Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006) was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who co-founded the rock band Pink Floyd in 1965. Characterised for his English-accented singing and free-form writing style, Barrett named the group and was their original lead singer, guitarist and principal songwriter. His innovative use of guitar techniques, such as dissonance, distortion and feedback, proved influential to many musicians.