Les Paul 
was a guitarist who innovated technique, sound and construction in music and instrumentation. He lived in Westchester County — a nice suburb of New York City — and did all his work from there, pretty much. He is an entertainment legend who didn't work out of Hollywood or New York or London. He worked in his basement.
Paul started out in the 1940s, working in bands and jazz ensembles. He was a great guitar player, but he was one of those guys who was driven to make the sound better , as much as he was driven to be a better player.
Paul is also one of the all-time great nerds, up there with Thomas Edison and Steve Jobs, who work to improve what their art does as much as how they do their art. So great, they define a unique kind of cool.
He invented a solid-body electric guitar that became its own type of instrument, not simply a way to amplify a traditional guitar. The sounds Paul was able to get out of that thing moved him to experiment with multi-track recording , the gear and method where several recorded tracks play back simultaneously. He pushed recording gear makers to develop technology and devices that would allow him to realize the sounds he knew were possible.
With his wife, guitarist and singer Mary Ford , Paul created a signature sound that was electronic and futuristic — and popular. Ford's awesome voice and Paul's killer ability were still musically honest: The pair recorded good songs, even if the sound was innovative.
Before Paul, bands had to add players and/or parts to widen the sound. With multi-tracking, a band with set members could expand the song by simply adding new parts on extra tracks, turning a four-piece into a 6-piece, maybe, or a lead vocalist into a choir. Rock music has used that as the core of its production technique. Band after band has used multi-tracking to make a song or album a total aural experience beyond the "1-2-3-4!" execution of the thing.
This is how things are done even in the present, even though the technology has gone far beyond what Paul used.
Finally, the guitar that bears his name is unquestionably one of the principal greats of Rock 'N' Roll. You got Elvis, you got Woodstock, you got hip hop, you got the Les Paul. The Les Paul is as important to Rock history as, say, U2 , and more important than say, the Bee Gees (who are also important — no slight is intended.)
Did the Les Paul make Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin? Could be.
The point is, Les Paul's importance — his greatness — continues far beyond his medium, his time.
Awesome.
This is a guy who made his mark on Rock music. The Gibson Les Paul is is such an iconic rock guitar- Slash, Jimmy Page, Joe Perry, Zakk Wylde the list of legendary guitar players associated with this guitar goes on and on. Eddie Van Halen's hmoemade "Frankenstein Guitar" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EVH_frankenstrat.jpg) had a gibson decal on the headstock because although it looks and plays like a Strat he designed it to have the meaty sound of a Gibson Les Paul which was an essential component to his legendary "brown sound". I have heard that the world of Rock guitarists can be divided into two groups- guys who play strats and guys who play Les Pauls. And a bit of trivia, the Gibson SG (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SG_LPbody3.jpg) which is also a very famous model of guitar as seen in the movie School of Rock and played exclusivly by players such as Angus Young from ACDC and Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath was supposed to be the second generation of Gibson Les Paul guitars, but Les Paul thought it was ugly and so he refused to lend his name to it. So it became an SG instead of a Les Paul- and another Iconic rock guitar.
Thanks!
Dave
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The obit in the NYTimes by Jon Pareles is worth a read. He noted that Les Paul busted his right elbow in a car wreck in 1948, and the doctors told him he would never move it again. He requested "it set at an angle, slightly less than 90 degrees" so when it healed he could continue his guitar playing. That is the definiion of rock and roll I'd say.