Editing Les Paul (section)

==Career==

===Early career===
Paul and Wolverton moved to Chicago in 1934, where they continued to perform country music on radio station [[WBBM (AM)|WBBM]] and at the 1934 Chicago World's Fair. While in Chicago, Paul learned jazz from the great performers on Chicago's Southside. During the day, he played country music as Rhubarb Red on the radio. At night, he was Les Paul, playing jazz. He met pianist [[Art Tatum]], whose playing influenced him to continue with the guitar rather than play jazz on the piano.<ref name="Les Paul: The Living Legend of the Electric Guitar">{{cite web|url=http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/articles/article.jsp?article=25 |title=ClassicJazzGuitar.com |publisher=ClassicJazzGuitar.com |access-date=2012-09-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313012503/http://classicjazzguitar.com/articles/article.jsp?article=25 |archive-date=March 13, 2012 }}</ref> His first two records were released in 1936, credited to "Rhubarb Red", Paul's hillbilly alter ego. He also served as an accompanist for other bands signed to [[Decca Records|Decca]]. During this time, he began adding different sounds and adopted his stage name of Les Paul.<ref>{{cite web |first=Gil |last=Kaufman |publisher=MTV News |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1618673/20090813/paul_les.jhtml |title=Paul Les |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090816191607/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1618673/20090813/paul_les.jhtml |archive-date=August 16, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:(Portrait of Les Paul, New York, N.Y.(?), ca. Jan. 1947) (LOC) (5105151726).jpg|thumb|Les Paul playing live, {{circa|1947}}]]
Paul's guitar style was strongly influenced by the music of [[Django Reinhardt]], whom he greatly admired.<ref>Cook, Kenneth. "Book Review: "The Music of Django Reinhardt," by Benjamin Givan." ''ARSC Journal'' 42.1 (2011): 86–87.</ref> Following [[World War II]], Paul sought out and made friends with Reinhardt. When Reinhardt died in 1953, Paul paid for part of the funeral's cost.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balmer |first1=Paul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IFUIAQAAMAAJ |title=Stéphane Grappelli: With and Without Django |publisher=Sanctuary |year=2003 |isbn=978-1860744532 |access-date=2015-06-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904124943/https://books.google.com/books?id=IFUIAQAAMAAJ&q |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> One of Paul's prized possessions was a [[Selmer guitar|Selmer]] acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow.<ref name="thirteen"/>

Paul formed a trio in 1937 with rhythm guitarist Jim Atkins<ref>liner notes from Chet Atkins/Jim Atkins 1963 RCA Camden LP #CAL-753, "The Guitar Genius"</ref><ref name="SoundOnSound">{{cite web |last1=Buskin |first1=Richard |title=Classic Tracks: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High the Moon' |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/classic-tracks-les-paul-mary-ford-how-high-moon |website=SoundOnSound |publisher=Sound On Sound |access-date=1 August 2023}}</ref> (older half-brother of guitarist [[Chet Atkins]]) and bassist<ref name="SoundOnSound"/>/percussionist Ernie "Darius" Newton. They left Chicago for New York in 1938,<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words">{{cite book|last=Paul|first=Les|title=Les Paul: In His Own Words|year=2005|publisher=Gemstone Publishing|location=New York|isbn=978-1-60360-050-7}}</ref> landing a featured spot with [[The Fred Waring Show (radio program)|Fred Waring's radio show]]. Chet Atkins later wrote that his brother, home on a family visit, presented him with an expensive [[Gibson Guitar|Gibson]] archtop guitar that Les Paul had given to Jim. Chet recalled that it was the first professional-quality instrument he ever owned.<ref>Atkins, Chet; Neely, Bill (1974). ''Country Gentleman''. Chicago: [[Regnery|H. Regnery]].  {{ISBN|978-0-8092-9051-2}}</ref>

While jamming in his apartment basement in 1941,<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words"/> Paul was electrocuted and nearly died. During two years of recuperation, he moved to Chicago where he was the music director for radio stations WJJD and WIND. In 1943, he moved to Hollywood where he performed on radio and formed a new trio.

He was drafted into the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] in 1943,<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words"/> where he served in the [[Armed Forces Radio Network]], backing such artists as [[Bing Crosby]] and [[the Andrews Sisters]], and performing in his own right.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tianen |first=Dave |title=The Wizard of Waukesha |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date=August 26, 2009 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/les-paul/chasing-sound/100/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225154555/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/les-paul/chasing-sound/100/ |archive-date=February 25, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As a last-minute replacement for [[Oscar Moore]], Paul played with [[Nat King Cole]] and other artists in the inaugural [[Jazz at the Philharmonic]] concert in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], on July 2, 1944. His solo on "[[Body and Soul (1930 song)|Body and Soul]]" is a demonstration of his admiration for and emulation of Django Reinhardt, as well as his development of original lines.

Also that year, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby sponsored Paul's recordings. They recorded together several times, including "[[It's Been a Long, Long Time]]", which was a No. 1 hit<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> in 1945. Paul recorded several albums for [[Decca Records|Decca]] in the 1940s. [[The Andrews Sisters]] hired his trio to open for them during a tour in 1946. Their manager, Lou Levy, said watching Paul's fingers while he played guitar was like watching a train go by.<ref name="autogenerated2000">Sforza, John: "Swing It! The Andrews Sisters Story;" University Press of Kentucky, 2000; 289 pages.</ref> Their conductor, [[Vic Schoen]], said his playing was always original.<ref name="autogenerated2000"/>  Maxine Andrews said, "He'd tune into the passages we were singing and lightly play the melody, sometimes in harmony. We'd sing these fancy licks and he'd keep up with us note for note in exactly the same rhythm... almost contributing a fourth voice. But he never once took the attention away from what we were doing. He did everything he could to make us sound better."<ref name="autogenerated2000"/> In the 1950s, when he recorded Mary Ford's vocals on multiple tracks, he created music that sounded like [[the Andrews Sisters]].<ref name="autogenerated2000"/>

In January 1948, Paul shattered his right arm and elbow among multiple injuries in a near-fatal automobile accident on an icy [[Route 66]] west of [[Davenport, Oklahoma|Davenport]], [[Oklahoma]]. Mary Ford was driving the [[Buick]] convertible, which plunged off the side of a railroad overpass and dropped twenty feet into a ravine. They were returning from Wisconsin to Los Angeles after visiting family.<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words"/> Doctors at Oklahoma City's Wesley Hospital told Paul that they could not rebuild his elbow. Their other option was [[amputation]]. Paul was flown to Los Angeles, where his arm was set at an angle—just over 90 degrees—that allowed him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a year and a half to recover.<ref name=freshair>{{cite web |author=Fresh Air from WHYY |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111888401 |title=Guitar Hero: Les Paul, 1915–2009 |website = NPR.org|access-date=March 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628211807/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111888401 |archive-date=June 28, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Guitar builder===
[[File:Daves58historic.jpg|thumb|Gibson '58 Reissue Les Paul guitar (2005)]]

{{anchor|The Log}}
In 1940, Les Paul revisited his experiments with the train rail. This time he created a similar prototype instrument, a one-off solid-body electric guitar known as "The Log", which was manufactured utilizing a common construction material often referred to as a "4×4 stud post", which provided a unique neck-thru design.  The "stud post" (a 4″ × 4″ section of [[Douglas fir]]) was then equipped with a crude bridge and an electromagnetic [[Pickup (music technology)|pickup]], neck and strings.  The Log was constructed by Paul after-hours in the New York City [[Epiphone]] guitar factory, and is one of the first solid-body electric guitars.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Performing-Arts/Music/Instruments/String/Guitars/Electric-Guitar/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-01.html |title= The Log |publisher= DK Images |access-date= March 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110710140434/http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Performing-Arts/Music/Instruments/String/Guitars/Electric-Guitar/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-01.html |archive-date= July 10, 2011 |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Epiphone: A History|url=http://www.epiphone.com/History.aspx|publisher=Epiphone.com|access-date=February 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151104095251/http://www.epiphone.com/History.aspx|archive-date=November 4, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>  For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an [[Epiphone]] hollow-body guitar sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: [[Audio feedback|feedback]], as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body. These instruments were constantly being improved and modified over the years, and Paul continued to use them in his recordings even after the development of his eponymous Gibson model.

Paul approached the [[Gibson Guitar Corporation]] with his idea of a solid-body electric guitar in 1941,<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words"/> 
but Gibson showed no interest until Fender began marketing its [[Fender Esquire|Esquire]] and [[Telecaster|Broadcaster]] guitars in 1950 (the Broadcaster was renamed the Telecaster in 1952).

Gibson's [[Ted McCarty]] was the chief designer of the guitar, which was based on Paul's drawings and later dubbed the [[Gibson Les Paul]]. Gibson entered into a promotional and financial arrangement with Les Paul, paying him a royalty on sales.<ref name=Lawrence2008>{{cite book|last=Lawrence|first=Robb|title=The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy: 1915–1963|year=2008|publisher=Hal Leonard Corp|isbn=978-0634048616|page=304}}</ref> The guitar went on sale in 1952. Paul continued to  make design suggestions.

In 1960, sales of the original Les Paul model had dropped, so a more modernistic model was introduced (today called the [[Gibson SG]]), but then still bearing the Les Paul name. Not liking the new look and  severe problems with the strength of the body and neck, made Paul dissatisfied with this new Gibson guitar. This, and a pending divorce from [[Mary Ford]], led to Paul ending his endorsement and use of his name on Gibson guitars from 1964 until 1966, by which time his divorce was completed.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.jinxmagazine.com/les_paul.html |title= Interview &#124; July 19, 1999, at the Iridium jazz club, New York City |work= Jinx Magazine |date= July 19, 1999 |access-date= March 27, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110713110152/http://www.jinxmagazine.com/les_paul.html |archive-date= July 13, 2011 |url-status= live }}</ref>

{{anchor|Headless guitar}}
Paul continued to suggest technical improvements, although they were not always successful commercially. In 1962, Paul was issued {{US Patent|3,018,680}}, for a pickup in which the coil was integrated into the bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://patents.google.com/patent/US3018680 |title= Patents | access-date = March 27, 2011}}</ref> In the mid-1940s, he introduced an aluminum guitar with the tuning mechanisms below the bridge. As it had no headstock, and the string attachments were at the nut, it was the first "headless" guitar. Unfortunately, Paul's guitar was so sensitive to the heat from stage lights that it would not keep tune. However, he used it for several of his hit recordings. This style was further developed by others, most successfully Ned [[Steinberger]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://lespaulfoundation.org/sevenpages/page1.htm |title=Les Paul Guitar Innovations |access-date=2014-03-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140311025027/http://lespaulfoundation.org/sevenpages/page1.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

A less-expensive version of the Les Paul guitar is manufactured for Gibson's [[Epiphone]] brand.<ref>{{cite web|title=Epiphone Les Paul Standard|url=http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Standard.aspx|publisher=Epiphone.com|access-date=February 23, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218185620/http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Les-Paul/Les-Paul-Standard.aspx|archive-date=February 18, 2012|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Multitrack recording===
Paul first experimented with sound on sound while in elementary school when he punched holes in the [[piano roll]] for his mother's [[player piano]]. In 1946,  his mother complimented him on a song she had heard on the radio, when in fact she had heard George Barnes, not Paul.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kane|first1=Brian|title=Acousmatic Fabrications: Les Paul and the 'Les Paulverizer' |journal=Journal of Visual Culture|date=August 2011|volume=10|issue=2|page=216|doi=10.1177/1470412911402892|s2cid=193109700}}</ref> This motivated Paul to spend two years in his Hollywood garage recording studio, creating his unique sound, his New Sound. Paul stunned the music industry with his New Sound in 1948.

Paul recorded several songs with Bing Crosby, most notably "[[It's Been a Long, Long Time]]," which was a number-one single in 1945.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Steve|title=Les Paul: In Memoriam|journal=Popular Music & Society|date=May 2010|volume=33|issue=2|page=271|doi=10.1080/03007761003707944|s2cid=191470269}}</ref><ref name="SoundOnSound"/>

After a recording session, Bing Crosby suggested that Paul build a recording studio so he could produce the sound he wanted. Paul started his studio in the garage of his home on North Curson Street in Hollywood. The studio drew many vocalists and musicians who wanted the benefit of his expertise. His experiments included microphone placement, track speed, and recording overdubs. These methods resulted in a clarity previously unheard in this type of multitrack recording. People began to consider his recording techniques as instruments—as important to production as a guitar, bass, or drums.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Waksman|first1=Steve|title=Les Paul: In Memoriam|journal=Popular Music & Society|date=May 2010|volume=33|issue=2|page=3|doi=10.1080/03007761003707944|s2cid=191470269}}</ref>

Capitol Records released "[[Lover (When You're Near Me)]]", on which Paul played eight different parts on electric guitar,<ref name="SoundOnSound"/> some recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the [[master recording|master]]. This was the first time he used multitracking in a recording. His early multitrack recordings, including "Lover" and "Brazil", were made with [[acetate disc]]s. He recorded a track onto a disk, then recorded himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result that satisfied him, he had discarded some five hundred recording disks.

As a teen he had built a disc-cutter assembly using the flywheel from a [[Cadillac]], a dental belt and other parts from his father's car repair shop. Years later in his Hollywood garage, he used the acetate disc setup to record parts at different speeds and with delay, resulting in his signature sound with echoes and birdsong-like guitar riffs.

In 1949, Crosby gave Paul one of the first [[Ampex]] Model 200A [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|reel to reel tape recorders]].<ref name="Les Paul In His Own Words"/> Paul invented sound on sound recording using this machine by placing an additional playback head, located before the conventional erase/record/playback heads. This allowed Paul to play along with a previously recorded track, both of which were mixed together onto a new track. The Ampex was a monophonic tape recorder with only one track across the entire width of quarter-inch tape, and therefore, the recording was "destructive" in the sense that the original recording was permanently replaced with the new, mixed recording. He eventually enhanced this by using one tape machine to play back the original recording and a second to record the combined track. This preserved the original recording.<ref name="aes.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf |title=Sel-sync and the "Octopus": How Came to be the First Recorder to Minimize Successive Copying in Overdubs |work=ARSC Journal |access-date=March 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519105331/http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1952, Paul invented the [[flanging|flange effect]], wherein two recordings of the same sound run slightly asynchronously, causing phase cancellations that sweep through the frequency range. The first example of this can be heard on his song "Mammy's Boogie".<ref name="Bode">{{cite journal |last1=Bode |first1=Harald |title=History of Electronic Sound Modification |journal=Journal of the Audio Engineering Society |date=October 1984 |volume=32 |issue=10 |page=730}}</ref><ref name="Thompson">{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=Art |title=Stompbox: A History of Guitar, Fuzzes, Flangers, Phasers, Echoes & Wahs |date=1997 |publisher=Miller Freeman |location=San Francisco, Calif. |isbn=0-87930-479-0 |page=24}}</ref>

Observing film recordings inspired Paul to design the stacking of eight tape recorders. He worked with [[Ross S. Snyder|Ross Snyder]] on the design of the first eight-track recording deck built for him by Ampex for his home studio.<ref name="Garage">{{cite book |last=Lawrence|first=Robb |title=The Early Years of the Les Paul Legacy, 1915-1963|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NqIgLrXaA6QC&pg=PA19 |access-date=May 10, 2011|year=2008|publisher=Hal Leonard|isbn=978-0-634-04861-6 |pages=19–}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf |title=Sel-sync and the "Ocotpus": How Came to be the First Recorder to Minimize Successive Copying in Overdubs |work=ARSC Journal |access-date=March 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519105331/http://www.aes.org/aeshc/docs/sel-sync/snyder_sel-sync.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="aes.org"/> Rein Narma built a custom 8-channel mixing console for him.<ref>{{cite journal |title=2007 AES Report – Where Audio Comes Alive |url=http://www.mixonline.com/ms/aes2007/2007aes-web-report/ |journal=[[Mix (magazine)|Mix]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140917154520/http://www.mixonline.com/ms/aes2007/2007aes-web-report/ |archive-date=2014-09-17 |quote=After the event, Narma, who also designed and built Les Paul's 8-track recording console, was reacquainted with Les, as the two had not seen each other since 1973.}}</ref> The mixing board included in-line [[equalization (audio)|equalization]] and vibrato effects. He named the recorder "The Octopus" and the mixing console "The Monster".<ref>{{cite journal |author=Richard Buskin |title=Classic Tracks: Les Paul & Mary Ford 'How High The Moon' |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan07/articles/classictracks_0107.htm |journal=[[Sound on Sound]] |issue=January 2007 |access-date=September 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720032654/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan07/articles/classictracks_0107.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The name "octopus" was inspired by comedian [[W. C. Fields]], who was the first person to hear Paul play his multi-tracked guitar experiments. "He came to my garage to make a little record (in 1946)," Les recalled. "I played him the acetate of 'Lover' that I'd done. When he heard it, he said, 'My boy, you sound like an octopus.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web |author=Bill DeMain |title=The Best of the Capitol Masters (90th Birthday Edition) |url=http://www.puremusic.com/61les.html |work=Puremusic.com |access-date=November 15, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130209230021/http://www.puremusic.com/61les.html |archive-date=February 9, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Les Paul and Mary Ford===
{{main|Les Paul and Mary Ford}}
[[File:Les Paul and Mary Ford 1954.jpg|thumb|Paul and Mary Ford in 1954]]
In the summer of 1945, Paul met country-western singer Iris Colleen Summers. They began working together on Paul's radio show, as Rhubarb Red and The Ozark Apple Knockers with Mary Lou. Later Paul suggested the stage name [[Mary Ford]]. They married in Milwaukee in 1949.

Their hits included "[[How High the Moon]]", "[[Bye Bye Blues (song)|Bye Bye Blues]]", "Song in Blue", "Don'cha Hear Them Bells", "[[The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise]]", and "[[Vaya con Dios (song)|Vaya con Dios]]". The songs were recorded with multiple tracks where Ford harmonized with herself and Paul played multiple layers of guitars.

They used the recording technique known as [[close miking]]<ref name=Garage/> where the microphone is less than {{convert|6|in|cm|0}} from the singer's mouth. This produces a more intimate, less reverberant sound than when a singer is {{convert|1|ft|cm|-1}} or more from the microphone. When using a pressure-gradient (uni- or bi-directional) microphone, it emphasizes low-frequency sounds in the voice due to the microphone's [[Proximity effect (audio)|proximity effect]] and gives a more relaxed feel because the performer is not working as hard. The result is a singing style which diverged from the unamplified theater style of the musical comedies of the 1930s and 1940s.

They also performed music-hall style semi-comic routines with Mary mimicking whatever line Les decided to improvise.<ref>{{Citation|title=Les Paul & Mary Ford Absolutely Live|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awjTKeS9Wvo| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/awjTKeS9Wvo| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|date=June 27, 2014|language=en|access-date=2021-08-11}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

===Radio and television programs===
Paul hosted a 15-minute radio program, ''The Les Paul Show'', on [[NBC Radio]] in 1950, featuring his trio (himself, Ford and rhythm player Eddie Stapleton) and his electronics. The program was recorded from their home and with gentle humor between Paul and Ford bridging musical selections, some of which had already been successful on records, some of which anticipated the couple's recordings, and many of which presented re-interpretations of such jazz and pop selections as "[[In the Mood]]", "Little Rock Getaway", "Brazil", and "[[Tiger Rag]]". Many of these shows survive and are available from various sources.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/TheLesPaulShow |title=The Les Paul Show |access-date=March 27, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629051309/http://www.archive.org/details/TheLesPaulShow |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

When Paul used magnetic tape, he could take his recording equipment on tour, making episodes for his fifteen-minute radio show in a hotel room.

The show appeared on television a few years later with the same format, but excluding the trio and retitled ''Les Paul & Mary Ford at Home'' with "Vaya Con Dios" as the [[Theme music|theme song]]. Sponsored by [[Warner–Lambert]]'s [[Listerine]] [[mouthwash]], it was aired on [[NBC television]] during 1954–1955, and then was [[broadcast syndication|syndicated]] until 1960. The five-minute show, consisting of the performance of only one or two songs, aired five times a day, five days a week, and therefore was used as a brief interlude or fill-in for programming schedules. Since Paul created the entire show himself, including audio and video, he maintained the original recordings and was in the process of restoring them to current quality standards until his death.<ref name="Cellini">{{cite web|url=https://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/lespaul/index.html |title=Les Paul: Invented Here |last=Cellini |first=Joe |publisher=[[Apple Inc.]] |date=n.d. |access-date=August 24, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222032234/http://www.apple.com/pro/profiles/lespaul/index.html |archive-date=February 22, 2009 }}</ref>

During his radio shows, Paul introduced the fictional "{{visible anchor|Les Paulverizer}}" device, which multiplies anything fed into it, such as a guitar sound or a voice. It was Paul's way of explaining how his single guitar could be multiplied to become a group of guitars. The device even became the subject of comedy, with Ford multiplying herself and her [[vacuum cleaner]] with it so she could finish the housework faster. Later, Paul created a real Les Paulverizer that he attached to his guitar. The invention allowed Paul to access pre-recorded layers of songs during live performances so he could replicate his recorded sound on stage.<ref name="Les Paul Foundation5">{{cite web|last=Baker|first=Sue|title=Les Paul Inventor and performer|url=http://www.lespaulfoundation.org/blog/les-paul-inventor-and-performer/#more-2087|publisher=Les Paul Foundation|access-date=February 4, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140204014322/http://www.lespaulfoundation.org/blog/les-paul-inventor-and-performer/#more-2087|archive-date=February 4, 2014|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Later career===
[[File:Les Paul.jpg|thumb|Paul in May 2004|201x201px]]
In 1965, Paul went into semi-retirement, although he did return to his studio occasionally. He and Ford had divorced at the end of 1964 after she became tired of touring.<ref name="nytdiv">"[https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/18/les-paul-obtains-divorce.html Les Paul Obtains Divorce] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310074024/https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/18/les-paul-obtains-divorce.html |date=March 10, 2018 }}", ''The New York Times'', December 18, 1964.</ref> One of Paul's most recognizable recordings from then through the mid-1970s was an album for [[London Records]]/[[Phase 4 Stereo]], ''Les Paul Now'' (1968), on which he updated some of his earlier hits. Paul played the initial guitar track, and [[George Barnes (musician)|George Barnes]] laid down the additional tracks while Paul engineered in his home studio. He also recorded two albums, ''[[Chester and Lester]]'' (1976) and ''[[Guitar Monsters]]'' (1978), for [[RCA Victor]], comprising a meld of jazz and country improvisation with guitar virtuoso [[Chet Atkins]], backed by some of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]]'s celebrated studio musicians.

In 1969 Paul produced the album ''Poe Through the Glass Prism'' for RCA. The album featured songs based on Edgar Allan Poe's writing by the northeastern Pennsylvania band the Glass Prism. The album produced a single titled "The Raven" that appeared on Billboard's Hot 100.

As years progressed Paul played at slower tempos with a large pick that was easier to hold in his arthritic hand. In 2006, at the age of  90, he won two Grammy Awards at the [[48th Annual Grammy Awards]] for his album ''Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played''. He also performed every Monday night at Manhattan's [[Iridium Jazz Club]] with guitarist Lou Pallo, bassist Paul Nowinski (and later, [[Nicki Parrott]]), and guitarist [[Frank Vignola]] and for a few years, pianist [[John Colianni]]. Paul, Pallo and Nowinski also performed at [[Scheffel Hall|Fat Tuesdays]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iridiumjazzclub.com/|title=Iridium Jazz Club|publisher=Iridium Jazz Club|access-date=March 27, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305204105/http://iridiumjazzclub.com/|archive-date=March 5, 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Milicia">{{cite web |last1=Milicia |first1=Joe |title=Guitar hero Les Paul ready for Rock Hall tribute |url=https://tucson.com/news/guitar-hero-les-paul-ready-for-rock-hall-tribute/article_c6063d6c-83c7-5add-bff2-e7b10ab8bacb.html |website=Arizona Daily Star |access-date=28 July 2018 |date=7 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180728221408/https://tucson.com/news/guitar-hero-les-paul-ready-for-rock-hall-tribute/article_c6063d6c-83c7-5add-bff2-e7b10ab8bacb.html |archive-date=July 28, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Foster, D.R. (June 1, 2009).  [http://newyork.decider.com/articles/les-is-more-93-years-old-and-cooler-than-you,28498/ "Les is more: 93 years old and cooler than you—A Night with the Longstanding Guitar Great"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140223065010/http://newyork.decider.com/articles/les-is-more-93-years-old-and-cooler-than-you%2C28498/ |date=February 23, 2014 }}. ''[[The A.V. Club]]''. Accessed August 15, 2009</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gay|first=Chris|date=2004-02-19|title=The Electrifying Influence Of Guitar Legend Les Paul|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB107714365822533118|access-date=2021-08-11|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

Composer Richard Stein sued Paul for plagiarism, charging that Paul's "[[Johnny Is the Boy for Me|Johnny (is the Boy for Me)]]" was taken from Stein's 1937 song "Sanie cu zurgălăi" (Romanian for "Sleigh with Bells"). In 2000, a cover version of "Johnny" by Belgian musical group [[Vaya Con Dios (band)|Vaya Con Dios]] that credited Paul prompted another action by the Romanian Musical Performing and Mechanical Rights Society.<ref>{{cite news|first=Anca |last=Nicoleanu |title=Zici că n-ai plagiat şi, gata, ai scăpat |date=February 2, 2007 |access-date=June 19, 2009 |url=http://www.cotidianul.ro/zici_ca_n_ai_plagiat_si_gata_ai_scapat-22511.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604124914/http://cotidianul.ro/zici_ca_n_ai_plagiat_si_gata_ai_scapat-22511.html |archive-date=June 4, 2009 }} (non-English language)</ref><ref name="copyrightE">{{cite web |title=Johnny is the boy for me; musical composition with lyrics. By Paddy Roberts & Marcel Stellman, m Les Paul, pseud. of Lester W. Polfuss |url=http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/johnny-is-the-boy-for-me-musical-composition-with-lyrics-by/ |website=Copyrightencyclopedia.com |access-date=28 July 2018 |quote=On September 3, 1981, the copyright to 'Johnny (Is the Boy for Me)' was renewed, showing Les Paul as the composer of the music. This was the mandatory 28 year renewal requirement for copyright. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904124943/http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/johnny-is-the-boy-for-me-musical-composition-with-lyrics-by/ |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>