Early this morning, I got a text message from my friend Jeff saying that Les Paul had passed away. While part of me is sad from this inevitability, a very large part of me is thankful to him for what he brought to the guitar and recording world. The man was a living legend while alive, having invented the humbucker, the reverb effect, and multi-track recording. His contributions, not only to the guitar world, but to the music world in general have literally shaped the course of musical history, let alone history, as artists the world over have made music – I believe the ultimate leveler in the world – with his inventions.
So while he will be missed, instead of mourning the loss, I for one will celebrate the fact that I had the privilege to live in a time when a legend walked.
Here’s a news story: http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/13/obit.les.paul/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail
Guitar Gear 
The news of this greatly saddened me today. I’ll be leaving all my other guitars alone for a while and play my Les Paul, Marylin as soon as I get home from work tonight. Thank you Les for everything you have given to music.