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How Les Paul changed the course of rock 'n' roll

When Aerosmith takes the stage at Alpine Valley Music Theatre this weekend, they'll owe a great deal of their success to a Waukesha resident who turns 94 Tuesday.

Les Paul invented the invented the solid body electric guitar, and revolutionized rock 'n' roll in the process.

Without the electric guitar, Aerosmith wouldn't be Aerosmith, and without Paul, there would be no electric guitar as we know it.

At the age of 13, Paul rigged a microphone from telephone parts to get a bigger sound from his acoustic Sears Roebuck guitar.

Then, he took the needle from his family phonograph, put it under the guitar strings and wired the contraption into two carefully spaced radio speakers, thus getting not only amplification but also a crude stereo effect.

It was one of Les Paul's earliest electronic breakthroughs. The pioneering guitarist went on to invent, or perfect, scores of ingenious recording techniques as well as the solid body electric guitars that were at the heart of the rock and roll revolution.

More about Paul's invention HERE.

Before blowing out the candles, here's a birthday tribute to the Wizard of Waukesha:

Four Les Paul connections to Walworth County

1) Using electric guitars, an instrument invented by Les Paul, Aerosmith will perform at Alpine Valley Music Theatre Saturday.

2) At 8 years old, Tallan "T-Man" Latz -- already with a reputation as a blues prodigy -- performed with Paul last year at Paul's 93rd birthday concert at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. Video is HERE.

3) The grand prize in the Wisconsin School Music Association's Launchpad Music Competition is called the Les Paul Launchpad Award. The Stumes of Badger High School in Lake Geneva, is one of 12 bands to make the finals and will perform at 4 p.m. June 20 at the Wisconsin Union Theater on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

4) Senior editor Lynn Greene's husband, Mayner, has several connections to Paul over the years. Mayner, whose Guitar Gallery in LaGrange frequently caters to musicians performing at Alpine Valley, met Paul in1988 when he attended the100th birthday party in Waukesha of Paul's mother.