Petition to Launch Les Paul Stamp

Happy Independence Day!

The Les Paul Foundation has received approval from the United States Post Office for a stamp for Les Paul honoring his 100th birthday. In order for the stamp to become a reality, the foundation needs a lot of people to sign the official petition to make the stamp final.

To sign the petition, please visit www.LesPaulFoundation.org/spotlight.

Les Paul died at age 94 in 2009. The proposed U.S. stamp will be issued for Les Paul's 100th birthday on June 9, 2015.

Comments

[Ace Steele]

Les Paul is probably one of the most deserving Americans of a commemorative stamp in his honor, ever. He invented a myriad of the most important contributions to music. Most important being the solid body guitar & the multi-track tape recorder.

Thanks for bringing this petition to our attention, Allyson.

I urge every music lover to sign it.

[Gary]

I'm signature #1338. Folks I urge each and every one of you to take 2 minutes and sign this.Without guys like Les Paul and Leo Fender, there is none of the music we all love and take for granted daily.

[Metalboy!]

Agreed. Signing up now!

p.s. I could kick myself everytime I think about how I should have gone to the Iridium on the Upper West Side of NYC every Monday night I could have for "Les Paul Mondays", when he and his trio held court and jammed on jazz standards like clockwork 'til his death. Randomly over the years, famed disciples would make the trek to join in to pay homage, the likes of Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Eddie Van Halen among them.

[Ace Steele]

MB...You were there, & MISSED that?

Les played ONE show in L.A. since 1961. It was in 1995 at the House of Blues on Sunset. And, you KNOW I was up against the stage (front pew in church!) to see Les do his thing, (which was play a song, talk a little about his inventions/life, demonstrate his "Les Paulverizer" , & tell jokes.

Over the course of his show, he was also joined at various points by Steve Vai, Slash, Robbie Krieger, the amazing blind guitarist, Jeff Healey, and others. All of them had come to pay tribute to "the Creator".

I still have a 3 inch mini CD Les signed to me, of Les & Mary Ford playing "How High The Moon".It lives in the accessory box in the case of my '73 Les Paul Standard. And will never, ever leave those confines.

You TOTALLY missed out on seeing something really special. Les was an incredible entertainer.

[Gary]

Ace,you have a 73 Standard? That's awesome. I have a 74 Strat that pretty much stays in its case anymore. (It was my go to axe for the better part of 25 years) did you buy the Paul recently,or were you like me and just bought it as your 1st "good axe" way back when? Got my Strat back in 76 used. My Mom scraped up $250 for it once she realized how seriously devoted I was to playing. (We were poor so I'll never forget that!)

And getting to sit in the front pew at the church of Les had to be beyond incredible (I'm willing to bet you probably learned more by watching for those few hours than you did over years of lessons.)

[Ace Steele]

I've had my '73 Standard since about '92...so it was like my 17th "good guitar" and the only original thing on it, is the wood! it's refinished pearl purple, all the fret markers are real abalone/mother of pearl, instead of the original Gibson plastic, Sperzel locking tuners, black TonePros hardware, & Switchcraft push/pull volume pots for a couple of sounds you wouldn't normally be able to get. So, vintage collectors would ignore it, but I'm never selling, so it doesn't matter. My "go-to" recording guitar. Oh, & the pick guard & back control cavity covers are all purple mirror... It's definitively MINE! For all the bouncing around I did onstage, a LP would be way too heavy. That was left to V's, Explorers, & later on an array of Floyd Rose equipped Strat creations... all w/ upside down left handed necks.

http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz14/acesteele1/axe%20pack/PurpleLesPaul-02.jpg

[Metalboy!]

I obviously don't know a helluvalot about guitars though I used to personally watched Paul Reed Smith make them in his luthier shop, one Summer in Annapolis, Maryland.

I'll tell you right now, I can't play a lick but have been obsessed with the damn things since I first heard Led Zeppelin on the radio when I was 8 years old.

Another kind of Les Paul is also the Go-To-Guitar for Guy Days of the venerable punk band, 999 -- the Les Paul Junior. If you think a punker can't play, check it out (and stick it out for the solo and lead outro):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1Rh5DYUWTY

BTW, Ace, these guys are STILL touring and I know have quite a following in L.A. Check 'em out if you have the chance to see just what kind of damage can be done with a Les Paul Junior.

[Waukesha County Museum]

We've just opened a new exhibit in Les' hometown - Les Paul: The Wizard of Waukesha. Please visit our website and plan to stop by when you are in the Milwaukee/Chicago/Madison area. We are less than 2 hours north of Chicago and only 20 minutes west of Milwaukee. We have posted the petition to our Facebook page. More info: http://lespaulexperience.org/

[Richard Csavoy]

Come visit Waukesha to see all the artist designed 10 foot guitars and the playable size ones plus the murals on buildings all Les Paul themed. We are an official Guitar Town.