Les Paul Award

Named for one of the industry's most revered personalities, the Les Paul Award was created in 1991 to honor individuals or institutions that have set the highest standards of excellence in the creative application of recording technology. 

Les Paul is arguably the most important person in the music industry and, for generations, those who are part of the industry will continue to stand on his shoulders. Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin on June 9, 1915, Les Paul went on to invent the solid body electric guitar, multi-track recording, over dubbing (sound on sound) and many other recording techniques, which over time literally transformed the way music was made. In addition, Les Paul was a GRAMMY Award winning musician whose influenced such artists as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Slash, Billie Joe Armstrong, Steve Miller, Bonnie Raitt, Slash and so many more.

Known as the “Father of Modern Music,” Les was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Inventors Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is represented in numerous museums across the country. The Les Paul Foundation, which was created by Les before he passed, is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Les Paul with special events, grants, educational programs, promotions and partnerships that will insure his legacy lives on for centuries. The Foundation also sponsors the Les Paul Award. For more information on Les Paul, go to www.les-paul.com or www.lespaulfoundation.org.

A man of many talents, Slash has amassed album sales of more than 100 million copies, garnered a GRAMMY® Award and seven GRAMMY® nominations, and is an inductee of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As Guns N’ Roses’ lead guitarist, Slash helped to create signature guitar riffs on their #1 hits. After leaving the band, he went on to critical acclaim with Slash’s Snakepit and achieved global success with the super-group Velvet Revolver.

A personification of creative musical experimentation and mastery, Todd Rundgren often performed multiple tasks on his solo albums—writing, playing, singing, engineering, producing and distributing—and has been a pioneer of interactive and online distribution. Between his solo work and his creative output with his progressive band, Utopia, Rundgren has released more than 25 critically acclaimed albums.

 

2013 Recipient:

PETE TOWNSHEND

Pete Townshend has enjoyed one of the most intriguing, respected and multifaceted careers of any artist in the rock and roll era. The outline of his life in music is well-known. As the leader/guitarist/main songwriter for The Who for close to five decades now (with a few breaks), he has produced songs and albums that will endure long beyond our own lifetimes. Townshend has also made a number of excellent solo albums since the early ’70s, affirming that in addition to being an incredible guitarist, he is also a nuanced, emotive singer and a multi-instrumentalist.

Steve Vai began his professional music career at eighteen, transcribing scores for Frank Zappa. He then recorded and toured with Zappa for three years before launching his solo career. With his groundbreaking multi-platinum album Passion and Warfare in 1990, and throughout the years since, the brilliance of Vai’s musicianship has awed fans of all genres. With career sales of over 15 million records, 15 GRAMMY® nominations, and 3 GRAMMY® wins, Vai is the laureate of countless awards for his innovative style and artistic contributions.

Singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Lindsey Buckingham's career began to take off when he and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac’s core lineup of drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie and keyboardist/singer Christine McVie in early 1974. In the early ’80s, Buckingham launched his solo career and has continued to flourish.

Learn more about these and other past Les Paul Award recipients by visiting the TEC Legacy site at http://legacy.tecawards.org/tec/les_paul29.html.