ENTERTAINMENT

Les Paul's 'Log': a one of a kind guitar

Juli Thanki
USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee
Les Paul “log” – Developed by jazz guitarist/inventor Les Paul in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, it one of the first solid-body electric guitars. He originally built the instrument around a four-inch slab of pine. But after the instrument shocked people with its appearance, he cut an Epiphone guitar in half and basically attached it to the outsides of the log, making it look more like a traditional guitar items from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum archives and displays. Tuesday March 14, 2017, in Nashville, TN

On April 1, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. To mark the occasion, the institution opened its archives, offering an unparalleled look at country music’s most prized artifacts.

Les Paul was just 16 when Thomas Edison died, but if they'd ever crossed paths, the guitarist from Wisconsin and the Wizard of Menlo Park would have liked each other.

Born in 1915, Les Paul began inventing at an early age. As a boy, he made a harmonica holder out of a wire coat hanger so that he could play guitar and harmonica simultaneously. Now, harmonica racks are used on stages from concert halls to coffeehouses.

Les Paul “log” – Developed by jazz guitarist/inventor Les Paul in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s, it is one of the first solid-body electric guitars.

One of Paul’s most important inventions, “the Log,” is part of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s substantial collection. The instrument is one of the first solid-body electric guitars ever made.

Around 1940, Paul (who had been experimenting with electrifying guitars for years) made the instrument out of a four-inch by four-inch block of pine, to which he attached a guitar neck and strings.

Compared to the beautiful guitars other artists were playing, Paul’s Log was an unsightly slab. "Once he played it in public, he got some odd comments because it just didn't look like a guitar," explained museum editor Michael McCall. Paul then cut an Epiphone hollow-body guitar in two and attached the halves, which resembled wings, to the sides of the Log, making it look like a conventional guitar.

"It had this great sustain and this great tone that you couldn't get with acoustic guitars," said McCall of Les Paul's Log. "He went to Gibson (Guitar Corporation) with it and Gibson didn't think anybody would be interested in it. Five years later...electric guitars became a hot item for Fender. So Gibson called Les back."

By 1952, Paul had released several hits with his wife, the singer Mary Ford, including "How High the Moon," "Tennessee Waltz" and "Mockin' Bird Hill." That year, Gibson introduced their Les Paul model guitar, with Paul himself serving as a consultant.

Les Paul and his legendary guitar are performing at a Thanksgiving luncheon Nov. 26, 1975 at the new Nashville factory of Gibson guitars, the company that has made a “Les Paul Model” for 26 years.

Now the Gibson Les Paul is one of music's most popular guitars. Countless musicians have played Les Pauls over the years, including Duane Allman, Pete Townshend, Bob Marley, Eric Clapton and Slash. Paul himself played one during his weekly gigs at the Iridium in New York City until his death in 2009.

The Log is currently on display in the museum. It sits alongside some other strange-looking instruments in the museum’s collection such as the Stoneman family's homemade "Whomper II" bass guitar and an unwieldy acoustic instrument that includes a six-string guitar neck, an eight-string mandola neck and a 10-string neck.