Les Paul, father of the electric guitar and one of the most celebrated guitarists of all time, has passed away. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee had been suffering from severe pneumonia, and finally died of respiratory failure in a White Plains, NY hospital last night, August 12, 2009.

Paul is known as the inventor of the electric guitar, multi-track recording, and an innovator in many other areas of sound including overdubbing, tape delay, and phasing effects. Les Paul guitars, produced by Gibson starting in 1952, have been top sellers for over 50 years – owing in large part to usage by artists such as Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Al Di Meola, Jeff Beck, and Pete Townshend.

His career began at 17, and continued right until the end – Paul won 2 Grammys for his album Les Paul & Friends: American Made, World Played, which he released at 90 years old, and he was presented with the National Medal of Arts by President George W. Bush for his contributions to American jazz, blues and pop music. This great music legend will be sorely missed.