A studio pioneer and arguably the most innovative musician of his generation, Waukesha, Wisconsin native Les Paul created the solid-body guitar that bears his name. He was also a pioneer in the creation of multi-track recording and effects units. As a guitarist, he was an original jazz stylist who incorporated elements of blues, pop, and country. He started out recording with his own trio, but in the early '50s the records he made with his wife, Mary Ford, where she overdubbed several tracks of harmonized vocals, became huge pop hits. Enormously influential through both his musical and technological achievements, Paul continued to perform right up to his death in 2009 at age 94.