Meet the American who invented the electric guitar and inspired rock 'n' roll
Fox News
Adolph Rickenbacker, who immigrated to the U.S. from Switzerland as a child, invented the electric guitar in the 1930s, the instrument that inspired the rock 'n' roll phenomenon.
"The electric guitar was a great social equalizer." Rickenbacker's father lost both legs in a train accident "and began to drink away his pain and grief." The two men filed the patent for the "electrical stringed musical instrument" in 1934 and received it in 1937. When The Beatles came to America, it was like seeing a new color for the first time. He reportedly handed out business cards that read "Adolph Rickenbacher, Father of the Electric Guitar." Kerry J. Byrne is a lifestyle reporter with Fox News Digital.
The powerful new instrument inspired a uniquely American art form that grew to dominate global pop music culture.