Known as 'Mr. Guitar,' Bert Weedon was indirectly responsible for the guitar playing of three of the Beatles, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and Brian May. The British guitarist published 'Play in a Day' in 1957. The book went on to be listed as an inspiration to a generation of classic rockers.

Weedon died at his home in Beaconsfield, England on Friday (April 20). He was 91-years-old before giving way to an illness he'd been battling for quite some time. Reuters reported the death just before 7AM ET.

"He really was the 'king of the guitar'," Weedon's agent Johnny Mans said. "He was also one of the nicest, most genuine guys you could ever wish to meet." As a player, he backed stars like Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland and enjoyed a successful solo career that included the 'Guitar Boogie Shuffle' record.

But his mark on future was inside the pages of 'Play in a Day.' "I wouldn't have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement that Bert's book 'Play in a Day' gives you," Reuters reports Clapton said in 1970. "I've never met a player of any consequence that doesn't say the same thing."

The classically-trained guitarist is survived by a wife and two sons.

Watch Bert Weedon in Action

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