Well, Laura, if the movie was a documentary named Chasing Sound - you got it too. Bobbie, I was too thick for your clue -sorry. So the first person/persons was Les Paul and Mary Ford. Steve Miller cited his father's friendship with Les Paul and T-Bone Walker as influences on him at an early age. His father made a wire recording of him 'bashing away on a guitar', and Paul said he might make it someday!! While he was never 'huge', he created a great musical legacy..... and Les Paul literally changed music as we know it!! His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records. Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While living in Wisconsin, he first became interested in music at age eight when he began playing the harmonica. After an attempt at learning the banjo, he began to play the guitar. It was during this time that he invented a neck-worn harmonica holder, which allowed him to play the harmonica hands-free while accompanying himself on the guitar. Paul's device is still manufactured using his basic design. Paul's jazz-guitar style was strongly influenced by the music of Django Reinhardt, whom he greatly admired. Following World War II, Paul sought out and befriended Reinhardt. After Reinhardt's death in 1953, Paul furnished his headstone. One of Paul's prize possessions was a Selmer Maccaferri acoustic guitar given to him by Reinhardt's widow. Paul was dissatisfied with acoustic-electric guitars and began experimenting at his apartment in Queens, NY with a few designs of his own. Famously, he created several versions of "The Log", which was nothing more than a length of common 4x4 lumber with a bridge, guitar neck and pickup attached. For the sake of appearance, he attached the body of an Epiphone hollow-body guitar, sawn lengthwise with The Log in the middle. This solved his two main problems: feedback, as the acoustic body no longer resonated with the amplified sound, and sustain, as the energy of the strings was not dissipated in generating sound through the guitar body. While experimenting in his apartment in 1940, Paul nearly succumbed to electrocution. During two years of recuperation, he relocated to Hollywood, supporting himself by producing radio music and forming a new trio. In 1944, Paul's trio appeared on Bing Crosby's radio show. Crosby went on to sponsor Paul's recording experiments. The two also recorded together several times, including a 1945 number-one hit, "It's Been a Long, Long Time." In addition to backing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters and other artists, Paul's trio also recorded a few albums of their own on the Decca label in the late 1940s. In January 1948, Paul shattered his right arm and elbow in a near-fatal automobile accident on an icy Route 66 just west of Davenport, Oklahoma. Mary Ford was driving the Buick convertible, which rolled several times down a creek bed; they were on their way back from Wisconsin to Los Angeles after performing at the opening of a restaurant owned by Paul's father. Doctors at Oklahoma City's Wesley Presbyterian Hospital told him that they could not rebuild his elbow so that he would regain movement; his arm would remain permanently in whatever position they placed it in. Their other option was amputation. Paul instructed surgeons, brought in from Los Angeles, to set his arm at an angle "just under 90 degrees" that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar. It took him nearly a year and a half to recover. Paul approached the Gibson Guitar Corporation with his idea of a solid body electric guitar, but they showed no interest until Fender began marketing its Esquire which later had a second pick-up added and became known as the Broadcaster (Renamed Telecaster in 1952). This continued till 1961, when Gibson unilaterally changed the design. Paul hated it. At Paul's request, Gibson renamed the guitar "Gibson SG", which stands for "Solid Guitar", and it also became one of the company's best sellers. The original Gibson Les Paul-guitar design regained popularity when Eric Clapton began playing the instrument a few years later, although he also played an SG and an ES-335. Paul resumed his relationship with Gibson and endorsed the original Gibson Les Paul guitar from that point onwards. In 1948, Les Paul was given one of the first Ampex Model 200A reel-to-reel audio tape recording decks by Crosby and went on to use Ampex's eight track "Sel-Sync" machines for Multitrack recording. Capitol Records released a recording that had begun as an experiment in Paul's garage, entitled "Lover (When You're Near Me)", which featured Paul playing eight different parts on electric guitar, some of them recorded at half-speed, hence "double-fast" when played back at normal speed for the master. ("Brazil", similarly recorded, was the B-side.) This was the first time that Les Paul used multitracking in a recording (Paul had been shopping his multitracking technique, unsuccessfully, since the '30s. Much to his dismay, Sidney Bechet used it in 1941 to play half a dozen instruments on "Sheik of Araby"). These recordings were made not with magnetic tape, but with acetate discs. Paul would record a track onto a disk, then record himself playing another part with the first. He built the multitrack recording with overlaid tracks, rather than parallel ones as he did later. By the time he had a result he was satisfied with, he had discarded some five hundred recording disks. Paul even built his own disc-cutter assembly, based on automobile parts. He favored the flywheel from a Cadillac for its weight and flatness. In July 2005, a 90th-birthday tribute concert was held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. After performances by Steve Miller, Peter Frampton, Jose Feliciano and a number of other contemporary guitarists and vocalists, Paul was presented with a commemorative guitar from the Gibson Guitar Corporation. On November 15, 2008, he received the American Music Masters award through the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a tribute concert at the State Theater in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the many guest performers were Duane Eddy, Eric Carmen, Lonnie Mack, Jennifer Batten, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, Dennis Coffey, James Burton, Billy Gibbons, Lenny Kaye, Steve Lukather, Barbara Lynn, Katy Moffatt, Alannah Myles, Richie Sambora, The Ventures and Slash. In February 2009, only months prior to his death, Les Paul sat down with Scott Vollweiler of Broken Records Magazine, in which would be one of Les Paul's final interviews. His candid answers were direct and emotional. Broken Records Magazine had planned to run that cover feature the following month but due to delays was held until the summer. 3 days before the release, Les Paul died. The issue would be his final cover feature of his storied career. So, for everyone?? I think so. TM, how is your guitar project coming along? We may need pictures!! Sorry my mind wandered there for a bit. It has been confirmed that I need hip replacement surgery for my left hip - 3rd joint surgery on that leg. Yea!! I am taking about 6 - 250 mg tab of Naproxen every day now, to control the muscle pain, which is all that it is right now. The waiting list is 3 or 4 months, which is better than if I were in the city, so that is working in my favour. I also like the surgeon - he did my knee, so I know the quality of his work. Hopefully that will be the end of my woes, and I can get on with an active life. Thanks for playing - I'll see you next week! Nancy. Here is a link that might be useful: Chasing Sound

Like texanjana, this year I saw all the nominated movies. Hadn't planned to but by January realized I'd seen 7/9 so I caught Captain Phillips and 12 Years a Slave too. I quit paying Woody Allen years ago when he started sleeping with his stepdaughter but relented and saw Blue Jasmine, to my chagrin when Dylan Farrow came forward a few weeks later. Anyway, my thoughts: American Hustle was entertaining but I also don't quite get the critical acclaim; there just wasn't all that much to it. Thought Amy Adams killed it in her role, though. Gravity was certainly entertaining, but again by the time I saw it I was expecting The Most Incredible Movie Experience of My Life. It wasn't all that. "I really enjoyed Captain Phillips-thought Tom Hanks was robbed not to be nominated" What she said. I hadn't seen it during its first run, thinking it just didn't sound entertaining. Boy was I wrong. Great film, how he didn't score a nomination is going to be one of those Oscar trivia 'stars who were robbed' entries for years. "I am embarrassed to say I really liked Wolf of Wall Street, even though I felt like I needed a shower after watching it!" Ok, still channeling Texan on this one too. I literally sat through much of the movie with my mouth open in shock and awe. I wasn't particularly offended either and as someone who lived in Miami during the 80s, the shenanigans weren't that unbelievable but it was sooooo over the top. Actually enjoyed Leo DiCaprio which is a first, as I really don't care for him usually. 12 Years a Slave - this one felt like a movie that was determined to hit every last stereotype about the evils of slavery. I know, I know, based on fact etc but it just didn't move me all that much. Dallas Buyers Club did move me very much. Matt McConaughey was absolutely amazing in his role. Not a feel-good movie but it stayed with me for a long time. "Philomena was beautiful, and oh so sad. Dame Judi was excellent, as always." Texan is making my reviews easy :). I adored this movie too. Thought it was a perfect blend of drama, humor, and poignancy. Although I can't argue about Blanchett winning Best Actress, I was really rooting for Judi Dench. Her was an odd movie for me. I suppose it was a success in that if the intent was give the audience two hours of watching a dysfunctional, sad person in a vaguely depressing near future setting pursue a fantasy that ended up leaving him more sad and dysfunctional--great job. I left feeling sad, if not dysfunctional. Side note: another Amy Adams role and she literally was unrecognizable as the same person who appeared in American Hustler. That woman really deserves to and I hope will someday win an Oscar. Nebraska-was a nice indie picture. I am not sure I found it quite as moving and significant as many critics and viewers seemed to. Agree that June Squibb was a hoot. I only watched a few minutes of August Osage County (peeked into the multiplex after seeing another film) because I just didn't feel like sitting through hours of Meryl and Julia chewing the scenery and the entire premise sounded utterly depressing. My 10 minute clip seemed to confirm that impression.

So glad to see Sandra Bullock win...didn't think she would stand a chance against precious. Didn't see Precious. I hope it comes to a local theater before the Academy Awards, but thought Sandra did an amazing job in Blind Side.

I agree a lot of the songs sounded off, Kelli Pickler and Taylor Swift come to mind. DH thought the sound engineer (is that what they are called?) messed up something because it sounded like their mikes were barely on (we missed the 1st half of the show, so maybe there were more issues?). I'm still amazed Taylor Swift is the "star" she is...I had friends in high school choir with better voices (but they didn't look like her). She's cute and all, but there are so many girls with better voices. I loved the shorter haircut on the woman from Sugarland (Jennifer Nettles). I wish I was blond...those tossled styles just don't look the same on non-highlighted dark hair.