Herb Ellis (Mitchell Herbert Ellis, Farmersville, Texas, August 4, 1921 - Los Angeles, California, March 28, 2010) was an American jazz guitarist. Growing up on the outskirts of Dallas, Texas, Ellis first heard the electric guitar performed by George Barnes on a radio program. This experience is said to have inspired him to take up the guitar. He became proficient on the instrument by the time he entered North Texas State University as a music major. Ellis majored in music, but because they did not yet have a guitar program at that time, he studied the string bass.