Awards given to Les Paul

Les Paul is the only person in both the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Although the list of awards Les Paul is far-reaching, he remained ever gracious and eager to please his audience.

2005 Les Paul is inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame
2007 Les Paul receives the National Medal of Arts from U.S. President George W. Bush at the White House

1952 Cash Box Best Small Instrument Group awarded to Les Paul & Mary Ford, who also received the same award in 1953 and 1954.

Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded to Les Paul & Mary Ford in 1960.

1976 Grammy presented Feb. 19, 1977 to Chet Atkins and Les Paul for “Chester & Lester” album. Presenters were Dolly Parton and Freddie Fender.

Django Reinhardt Society Award 1985

Hollywood Rock Wall of Fame 1985

2004 Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award

2011 Nashville Music City Walk of Fame

2005 Innovator of the Century

1953 Gold Record to Les Paul & Mary Ford for Vaya Con Dios

2005 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental for “Caravan”

AND

2005 Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental for “69 Freedom Special”

2003 Guitar Player Magazine Certified Legend presented to Les Paul
1988 Les Paul inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
2005 Les Paul inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame
  • 36 GOLD RECORDS
  • 11 # 1 POP HITS
  • Lampliter Leader Guitar
  • 1946 Philco Radio Hall of Fame
  • 1951 Gold Record gold record for one-Millionth records sold of “The World is Waiting for the Sunrise”
  • 1951 Downbeat Award for No. 1 Guitarist
  • 1951 Gold Record for one-Millionth records sold of “Mocking Bird Hill”
  • 1951 Gold Record for over one million records sold of “How High the Moon”
  • 1952 Cash Box Award by the Automatic Music Industry of America, Best Small Instrument Group
  • 1952 Downbeat Award for No. 1 Guitarist
  • 1953 Cash Box Award by the Automatic Music Industry of America, Best Small Instrument Group
  • 1953 Gold Record for one-Millionth records sold of “Vaya Con Dios”
  • 1953 Audio Engineering Magazine for 1st Annual Musical and Technical Excellence
  • 1954 Cash Box Award by the Automatic Music Industry of America, Best Small Instrument Group
  • 1954 Academy of Musical Arts & Science Honorary Membership to Les Paul & Mary Ford
  • 1958 Audio Engineering Society Honorary Member
  • 1958 Playboy One of the Outstanding Jazz Artist of the Year
  • 1959 Playboy One of the Outstanding Jazz Artist of the Year
  • 1960 Playboy One of the Outstanding Jazz Artist of the Year
  • 1960 Hollywood Walk of Fame Star for Les & Mary
  • 1962 U.S. Department of the Army and Air Force “In recognition of patriotic service to the National Guard.”
  • 1962 Playboy One of the Outstanding Jazz Artist of the Year
  • 1963 Playboy One of the Outstanding Jazz Artist of the Year
  • 1976 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental for “Chester & Lester”
  • 1976 Country Music Awards to Chet Atkins and Les Paul as Top New Instrumental Group or Duo
  • 1978 Grammy Nomination for “Guitar Monsters”
  • 1978 Guitar Player Magazine’s Readers’ Poll as Best Pop Guitarist
  • 1979 Grammy Hall of Fame for “How High the Moon”
  • 1979 Gibson Hall of Fame charter inductee
  • 1981 National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Governors Awards, New York Chapter
  • 1983 Grammy for Lifetime Achievement
  • 1985 Hollywood Guitar Center Rock Walk
  • 1987 Milwaukee Performing Arts Hall of Fame
  • 1987 Wisconsin Area Music Industry Hall of Fame
  • 1987 Audio Engineering Los Angeles
  • 1987 Wisconsin Performing Artists Hall of Fame
  • 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • 1988 TEC Hall of Fame
  • 1988 Seamus Award from Society for Electro-Acoustic Music in the United States
  • 1988 Honorary Lifetime Member Waukesha Musicians Association
  • 1990 Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame
  • 1991 TEC Foundation names its annual award the Les Paul Award
  • 1992 B’nai B’rith Music & Performing Artist Unit Creative Achievement Award
  • 1992 Platinum Music Network Lifetime Achievement
  • 1993 Heart of Music Award from TJ Martel
  • 1993 Empire Music conference Lifetime Achievement
  • 1995 Academy for the Advancement of High End Audio induction
  • 1996 New Jersey Inventors Hall of Fame
  • 1996 WVNJ Hall of Fame (NY radio station)
  • 1996 James Smithsonian Bicentennial Medal
  • 1997 New Jersey Pride Award for Outstanding Contributions to State of New Jersey in Science & Technology
  • 1998 Gateway Country Music Association
  • 2001 Grammy for Technical Achievement
  • 2003 Guitar Player magazine 1st to receive Certified Legend
  • 2004 Emmy Lifetime Achievementin Engineering
  • 2004 Lifetime Achievement in Music Education-Wisconsin Foundation for School Music
  • 2005 Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental for “Caravan”
  • 2005 Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental for “69 Freedom Special”
  • 2005 National Inventors Hall of Fame
  • 2005 Songwriters Hall of Fame, Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement
  • 2005 “Inventor of the Century” by EQ Magazine
  • 2005 American Jazz Hall of Fame, Rutgers University
  • 2006 Chicago Grammy Chapter Recording Academy Honors
  • 2006 National Broadcasters Hall of Fame
  • 2007 National Medal of the Arts
  • 2008 American Music Masters – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
  • 2009 Bravery in Radio Award from William Patterson University’s Brave New Radio Station
  • 2009 One of the Ten Best Electric Guitar Players of all time by Time Magazine
  • 2009 Top 100 Guitarists by Vintage Guitar (Les is #17)
  • 2009 Vintage Guitar Magazine named Les Paul #17 among the Top 100 Guitarists and inducted him twice in its Hall of Fame as an innovator and as a player.
  • 2010 Honorary New York Emmy
  • 2010 Music Producers Guild for Innovation in Production (Joe Meek Award for Innovation in Production)
  • 2010 New Jersey Hall of Fame
  • 2011 Nashville’s Walk of Fame
  • 2011 Google Doodle for LP’s 96th birthday
  • 2014 Bergen County Legends by Bergen County Historical Society
  • 2015 American Pop Music Hall of Fame
  • 2015 Rolling Stone’s 10 Greatest Guitarists of All Times
  • 2018 Wisconsin Audio Engineering Society Hall of Fame
  • 2018 Ultimate Guitar’s 20 Greatest Jazz Guitarists of All Time (Les is #9)