Paul, Les 
1915 - . 
US inventor. 

Lester Polfuss 

US inventor of the solid-body electric guitar in the early 1940s. He was also a pioneer of recording techniques including overdubbing and electronic echo. The Gibson Les Paul guitar was first marketed 1952 (the first commercial solid-body guitar was made by Leo Fender). As a guitarist in the late 1940s and 1950s he recorded with the singer Mary Ford (1928-1977).