The Tinkerer of Rock & Roll

Neil Young swears by it and so does Slash. Joe Perry of Aerosmith has 50 of them.

I’m referring to the Les Paul Gibson, the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. Its creator Les William Polsfuss, also known as Les Paul died on 13th of August, 2009 at the age of 94.

He was also a musician, song-writer and an amateur sound engineer. Among Paul's other technological innovations were developments in multi-track recording, guitar effects and the mechanics of sound in general.

Here is how some of the legends from the world of music paid their tributes:

"Les Paul set a standard for musicianship and innovation that remains unsurpassed. He was the original guitar hero, and the kindest of souls. Last October I joined him onstage at The Iridium club in NYC, and he was still shredding. He was and still is an inspiration to us all." — Joe Satriani

"I am deeply saddened by the passing of Les Paul. His influence on my life, as on the lives of countless others, will be felt throughout eternity. It was an honor to know him and to work with him. I extend my deepest condolences to his family and will mourn along with musicians throughout the world." — Jose Feliciano

"Les Paul was a shining example of how full one's life can be, he was so vibrant and full of positive energy. I'm honored and humbled to have known and played with him over the years, he was an exceptionally brilliant man." — Slash

"Without Les Paul, we would not have rock and roll as we know it. His inventions created the infrastructure for the music and his playing style will ripple through generations. He was truly an architect of rock and roll." — Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Paul was an inveterate tinkerer. In a 2005 interview, speaking on the subject of death, Paul, with his wry sense of humor said, ‘If where I’m going they have a harp, I’m going to amplify it.’

ps: Thats a 1959 Les paul Gibson. The first Les Paul Standard was introduced in 1959 and since then the model has remained unchanged.

pps: And this new look results from the desire of changing things, which keeps hitting me every now and then. And what better time to make this change than a birthday.

'Sex Machine' is 'Out of Sight' - an Obituary

Today's morning gave me a sad news. James Brown commonly referred to as 'Godfather of Soul' died in Atlanta at the age of 73. Along with Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and a handful of others, Brown was one of the major musical influences of the past 50 years. At least one generation idolised him and sometimes openly copied him. His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson, among others.

As for me, I fell in love with him the minute I heard 'I Got You (I feel good)' for the first time. I'm not a 'dance' person (to the unhappiness of my girl-friend), but play me any James Brown number and you can see me moving...

Read what Jon Pareles of the NY Times wrote in an obituary that I believe will be updated throughout the day:

Mr. Brown's music was sweaty and complex, disciplined and wild, lusty and socially conscious. Beyond his dozens of hits, Mr. Brown forged an entire musical idiom that is now a foundation of pop worldwide.
"I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know," he wrote in an autobiography.
The funk he introduced in his 1965 hit, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," was both deeply rooted in Africa and thoroughly American. It found the percussive side of every instrument and meshed sharply syncopated patterns into kinetic polyrhythms that simply made people dance.
His innovations reverberated through the soul and rhythm-and-blues of the 1970s and the hip-hop of the next three decades. The beat of his instrumental "Funky Drummer" may well be the most widely sampled rhythm in hip-hop.

He won a Grammy award for lifetime achievement in 1992, as well as Grammys in 1965 for Papa's Got a Brand New Bag (best R&B recording) and for Living In America in 1987 (best R&B vocal performance, male). He was one of the first artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, with Presley, Chuck Berry and other founding fathers.

Only Elvis had more hits than Brown.

ps: later during the lunch break, I played some of the stuff from the man...my body and feet grooved and I became happy. No great artiste ever dies...