Les Paul says good bye.

Do you know Lester William Polsfuss?  No? Okay you may not recognize his name, but if you know a little about rock ‘n’ roll you’ve heard the name Les Paul. He is a legendary guitarist, owner of a unique style and inventor of guitars that carry his name. Paul died last Thursday (August 13th, 2009) at White Plains Hospital in New York City due to complications from pneumonia.

Paul, at age 94 was doing great, playing gigs at New York City clubs. Just recently he started having some complications and a series of illnesses began. Michael Braunstein (Les Paul’s attorney), said to Reuters ‘’at 94, it’s hard to fight a lot of stuff’’ and ‘’ He’s a historical person He certainly has left his mark here on Earth and had many, many friends.”

On hearing of his death, Rolling Stone magazine reported that, “many of those he influenced jumped online (and called up Rolling Stone) to share their tributes to the father of the electric six-string.” Among those who paid tribute to Les Paul were “Slash”, Joe Satriani, Tom Morello, John Mayer, Ace Frehley, Brian “Head” Welch, Tad Kubler, and Keith Richards.

Paul is the only person ever to be a member in the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll hall of Fame, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Broadcasters Hall of Fame. A private funeral will be held in New York at a later date.

Madonna in Brazil to discuss social projects

The 51-year-old star is in Rio to visit some of the Brazilian city’s slums, or “favelas”, and meet with one of the country’s richest businessmen to discuss setting up social projects, said state Governor Sergio Cabral.

“She will get to know some social projects; she is enchanted with Rio and wants to help,” Cabral said. The beachside city has about 1,000 slums, many of them controlled by violent drug gangs or other armed groups.

The singer is expected to visit several poor communities. Local news media say she also will meet with Brazilian first lady Marisa Leticia.

Last month, Madonna spent nearly a week in the southern African country of Malawi, where she broke ground on a $15 million academy for girls and visited the orphanage that cared for her son David before she adopted him.