Excuse us for that last Les Paul headline

Back in January, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige wrote that New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul "plays basketball like Les Paul played guitar" -- a sentence that implied the elder Paul, an ax pioneer, inventor and namesake of a Gibson electric guitar beloved by a legion of famous rockers, was...

By Michael Roberts

August 13, 2009

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Back in January, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige wrote that New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul "plays basketball like Les Paul played guitar" -- a sentence that implied the elder Paul, an ax pioneer, inventor and namesake of a Gibson electric guitar beloved by a legion of famous rockers, was no longer with us. The sentence prompted us to publish a snarky blog entitled "Good News, Woody Paige: Les Paul Isn't Dead Yet" -- a banner I'm regretting right now given that Paul died today at age 94. Betcha Paige is just as bummed about that as the rest of us music fans are. Vaya con Dios, Les.

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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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