I am often asked, "who, in the course of the many interviews you've been involved in, were you most impressed by"? For me, that's not an easy question; not because there have been so many (although there HAVE been many) but much more so because I am not easily impressed. I'd like to think that I'm easily pleased but not so easily impressed. I know who I DIDN'T like: Kanye West. But to single out one of the many, truly impressive people that I have met (through the good fortune of having the job that I do) is more difficult. However, even with that said, there is one person that immediately comes to mind: Les Paul.
I had my first encounter with Les (it was easy to call him by his first name) in the early 90's while I was working at a small cable TV station in Rockland County, NY. One of the locally produced programs was called "Eye On Rockland". I was Executive Producer, co-host, director, and co-writer (hey, it was a SMALL cable TV station). It was a magazine style program featuring people and places of note within our coverage area which included Rockland and North Jersey. One day, the Advertising Sales manager for the station introduced us to Gene Gugig, the owner of a local radio station. Gene was an old-timer and could trace his experience back to the "Golden Age" of radio. He was looking to cut a deal to get some free cable TV advertising for his radio station. The proposal was this: if we shot and edited a commercial for his station, featuring none other than Les Paul, Les would allow us to do a feature on him for our "Eye On Rockland" program. It seemed that since both Gene and Les started their careers on the radio at about the same time, they were buddies since the old days. Having him on our program would be, of course, a huge boost. It's not everyday that you get access to a living legend.
From the moment we rolled up to his secluded, modern, "barn style" home, tucked away off Rte. 202 in Mahwah, NJ, we knew that this would be the opportunity of a lifetime! Since I don't have a ton of time to write ALL of the stories I could tell about Les, and you don't have the time to read them, I'll do my best to focus on those that capture the essence of a true, eccentric, lovable, genius.
Once inside I was shocked to see that Les seemed to have kept EVERY piece of equipment that he ever worked on, every correspondence that was ever sent him, and every photograph that was ever taken of him! Radio tubes, broken guitars, microphones, mic stands, and stacks of papers as tall as a man were everywhere. At one point, we were in his office and he was looking for something to show us when he found a check from ASCAP made out to him for $3,000. He asked us if we thought he could still cash it - it was 10 years old. These things just didn't seem important to him. I suppose that his place was a reflection of his mind: cluttered with innovation.
He also owned Gibson guitars - lots of guitars. In addition to the ones that were in various states of disrepair due to his tinkering, he had many others from Gibson that were intact and bore his name. Most were were works of art. He showed me one that was made of cherrywood and was so beautiful that I was afraid to hold it! When I asked him how many guitars did he actually own, his response was, "oh, I guess about 800"! When a company names a product line after you, as Gibson did, it's entirely feasible to own 800 of them.
Les was incredibly gracious, showing us around his home, explaining the significance of this piece of equipment or that remnant of a radio that became part of a new amplifier. Nearing 80, he still had the energy and enthusiasm of a man half his age. He pointed out dozens of photos of other guitar legends like Eddie VanHalen, and Slash, looking admiringly at the master himself, like kids looking up to a legendary ballplayer. He showed us the prototype of one of his most notable inventions, the multi-track recorder. And, greatest of all, he still had the prototypes of the ORIGINAL electric guitars that he had experimented with before he hit on the right formula for the electric guitar as we know it today. Hearing him tell how and WHY he invented the solid body guitar could fill a book itself. From it's original use in Gerkies Corner, Wisconsin, where he used it while performing in a roadhouse there, to Carnegie Hall, Les Paul's solid body electric guitar changed music.
Although one of the world's greatest inventors, he was, above all else, a musician. And music was the bedrock of his life. He performed, without fail, with his band, EVERY Monday night in NYC - no matter what! I remember that, while we were there, he received a phone call from a producer at a major cable TV network. Apparently, the network wanted to produce a special featuring Les and other famous devotees of the electric guitar playing on the same stage. Les said he liked the idea and they could have him any day of the week except Monday, telling them "I play with my band every Monday night".
About 10 years passed between that first feature story and my next encounter with Mr. Les Paul. He was once again being nominated for a Grammy Award. Of course, this was no big deal for Les. As one of the greatest selling musical artists of all time, he had won many Grammy Awards. What made this one special was his age: at 92 (and still going strong) he was the second oldest performer to ever be nominated (Pine Top Perkins at 93 was the oldest). CBS News decided this was worthy of producing a feature piece on Les. I was assigned to shoot the story that would be reported by Drew Levinson. Since I was already somewhat familiar with Les from my first story, I made the initial contact with him and scheduled another visit to his home.
As surprised as I was at my first visit to Paul's home, I was equally so this time. The incredible clutter that dominated the house during my first visit was gone. The family had hired a housekeeper to clean up the place and keep it clean. The important items were still there but better organized and all in their proper place. In fact, many of his important innovations were on display in his home studio. They were being organized for shipment to the Smithsonian in D.C. where they were to be displayed in an exhibit honoring his work. What had not changed was Les' attitude. He was still vivacious, gracious, and giving. He relayed all the great stories of his life and work to Drew as he had done for me during our first interview. He displayed the guitar prototypes for Drew and even posed for photos with Drew and I. He also invited us to come and videotape one of his Monday night performances at Iridium in Times Square.
I remember arriving for his performance at Iridium on a frigid February evening. While looking for potential interviews from people waiting on line, we spotted the superb guitarist, Jorma Koukonen, waiting with the others to attend the show. Of course, we asked him, "why would you wait on line on a frigid evening to see Les Paul"? His response was simple and effective: "because it's Les Paul". And to have seen Les Paul perform "live" is to understand that. His wit and charm with the audience was only matched by his incomparable skill with the instrument he invented. To hear him play his signature song, Somewhere Over The Rainbow, was to listen to a master completely in tune not only with his craft but with his very soul. It was almost as if the music came from inside of him instead of inside the guitar. But, in a sense, they WERE one and the same: the man, the music, and the instrument he invented to make it happen.
Superlatives are over used in our celebrity worshipping society. This one's "great". That one's "fantastic". Another one is "awesome". Few live up to the hype. Well, Les Paul was all of the those things. He is the ONLY person who is in both The Inventors Hall of Fame as well as The Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. He was full of life and left a legacy as the man who changed the music. He would have liked that.
PS: By the way, Les took ill an the eve on the Grammy Awards and could not make it to LA to attend. If he could have, he would have walked away with another well-deserved award.
No comments:
Post a Comment