Let’s all sing Happy Birthday to a giant in the guitar and music industry Mr. Les Paul! He turns 93 today and still performs every Monday at the Iridium Jazz Club in New York City. He was born Lester William Polsfuss in Waukesha, Wisconsin in the year 1915. Paul built one of the first prototypes for the solid-body electric guitar in 1941. Gibson began mass producing a model based on his design in 1952 bearing his name on its headstock. He is also noted for his remarkable advances in multi track recording dating back to 1947. In January of 1948 Paul was in a near fatal car accident in Oklahoma which shattered his right arm and elbow. Doctors set his arm at an angle that would allow him to play guitar. Recovery took a year and a half. In the 1950’s Paul made numerous recording with wife Mary Ford and hosted a radio show called “The Les Paul Show” on NBC. In 1978 Les Paul and Mary Ford were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and he also won a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement. In 2005 he was inducted into the National Invertors Hall of Fame for his development of the solid-body electric guitar and has won numerous other awards. Many players were influenced by Les Paul such as Jeff Beck and the late great Danny Gatton. Credit: Les Paul, Wikipedia.