Woody Paige knows his Les Paul

Yesterday, I expressed regret for the January blog headline "Good News, Woody Paige: Les Paul Isn't Dead Yet" in light of the fact that Paul, a pioneering guitarist and inventor, had just passed away at age 94. Then, this morning, I received a note from Paige himself, stressing his Les...

By Michael Roberts

August 14, 2009

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Yesterday, I expressed regret for the January blog headline "Good News, Woody Paige: Les Paul Isn't Dead Yet" in light of the fact that Paul, a pioneering guitarist and inventor, had just passed away at age 94. Then, this morning, I received a note from Paige himself, stressing his Les Paul knowledge and letting me know that my original interpretation of a line he wrote saying that New Orleans Hornets star Chris Paul "plays basketball like Les Paul played guitar" was off-base -- even though it should have been obvious to one and all that I was only j-o-k-i-n-g. Still, I'm a fan of letting folks set things straight. And so, Mr. Paige, you have the floor. Read his note below:

Michael:

I am sure that you, too, are saddened by the death of Les Paul. As you know, I lived in New York City. The owner of a Times Square jazz bar lived in my building and invited me twice to go to the club and listen to Les Paul. I am old enough to know when Paul and Mary Ford were a hit tandem. Obviously, I knew Les Paul was alive, although not playing the guitar quite as well as in his youth, when he basically invented the electric guitar. I made reference to Chris Paul playing basketball as well as Les Paul played guitar. Did play. I'm sure when Chris Paul is 90, he will not be playing basketball as well as he does now. I'm sure when you and I are 90, we will not be writing as well as we do now (although I'm certain there are questions about my writing quality now)....

Woody

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

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