Lester Polsfuss

Lester William Polsfuss was born in Waukesha Wisconsin in 1915 and died yesterday at the ripe age of 94. Lester, better known as Les, was related to the family that founded Blatz beer, but that is not why I’m writing this entry. He was better known for his invention and was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005. His invention is what most young boys hope to pick when they are in their adolescence age.

You see Les grew up to be a musician and was an inventor of sorts. He recorded several hits during the mid 40’5 through 2008 when he finally won a Grammy.

Given such a long career, he was able to influence hundreds if not thousands of musicians. If you’re not aware of his work, maybe you’re more aware of the work done by others on a guitar that still bears his name… Les Paul

Jimmy Page (Led Zepplin)
Joe Perry (Aerosmith)
Eric Clapton
David "The Edge" Evans (U2)
Saul "Slash" Hudson (Guns N’ Roses)
Carlos Santana (Santana)
Jimi Hendrix
Pete Townshend (The Who)
David Gilmour (Pink Floyd)
Kirk Hammett (Metallica)

I know that I left off all sorts of great musicians, but the above list is the guys that I feel made a difference in my understanding of guitar.