Les Paul in His Own Words: Hear His Last Rolling Stone Interview

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Nine months ago I sat down with Les Paul backstage in his dressing room at the Iridium nightclub for a story about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's tribute concert recently held in his honor. As we shared a bag of popcorn, Paul told me about creating the solid-body electric guitar and what drove him to keep performing a weekly show well into his 90s. "I think it's therapy," Paul said. "I think that it's the love of the instrument and the fact that rather than to grow old watching TV, or just layin' around the house trying to get from the bedroom to the bathroom, that it's better to be amongst your friends, make new friends, and to play with a younger generation of people."

Also see our Les Paul obituary, and a look back at his remarkable life in photos.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

More Song Stories entries »

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