Les Paul Google Doodle in honor of what would've been the guitar legend's 96 birthday

By Dave Herrera Thu., Jun. 9 2011 at 9:02 AM

Categories: OMFG!WTF?

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No, we don't have our guitar plugged into our Smokey Amp again. Why do you ask? Oh that. Yeah, no, we're just screwing around with our Google Doodle in honor of Les Paul, who would've been 96 today. Easy, tiger. It only sounds dirty -- uh, the Google Doodle, that is, not what we're playing. What we're playing actually sounds like being trapped in a Guitar Center with a bunch of eager and precocious four year olds.

If you logged onto Google this morning, you might've noticed the space-age looking string contraption and wondered what the heck was up with the logo. Some holiday you didn't know about or something? That's what we thought. Turns out, it's a Google Doodle in honor of the late, great Lester William Polsfuss (better known to you and I, of course, as Les Paul). What's a Google Doodle? Glad you asked. Evidently, it's the name given to the phenomenon when Google swaps out its traditional logo for some various display in recognition of a various holiday or event. Yeah, who knew they even had a name for that. If you were blissfully unaware, don't feel bad. We missed Chuck Lorre's vanity cards, too.

Anyhow, as we mentioned before, today's makeshift guitar icon (which is playable and recordable, BTW) is in honor of the legendary Les Paul, who would have been closing in on the century mark had he not left this mortal coil in August 2009. While there's innumerable ways to measure and expound on how significant Les Paul's contribution to music was/is, perhaps the most immediate and profound way to appreciate it: Just put on Appetite for Destruction, crank that fucker to eleven and marvel. No Les Paul, no Slash -- that simple. And you can apply that logic to, well, just about any other rock and roll record that's flipped your lid over the years.

So not only is Les Paul beyond worthy of being recognized today by this Google Doodle, but we'd advocate establishing some sort of holiday in his honor -- but don't mind us. Like everybody else, we're always looking for an excuse to play hooky.

Rest easy, Mr. Paul.

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