“Paint pictures with sound. First, find your white—the deepest, roundest sound you can play on the guitar. Then, find your black—which is the most extreme tonal difference from white you can play. Now, just pick the note where you’ve got white, pick it where you’ve got black, and then find all those colors in between. Get those colors down, and you’ll be able to express almost any emotion on the guitar.?" —Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz, country and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, which made the sound of rock and roll possible.

Born: June 9, 1915, Waukesha Died: August 13, 2009, White Plains Albums: Chester & Lester / Guitar Monsters, Guitar Monsters, Les Paul & Friends: American Made World Played, Chester & Lester, Masters of the Guitar: Together, The Legend and the Legacy, The Best of the Capitol Masters: Selections From "The Legend and the Legacy" Box Set, Bouquet of Roses, Legend & Legacy (disc 2), Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 1, Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 3, Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 4, Isle of Golden Dreams, Volume 2, How High the Moon, Vaya Con Dios, Dream Dust, 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Les Paul Spouse: Mary Ford (m. 1949–1964), Virginia Webb (m. 1938–1949) Children: Gene Paul