Guitar legend Les Paul passes away at 94

Guitar legend and inventor Les Paul has died after a battle with pneumonia at the age of 94.

The music icon passed away today with his family and friends at his bedside at White Plains Hospital in New York after suffering complications from the illness.

Paul is know for his guitars by musicians and anyone near a stage ever. He rose to fame in the 1930s as a jazz guitarist.

After a brief stint with The Les Paul Trio, formed in New York with pals Jim Atkins and bassist Ernie Newton in 1938, Paul moved to Hollywood where he landed his big break playing alongside Nat King Cole as a last minute stand-in for Oscar Moore.

But Paul is perhaps best known for being a pioneer in the development of the electric guitar – building The Log, one of the first solid-body axes, in 1939.

He landed a deal with the Gibson Guitar Corporation in the early 1950s to produce the Les Paul model, which has since become the trademark instrument for artists like Jimmy Page, The Who’s Pete Townshend and jazz great Al Dimeola.

He was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame alongside Ford in 1978, and later, in 1988, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Jeff Beck.