Google Celebrates 96th Birthday of Les Paul

By Gilbert Falso :: 11:45 AM

Google has changed the logo at the top of its search page today to celebrate the 96th birthday of legendary inventor and guitarist Les Paul. The image is no ordinary Google Doodle, however – this one is interactive. Drag your mouse across the strings and you can make (and record!) a tune of your own.

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Paul “refined the technology of sound recording, developing revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay, overdubbing and multitracking.”

In a blog post, Google said, “In keeping with [Paul’s] spirit of tinkering, those of you in the U.S. can click the black ‘compose’ button to record your own 30-second track. Just strum the strings or trigger notes with the letters or numbers on your keyboards. Clicking the button again will display a link to share the songs you’ve made.”

Paul played weekly well into his 90s, and continued to tinker in his basement workshop at his home in New Jersey until his death in August, 2009.

The doodle was created by Google employees Kristopher Hom, Joey Hurst and Ryan Germick. It employs JavaScript, HTML5 Canvas, CSS, Flash, and the Google Font API.