The affable man from Waukesha, Wisconsin, whose name is synonymous with the electric guitar was an energetic visionary who invented/developed a variety of devices and techniques that have become staples in the field of modern music.  Les Paul seemed to always be in the thick of things in the music business, and he was always looking for a better way to do those very things.   By thirteen, he had developed the harmonica holder that allowed a guitarist to become a one-man-band.  He attached a phonograph pickup to his guitar and ran it through a radio speaker...and he used a section of a railroad tie to improve the guitar's sustain.  Eventually he would develop overdubbing, phasing, tape delay and multi-tracking to create the distinctive Les-Paul-and-Mary-Ford sound that dominated the 1950s airwaves with such hits as "How High The Moon", "Vaya Con Dios" and "Bye Bye Blues".  Gold records, Grammy Awards and a 2009 National Medal of the Arts would follow - as would inductions into the National Inventors Hall of Fame, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  Les Paul: a man & a guitar.