, which features updated version of the guitarist’s earlier hits, is released on London Records.

1976: Chester and Lester, and album of guitar duets by Les Paul and Chet Atkins, is released on RCA. It will win a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

1978: Les Paul and Mary Ford are inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

1983: Les Paul receives the Trustees Award from the Recording Academy in recognition of his “significant contributions to the field of reocrding.”

1984: Les Paul begins a Monday-evening residency at a Greenwich Village club called Fat Tuesday, which will continue until 1995.

January 20, 1988: Les Paul is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 3rd annual induction dinner. Jeff Beck is his presenter.

February 2005: Les Paul is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

June 7, 2005: The Best of the Capitol Masters: 90th Birthday Edition, a remastered collection of Les Paul and Mary Ford’s classic Fifties recordings, is released.

August 30, 2005: American Made/World Played, credited to Les Paul & Friends, is released on Capitol Records. It includes appearances by Eric Clapton, Joe Perry, Jeff Beck, Keith Richards and Buddy Guy.

May 9, 2007: A film documentary entitled Chasing Sound: Les Paul at 90 debuts in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

November 10-15, 2008: Les Paul is honored as the 2008 American Music Master, part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s annual series.

August 13, 2009: At age 94, Les Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital.