Rest in Peace

British broadcasting and pop music innovator John Peel died early this week. Renowned for his radio career -- which included stints at the pirate station Radio London, which sent its signal from a boat off the coast of England, and BBC's Radio 1 -- Peel launched the careers of dozens of bands.

He also introduced several innovations to the traditional pop music format: advocating reggae, hip hop, and punk; playing songs and record sides in their entirety to encourage taping by listeners rather than fading songs in and out while others played on; and encouraging bands to release their live performances on the show as "Peel Sessions" records.

Additionally, his record collection is reportedly worth more than 1 million British pounds.