# did somebody connected to electric guitars die recently? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130 "2009-10-17T10:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/1 "2009-10-17T10:04:50Z")
we drive past the offices of an ad agency every day, and to show their ingenuity they have a big space on their wall where they regularly put up ads - usually whimisical, but designed to make you think, “those guys are pretty smart and funny - i should hire them”. A couple of weeks ago, they were showing an electric guitar, with the dates 1916-2009. That’s it - no other text. Did the inventor of the electric guitar die recently, or something? ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/2 "2009-10-17T10:09:09Z")
[Les Paul](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Paul). You sure it didn’t say 1915-2009? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/3 "2009-10-17T10:29:26Z")
that’s probably it. I may easily have the date wrong - just saw it driving by. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/4 "2009-10-17T15:22:16Z")
Homie! I catch the bus at Albert and 15th every morning. The model of guitar shown on the billboard was a Gibson Les Paul so there was no ambiguity for people interested in guitars. Such people noted Paul’s passing for many reasons including him being the probable inventor of the solid body electric. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/5 "2009-10-17T22:12:10Z")
Here you can get a look and listen to Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford performing one of their hits, [_How High the Moon_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ffdwBUL78). It’s hard to choose just one song. Does the gentleman on the left look familiar? Here’s a hint. He had a few masterpieces of his own. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/6 "2009-10-17T22:26:39Z")
Just occurred to me to take a look at the Brown Communications website. [Here’s](http://www.brown.ca/Default.aspx?DN=9ec6a7e5-2ac8-4730-ade2-8792be06b1ac) the billboard \*\*Northern Piper \*\*saw. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/7 "2009-10-17T23:09:47Z")
Nicely done. No wonder it got attention. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/8 "2009-10-18T00:12:18Z")
That’s a nice ad. I knew about Les Paul the day he died. Then again, he’s from WI, so it was on the local news for a few days. ---
**Author:** ![Claude\_Remains](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Claude\_Remains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claude_Remains)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-somebody-connected-to-electric-guitars-die-recently/514130/9 "2009-10-18T01:23:26Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Here you can get a look and listen to Les Paul and his wife Mary Ford performing one of their hits, [_How High the Moon_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0ffdwBUL78). It’s hard to choose just one song. > > Does the gentleman on the left look familiar? Here’s a hint. He had a few masterpieces of his own. Alistair Cooke?