Bert Weedon
In this month’s newsletter, we take a quick sidebar to look at the career of the man who influenced a whole generation of British rock guitarists.
"We all started off in our early days through the book 'Play in a Day' - thanks Bert." - John Lennon
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But before we get to Bert there’s some…
Beatley News Updates
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Gigs lined up so far include:
JUST ADDED - Beatlefest NY - February 11th
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Bert Weedon
When talking about his early days learning the guitar, George Harrison often mentioned that he used ‘one of those play-in-a-day chord books.’ This is a reference to Bert Weedon’s highly influential book that inspired a whole generation of British rock guitarists. George isn’t the only one to cite Bert as an early influence, others include Eric Clapton, Brian May, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, Sting, Hank Marvin, Mike Oldfield, Mark Knopfler, Jimmy Page, and of course George Harrison and his two friends Paul McCartney and John Lennon (1). Yet surprisingly, to my mind, Bert’s influence on the early Beatles is largely overlooked. On a quick count of all the Beatles-related books in my library, less than 5% mention Bert.
So who was Bert Weedon and how did he prove to be such a foundational cornerstone of British pop and rock?
Herbert Maurice William (Bert) Weedon was born in the East Ham area of London on the 10th May 1920.
Young Bert started to learn classical guitar at the age of 12 with the aim of becoming a professional musician. During the 1930s he led groups such as the Blue Cumberland Rhythm Boys, and Bert Weedon and His Harlem Hotshots, before making his first solo appearance at East Ham Town Hall in 1939. He worked with many leading performers and performed with various big bands and orchestras.
He joined the BBC Show Band in the 1950s when he began to be featured as a soloist. He also worked as a session musician on many early British rock and roll and other records for artists such as Adam Faith, Billy Fury, and Tommy Steele. He also worked as an accompanist to visiting American singers such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, and Nat King Cole.
In 1957 Berty teamed with saxophonist Frank Weir on a record for Parlophone called Calypso Romance, one of a series of tracks designed to cash in on the then-current calypso craze. The track, which failed to chart, was produced by one George Martin (2)
It is estimated that he performed on over 5,000 BBC radio broadcasts, plus multiple TV show appearances.
In 1959 he was approached by Top Rank Records with a view to making a solo guitar instrumental record. The result, Guitar Boogie Shuffle, became the first guitar instrumental to reach the Top 10 of the British charts.
Bert Weedon - Guitar Boogie Shuffle -
But Bert had already created his biggest hit, and his enduring legacy, two years previously, not on record, but in print, His guitar tutorial book, Play In A Day was first published in 1957 and sold a million copies, it has remained in print ever since.
Paul McCartney commented:
"George and I went through the Bert Weedon books and learned D and A together." (3)
Weedon’s playing style focused on both rhythm and melody and was influenced by the jazz guitarists of the 1950s, notably Les Paul. Weedon placed a lot of emphasis on control of tone and wanted to make the guitar the star of his music.
In November 1976, Weedon made number one, for one week, in the UK Albums Chart with 22 Golden Guitar Greats, a compilation album of guitar solos released on the Warwick label.
In his later years, Bert was highly active in charity work and fundraising, especially for children and disabled people. He was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2001 for his services to music.
Bert Weedon passed away in 2012 at the age of 91 after a long illness, and I think it’s fair to say that without Bert Weedon the UK’s contribution to the evolution of rock music would have been a lot less.
In paying tribute to Weedon on the BBC at the time of his passing (4) Neville Marten, editor of Guitar Techniques magazine, commented that,
‘Weedon could well be described as the most genuinely influential guitarist of all time.’
Here’s a short 5 minutes fun TV piece and interview with Bert Weedon-
Author’s Notes
Although John was less than complimentary about Bert Weedon when he discovered he had played guitar on Kenny Lynch’s cover version of Misery - which he despised. (Coleman - Page 288)
Lewisohn - Tune In - Page 269
As quoted in Bert Weedon’s obituary - The Guardian. 20 April 2012.
“Influential guitarist Bert Weedon dies". BBC News. 19 April 2012.
Recommended Reads
Clayson, Alan - The Quiet One: A Life of George Harrison - Sanctuary - 1996 - ISBN 1-86074-184-3
Coleman, Ray - Lennon: The Definitive Biography - HarperPerennial - 1992 - ISBN 0-06-098608-5
Lewisohn, Mark - The Beatles: Tune In - Little Brown (2013) - ISBN 978-0-316-72960-4 -
Join us next month when we return to our story with the introduction of the young James Paul McCartney.
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See you next time.
Alan J. Porter