hi,,,i,m paul from just out of bham al. believe it or not i did a show with les paul and mary ford in bham,al. at the boutwell auditorium in 1960,,,,i was 6 yrs. old,,,i remember being scared to death,but i did it,,lol,,,,i think i did 3 songs on guitar,,,i knew from the crowds reaction that this is what i wanted to do,,,,i,m 54 now and still very into music,,,toured for 12 yrs. with a southern rock band,,,i have my own band now and i,m a bmi nashville songwriter and teach others to play,,,thank you les and mary,,,hope to one day jam with you again,,,paul axplyr

That's really something! You will have that memory with you forever. And to think it was talent that you had in common with a legend. Very good!

One of my favorite clips and songs of the Les Paul & Mary Ford Show, "The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise". This is an amazing example of Les' invention of multi-track recording. All vocals are performed by Mary by overdubs, and all instrumentation is done by Les on the guitar. There is no bass or drum track. That's all Les (albeit the solo is edited to about half of its original length for video clip purposes). This is one of the first-ever recordings of guitar using distortion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iGXP_UBog4

I will miss lester polson from milwaukee.

Da man was an alien, one of the best of the REALLY good ones!!! He rates up there w/ Amadeus, Hendrix, Picasso, DaVinci and Stravinsky!!! He's my brotha from anotha motha, he taught me SO much! He was gifted with mad skills on different levels, and ALL related to the boogie! The genuis will be sorely missed! I know he led a long, full life...and this still made me cry. RIP Les, Mr. Paul....

STATE NOTES

Waukesha Museum Has Les Paul Memorial

The Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum has a free makeshift memorial honoring Waukesha native Les Paul, who died Thursday, August 13, at age 94.

The museum's executive director, Kirsten Lee Villegas, said they put out several items in their lobby, including Paul's handprints in cement. They also have a guest book for fans to sign.

The museum is planning to hire a firm to finish the exhibit on Paul's life that they've had in the works for years. She said they've raised about a third of their fundraising goal and hope to open the exhibit at the end of 2010.

Public gets chance to pay respects to Les Paul

Posted 8/21/2009 10:50 AM ET

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Fifteen-year-old Adam Bollinger was among the first Les Paul fans to show up for the public's only chance to pay respects to the inventor and virtuoso whose solid-body electric guitar paved the way for rock 'n' roll.
Bollinger and his mom Coleen drove two and a half hours from their home in Plainfield, Ill., to attend Friday's viewing of Paul's casket at a science and technology museum.

Bollinger says he learned about Paul when he researched the history of the guitar and wanted to pay his respects.

Another visitor who arrived before the viewing began is Tim Glander, a former music teacher who is now a magician. Glander says there aren't geniuses like Paul in today's pop music culture.

Paul will be buried in a private ceremony following the four-hour public viewing.