Danelectro is an American manufacturer of musical instruments and accessories, specializing in rock instruments such as guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and effects units.

Danelectro was founded by Nathan Daniel in 1947; throughout the late 1940s, the company produced amplifiers for Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Ward. In 1954, Danelectro started producing the Danelectro lines of solidbody electric guitars and amplifiers. The company was also contracted to make guitars and amplifiers that were branded not with the Danelectro name, but with the names of various store brands, such as Silvertone and Airline. Later hollow-bodied guitars (constructed out of Masonite and plywood to save costs and increase production speed), distinguished by Silvertone's maroon vinyl covering, Danelectro's light tweed covering, the concentric stacked tone/volume knobs used on the two-pickup models of both series, and the "lipstick-tube" pickups—invented by placing the entire mechanism into spare lipstick tubes—aimed to produce no-frills guitars of reasonably good tone at low cost. In 1956, Danelectro introduced the six-string Baritone guitar, which would be adopted by other companies such as Fender with the Fender VI. The baritone guitar never proved especially popular but found an enduring niche in Nashville as the instrument of choice for "Tic-tac" bass lines. In 1966, Danelectro was sold to MCA. A year later, the Coral line, known for its hollow-bodies and electric sitars, was introduced. In 1969, the Danelectro plant was closed, due to MCA's attempt to market Danelectros to small guitar shops rather than large department stores.

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 13, 2009)—known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was the inventor of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound),delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day. He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan Freed.