The all-new Les-Paul.com website has officially launched and is the most comprehensive and interactive source for information and entertainment relating to the legendary Les Paul. The acclaimed inventor and musician are known for numerous inventions and innovations that changed the way musicians play music, engineers record music, and the way fans hear music. Les was a pioneer and is arguably the most important individual in the history of the modern music industry. The exciting new website is divided into five sections: The Inventor, The Musician, The Foundation, Education, and Music. Visitors will enjoy hours of amazing videos and other content in which to explore the life and career of the man who is revered by musicians worldwide in every genre of music. The site’s new homepage opens with a slide show edited to Les’ own music and features highlights of his extraordinary life.
The INVENTOR section features additional Les Paul videos and includes “The Solid Body Electric Guitar is Born,” “Broomstick with Pick Ups On It,” a CNN segment, “The Les Pulverizer” featuring Les Paul and Jose Feliciano on Dick Clark’s live show, “The Log” educational video and other outstanding segments about Sound on Sound, The First Tape Machine, The Lathe and the 8-Track Recorder, The Les Paul Studio Tour, “The Thomas Edison of Recording,” and original videos of Les Paul accepting The Inventors Hall of Fame award and many more. Never before has such an extensive collection of such rare or rarely-seen videos, rare or rarely-viewed been available on one dedicated website.
Fans can hear legends including Peter Frampton, Sting, Stevie Wonder, producer Don Was, Steve Vai, and Sir Paul McCartney and Slash all pay homage to Les Paul.
The MUSICIAN section celebrates Les’ impact on countless artists from Sir Paul McCartney to Slash. It speaks to his status as a music legend whose virtuosic playing extended across all genres including jazz, country, R&B, and Rock. His early relationships with such icons as Bing Crosby, Chet Akins, and Tony Bennett can be seen in extraordinary photos and performance videos. This section also includes a chronicle of his life with Mary Ford and hits such as “How High the Moon” and “Vaya Con Dios” – to name just a few.
The FOUNDATION section provides information about the Les Paul Foundation which Les created. The Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through the support of music education, recording, innovation, and medical research related to hearing. A full list of grantees and a section detailing the process for applying for a grant from the Foundation is available in this section. Les Paul exhibits at museums across the United States are highlighted providing details on where one can visit to learn more and see actual Les Paul artifacts. This section serves as a virtual travelogue of sorts for Les Paul exclusive exhibits at some of the country’s most popular museums.
The EDUCATION section offers diverse resources for classroom or individual use and is divided into Elementary, Secondary and Collegiate sections. Study units developed through the collaboration of the Les Paul Foundation, the Wisconsin School Music Association, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction are included. Everyone can download free posters in this section.
The MUSIC section is an extensive area devoted to a Les Paul Discography, which is, in fact, the most inclusive ever presented online. We all know that Les Paul was a musician and nowhere else online can one explore such a robust listing of Les Paul’s music. His musical output included over 33 Top 20 recordings spanning multiple genres from country and pop to jazz and R&B. Fans can download his music directly and experience the greatness of his and Mary Ford’s ingenuity all in one place. One can spend hours listening to songs such as “Hawaiian Paradise” (1949), “Bye Bye Blues” (1952), “The Hit Makers (1953), “The Les Paul Trio” (1978), “Hits of Les and Mary” (1960), “Vaya Con Dios” (1953) and many more. Visitors can also see original album covers and listen to some of his hits by clicking next to the album image. It’s a one-stop, curated look at Les’ music dedicated to the sounds of Les Paul and his musical legacy. This section makes it easy to download any of the available songs or to stream on visitor’s favorite streaming platforms and with many updates being added in the following months. 360 Magazine is pleased to promote such legends personal website to the world to reach many hearts that admired Les Paul.
“Les Paul was one of the most important individuals of our time and gave the music industry the inventions to innovate and create music in new ways. No one can dispute his influence on modern music. We wanted to make sure that the new les-paul.com site not only celebrates his life and career but provides a wealth of information and interactivity for website guests. The content on the new site is not only exclusive and in some cases rare but is a collection of the most extensive resources available in one place. We will continue to add exciting new content and hope that as visitors explore all of the areas under each section, they enjoy and learn about Les Paul. Click on les-paul.com and have some fun. We hope you find a surprising amount of reasons to return again and again. We are pretty sure you will. – Michael Braunstein, Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation
