Photos of Les Paul's Life in Music

The Guitar
Paul's second great gift to the musical world was the solid-body electric guitar. Although the hollow-body electric guitar had existed for a number of years, Paul complained that it "was such an apologetic instrument. On the bandstand, it was so difficult battling with a drummer, the horns, and all the instruments that had so much power...With a solid-body," — such as this 1952 Gibson Les Paul — "guitarists could get louder and express themselves," he said. "Instead of being wimps, we'd become one of the most powerful people in the band. We could turn that mother up and do what we couldn't do before."

• Bo Diddley, 1928-2008