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The recording innovator, who resided for many years in Mahwah, would have turned 102 Friday.
Born June 9, 1915, as Lester William Polsfuss, 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.
Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is the only person to be included in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
On Aug. 12, 2009, Paul died of complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, N.Y.
On June 9, 2015, a yearlong celebration of Paul's 100th birthday kicked off in Times Square with performances by musicians including Joe Bonamassa, Neal Schon and Steve Miller, a memorabilia exhibition and a proclamation from the Les Paul Foundation declaring June 9 as Les Paul Day.
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