2015 Senate Joint Resolution 23
ENROLLED JOINT RESOLUTION
Relating to: declaring June 9, 2015, as Les Paul Day.
Whereas, Les Paul was born Lester William Polsfuss on June 9, 1915, in Waukesha; and
Whereas, Les Paul, nicknamed The Wizard of Waukesha, is credited with inventing the solid body electric guitar and multiple recording techniques; and
Whereas, he created the echo chambers that Capitol Records uses daily; and
Whereas, as a Waukesha teen, he began experiments to create a solid body electric guitar, and, in the 1940s, the experiments evolved into his "Log," which evolved into the Gibson Les Paul solid body electric guitar; and
Whereas, during the 1940s, he toured and played with artists such as the Andrews Sisters, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby; and
Whereas, in 1952, Gibson Guitars began producing the Gibson Les Paul solid body electric guitar, the design of which was based on Les Paul's experiments and on significant input from Les; and
Whereas, Les Paul was a 1950s pop star who garnered 36 gold records for hits such as "How High the Moon" and "Vaya Con Dios" with Mary Ford; and
Whereas, Les Paul was awarded various Grammys for performance and technical achievements during his musical career; and
Whereas, Les is the only person to be inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, current musicians refer to Les as the "Father of Modern Music" because of his numerous recording innovations such as echo, sound on sound, tape delay, phase shifting, and close miking, and Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, Billy Gibbons, Jeff Beck, and others have said that, without Les Paul's recording innovations, music today would be totally different; and
Whereas, Les Paul died on August 12, 2009, in White Plains, New York; and
Whereas, Les Paul chose to be buried in Waukesha as a testimony to his love of this state, where visitors to his grave site will find a collection of guitar picks left for him; and
Whereas, Les Paul would have been 100 years old on June 9, 2015; and
Whereas, the Les Paul Foundation plans a yearlong celebration beginning June 9 of this year; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the senate, the assembly concurring, That the Wisconsin legislature proclaims June 9, 2015, as Les Paul Day in Wisconsin; and
Be it further resolved, That the senate chief clerk shall provide a copy of this joint resolution to the Les Paul Foundation.
