Les Paul Gravesite Monument Honors Guitar Hero

Music legend Les Paul (1915-2009) was honored on September 10, 2011 with a public dedication ceremony of a granite monument to mark his gravesite at Prairie Home Cemetery in Waukesha, Wisconsin. The 500 square foot monument was commissioned by the Les Paul Estate and includes the music icons biography etched into granite slabs. It was designed, built and installed by Rock of Ages of Vermont, with landscaping designed by New Eden Landscape Architecture of Milwaukee.

Born Lester William Polsfuss (later changed to Polfuss by his mother) in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, Les Paul was known as the “Wizard of Waukesha’. He created the first solid body electric guitar in 1940 from a 4′ x 4′ piece of pine and a guitar neck with strings and a pickup, which he called “The Log’. It was this basic design that formed the sound of rock and roll music. In 1962, he was issued a patent for his design of an “Electrical Music Instrument’. Paul is also known for inventing the first neck-worn harmonica holder, allowing musicians to play harmonica and guitar simultaneously. Although others had tried certain recording techniques before him, Les Paul-s innovative work with multitrack recording, overdubbing, and electronic reverb laid the foundation for recording music that are still used today. He is among only a handful of artists that are honored with a stand-alone permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.

On August 12, 2009 Les Paul succumbed to complications from pneumonia at White Plains Hospital in White Plains, New York. The construction of the monument at his gravesite in Waukesha, Wisconsin stands as a testament to Paul-s long lasting impact on the music world, as well as providing a memorial site for the thousands of musicians that followed in his footsteps.