Les Paul, who pioneered the solid-body electric guitar later wielded by a legion of rock 'n' roll greats, died Aug. 13 of complications from pneumonia. He was 94. According to Gibson Guitar Corp., Paul died at White Plains Hospital in New York. Family and friends were by his side.

As an inventor, Paul also helped bring about the rise of rock 'n' roll with multitrack recording, which enables artists to record different instruments at different times, sing harmony with themselves and then carefully balance the tracks in the finished recording.

The use of electric-amplified guitars gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1940s and then exploded with the advent of rock in the mid-'50s.

Paul was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.