<human>: What is the history of the electric guitar?
<bot>: The electric guitar was invented in 1931 by George Beauchamp, who wanted to create a guitar that could be amplified. He had seen an early prototype of the electric guitar and thought it would be perfect for rock 'n' roll music. In the 1930s, many musicians experimented with the electric guitar, including Les Paul and Eddie Van Halen. In the 1950s, Jimi Hendrix popularized the electric guitar and made it more widely accepted. By the 1960s, electric guitars were commonly used in pop, blues, and rock music. Today, electric guitars are still widely used in genres such as hard rock, heavy metal, punk, and alternative rock.