from the "electric twanger" dept.

The music and recording world has lost one of its pioneers. Les Paul died today at the age of 94.

From the BBC:

Les Paul, whose pioneering electric guitars were used by a legion of rock stars, has died at the age of 94.

Mr Paul died from complications of pneumonia in New York, according to Gibson, the firm that sold his guitars.

He is credited with developing one of the first solid-body electric guitars, which went on sale in 1952 and contributed to the birth of rock.

He also developed other influential recording innovations such as multi-track recording and overdubbing.

And he was credited with inventing the eight-track tape recorder.

U2 guitarist The Edge, Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Guns N' Roses star Slash and the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones are among those closely associated with the Les Paul sound.

Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman of Gibson Guitar, said: "His influence extends around the globe and across every boundary."

Gibson president Dave Berryman said: "As the 'father of the electric guitar', he was not only one of the world's greatest innovators but a legend who created, inspired and contributed to the success of musicians around the world."

Les Paul began as a country and jazz musician and unhappy with acoustic guitars, he designed his solid-body electric guitar in 1941.

It did not go on sale for another 11 years, by which time Leo Fender's rival model was already on sale.

If you'd like to see how Paul contributed to recording, check out the film: "Tom Dowd and the Language of Music."