Les Paul, the American guitarist, inventor and recording pioneer known as the “Wizard of Waukesha”, died from complications of severe pneumonia on 12 August 2009, aged 94. His work mattered because his experiments with amplified guitars, multitrack recording and overdubbing helped shape the sound and technology of modern popular music, while the Les Paul solid-body electric guitar became a rock staple.

Born Lester William Polsfuss in Wisconsin in 1915, Paul taught himself several instruments and began building equipment from an early age, including improvised pickups and recording devices. He moved from country music into jazz and blues, worked in radio and performed with artists including Bing Crosby, then recorded major early-1950s hits with his wife Mary Ford, such as “How High the Moon”. Those recordings demonstrated techniques that later became standard in studio production.