This number from the 1944 Ann Miller musical "Jam Session" features a puppet voiced with a "talking" steel guitar, producing an early analog "vocoder" effect. Presented here out of historical interest; no infringement intended.
Alvino Rey should be much better known, but even older guitar players have rarely heard of him. You could argue that he's the father of stringed instrument amplification, having invented a pickup for his banjo in the 1920s which would later morph into the Gibson ES-150 Charlie Christian pickup, all years before Les Paul began a career of taking credit for pretty much anything having to do with guitar. Paul was more of a groundbreaking force in recording tech, NOT guitar tech, despite his namesake axe. He did some pioneering guitar stuff, but others did too, and Rey was way earlier.
