Les Paul Foundation

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Syosset, NY
Les Paul Foundation

The mission of the Les Paul Foundation is to inspire innovative and creative thinking. The Les Paul Foundation is an approved IRC 501(c) 3 organization.

Mission Statement
The Les Paul Foundation inspires innovative and creative thinking by sharing the legacy of Les Paul through support of music education, recording, innovation, exhibits about Les Paul and medical research related to hearing. The Les Paul Foundation
• Awards grants to programs and projects that encourage innovation in music production and/or performance and to innovative STEM a

nd STEAM programs for students and others in challenging situations
• Provides grants for medical research related to curing tinnitus and hearing impairment issues.
• Inspires the public through support of public exhibits presenting Les Paul’s life and achievements

Determined to perpetuate support to the areas on which he focused his life, Les Paul created his foundation.

08/26/2026

The Les Paul Foundation mourns the loss of Dolly Parton, an incredible spirit that touched all of our lives in the most positive of ways. Restful sleep Dolly, we will always love you.

08/25/2026

A statement from The Les Paul Foundation.

08/22/2026

Statement from the Les Paul Foundation in response to recent comments:

While the loss of Les Paul’s former home is understandably emotional for those who associate the property with an important chapter of Les' life and work, it is important to distinguish the loss of the structure from the preservation of Les Paul’s artistic and technical legacy.

Claims that Les Paul’s legacy has been “erased,” and that this represents an “unforgivable failure to safeguard” it, or that the physical evidence of his work has been lost are completely inaccurate. A significant collection of Les’ original recording equipment—including his original Monster Console, original three-track and eight-track machines, and other equipment he used at the home over many years—has been preserved, meticulously restored, and is actively in use at the Les Paul Recording Studio, 6050 W. Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, California. These valuable pieces of Les’ legacy will be forever part of music history, unlike four walls.

The studio was created to preserve and extend Les Paul’s practical legacy as an innovator, recording artist, inventor, and educator. The studio operates primarily as an educational resource, with approximately 80 percent of its activity devoted to student learning and institutional partnerships, and the balance available for commercial recording. Its educational partners include Carnegie Mellon University, Syracuse University, Emerson College, UNLV, USC Thornton School of Music, and the Abbey Road Institute, among others.

Locating the working studio in Hollywood also places Les’ preserved equipment from the home and recording legacy within an active professional music community, where it can be accessed by students, engineers, artists, and producers. By contrast, the former home was in a residential neighborhood and was not suited to serve as a broadly accessible educational or professional music facility.

Les Paul’s legacy is also represented through permanent and rotating exhibits, collections, and individual artifacts at institutions including the Mahwah Museum, the Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum, Discovery World, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

In addition, Les' extensive music catalog, including previously unreleased material, is being preserved, remixed, and remastered using his original equipment. Our goal has always been and will remain not simply to safeguard objects, but to ensure that Les Paul’s work, methods, inventions, recordings, and influence remain available, relevant, and actively experienced by future generations. This is what Les always wanted.

- Michael Braunstein, Executive Director, Les Paul Foundation

07/09/2026

Thank you Foundation grantee Boch Center for hosting Dr. Julie Palkowski to share with the Lynnfield High School Coding Class.

The session focused on Mary Ford as a musical trailblazer and Les Paul’s multitrack recording work 🎛️

07/02/2026

Highlights from when Vintage King stopped by the studio back in May.

06/29/2026

The Music School at Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center provides 300+ K–12 public school students with completely free, comprehensive music education.

Through its partnership with the Les Paul Foundation, high school students in the Music Technology Program explored the legacy of Les Paul, from groundbreaking innovations in sound and recording to advancements in hearing protection.

06/25/2026

A new generation channels Les Paul and Mary Ford. After years spent exploring Les and Mary’s repertoire, Paris-based duo Victor Pitoiset and Melissa Lesnie have flown from Paris for a unique collab with the Les Paul Recording Studio.

Here they are in session for ‘At the Sav-a-Penny Superstore,’ originally recorded by Les & Mary in 1958 shortly after signing with the Columbia label. The photo is reminiscent of a photo of Les & Mary recording in Les Paul’s home studio.

For more information please visit les-paul.com

Photo credit: Jeff Salmon

06/24/2026

Showing Jeff “Skunk” Baxter around the Les Paul Recording Studio 🎸

Photo credit: Jeff "Skunk" Baxter

06/04/2026

Robin Pecknold and Blake Mills cooking something up in the Les Paul Recording Studio a few weeks ago.

05/25/2026

Les Paul was in service from 1943 to 1944, working for the Armed Forces Radio performing with his trio and in the AFRS orchestra for popular dramas.

After he was discharged, Les and Mary would visit service members in the hospital and perform for them.

Address

485 Underhill Boulevard , Suite 108
Syosset, NY
11791

Website

http://Les-Paul.com/

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