Bacon provides a brief but full history ofPaul’s multiple accomplishments as a country, jazz and pop musician, along withhis role in developing multi-track recording andkey to this bookthe solidbody electric guitar. The author also packs his account with a succinct historyof the Gibson company that manufactured Paul’s visions, Gibson’s competitorsand the field of guitar collecting. The latter was spurred in the ‘70s by rockstars seeking particular, almost magical, sounds from their instruments.
Many testimonials are collected. “I’ve traced ahell of a lot of rock’n’roll, little riffs and things, back to Les Paul. He’sthe father of it all,” said Jimmy Page. “If it hadn’t been for him, therewouldn’t have been anything, really.”
Page is among the pantheon of guitar greats picturedin Bacon’s bookalong with Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Keith Richards and manyothers. For gear heads, there areguitar photo spreads, a roster ofserial numbers, a model chronology and other minutiae.
