Without a doubt it would be Les Paul. I would go to Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey and sneak back stage with Pat Martino (a jazz legend) when we were kids. We’d ask Les all kinds of questions and he’d show us his recording equipment, guitars and the electronics he had in them. I always liked seeing him and Mary Ford perform and liked the microphones they had connected to the top of their guitars.

What really fascinated me was the little box on Les’s guitar. It was nick-named the “Paul-verizer” and he could switch tracks on his recorder and do over dubs on previous tracks. There are many Les Paul recordings available and any guitarist should sit down and listen to what Les has done. Through out the years I would call Les and he’d tell me what recordings would be released and where to find them. I owe Les many thanks for all the help and inspiration he has given me. Les is a great man!

My Uncle Bid Furness talked about Les Paul all the time and played trumpet with Paul Whiteman, Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians. When my Uncle Bid retired from music he became master decoy maker. I would watch him carve and he taught me about Bass Wood (great for making decoys and guitars) and using wood working machinery. My Uncle Howard Duncan taught me my first chords and gave me my first guitar records of Chet Atkins, Jimmy Bryant and Speedy West (Two Guitars Country Style).