OT:RIP: Les Paul autographed baseball
 

In the world of "guitar" the death of Les Paul is akin to the passing of Babe Ruth...

About twenty or so years ago, I asked Les to autograph a baseball I brought to one of his regular Monday night gigs at a place called Fat Tuesdays in NYC. Most folks had records or guitars for the man to sign. I asked him if he'd ever signed a ball before and he said he had not. And from the looks of the signature it seemed he was telling the truth. I still find it hard to believe that I have something that might have been a first for Les Paul.

Saw Les Paul at the Iridium Jazz Club a couple of years ago. Still great at age 92. He was very friendly with the audience and very generous with his time in signing autographs. I saw lots of albums, guitars, pick guards, etc. but I didn't see any baseballs.

Without Les Paul there would be no Beatles, no Rolling Stones, no anybody. He changed the world of pop music like nobody else.