Les Paul Foundation

Watch as the industry’s heroes pay tribute to Les Paul in this video, above.

Les Paul’s legacy cannot be overstated. If you’ve listed to recorded music in the modern era, you have his brilliant mind to thank. Rightly called the Thomas Edison of music, Les Paul developed a technique called Sound on Sound. Like all revolutionary ideas, once executed it seemed impossible to do without. Now, multiple recorded tracks could be played in unison, allowing for double-tracked instruments to be recorded one on top of the other. Prior to this innovation, recording was done entirely live. With Sound on Sound, the possibilities became endless.

The first recording featuring the new technique was Les’ record, “Lover,” including eight electric guitar parts all multi-tracked and layered. (Listen to Lover on Spotify.)

Today, though Les has passed away, the Les Paul Foundation preserves his work and brings the younger generation into the studio by funding music education and museums