Les Paul: A Sound Innovator

I have not been as familiar with Les Paul as I should be. He is important and relevant to me not just because he was a Wisconsinite who became famous, or because he was a prolific guitarist who achieved fame and received great acclaim. He is important because he was a remarkable man who represents a rare type of person who innovated, understood the world around him, understood his own goals, found ways of reaching them, and did plenty more in his lifetime than most could dream of accomplishing. While others were complaining about problems or feeling bad for their situation he was finding solutions and making things up as he went. After leaving Waukesha as a young man, he simultaneously accomplished as a musician, a recording artist, inventor and pioneer in technological advancement. Paul was passionate and unrelenting with an insatiable curiosity that set him apart from others. He did not take no for an answer and found himself amongst stars like Bing Crosby with great fame as a guitarist and performer. He used available technology throughout his life to push the limits of music with electric guitars, amplification and recording. Even after meeting great success, he did not stop there and he understood the need to keep changing with progress of the time as he continually reinvented himself and his sound after a car collision and his pioneering multitrack recording. Paul's drive to understand the world around him allowed him success through his ability to change with radio, tv, recording, telephones and other results of technology. When he did not have the means to do what he needed, he created a new way. He never seems to have taken his resources for granted and even made the most of those times when he was completely halted by life circumstances to reinvent himself yet again and outdo himself time after time. Though others did some of the same things and the technology was available for much, it seems that Paul was, at some times, the only one taking advantage of opportunity. I find that there is a lot of inspiration in the example of such a motivated person and I find that parallels in my own creative processes give me the potential to achieve my own goals if I can learn from the progress and advancement that Paul used to advance his life.
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Jordan Severson