Les Paul

We're in the process of updating our website! Learn more about what that means and how you can help create history..

Guitar Wizard

Bob Jacobson

Meet one of history's most innovative, creative, and influential guitar players and makers in this biography for young readers.

112 pages, 7 x 9, 63 b&w photos
Paperback: $12.95 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-488-3
Ebook: $9.99 | ISBN: 978-0-87020-599-6
Publication Date: 2/29/2012

Reading Level: Ages 10–14, Grades 5–8

BUY

-

Description

Young Les Paul left his hometown of Waukesha, Wisconsin, at age 17 to pursue his dream of building a career in music. The budding jazz guitarist traveled to Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, in each city finding new audiences and new musical partnerships. He quickly established himself as a regular on the radio and then became a fixture in early television, appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show and, later, hosting a show of his own with his wife and partner Mary Ford. Along the way, he overcame numerous physical challenges, including recovery from electric shock and rehabilitation after a horrific car accident—both of which threatened his musical career. And yet, Les Paul pushed musical technology forward more than any other musician of the twentieth century.

This biography for young readers shares the life story of Les Paul, the legendary “Wizard of Waukesha,” who pioneered the solid body electric guitar, multi-track recording, and many other musical inventions. Fascinated since boyhood with musical technology, the young Les moved from experimenting with his mother’s player piano and phonograph to developing his own amplifier and tinkering with crystal radios.

This lively story is rounded out with sidebars on radio call letters and how an electric guitar works, a full discography, and more than 60 historic photographs.

Author Bio

Bob Jacobson

Bob Jacobson is a writer and musician based in Madison, Wisconsin. He is also the author of the biography for young readers, Ole Evinrude and His Outboard Motor.