Bert Weedon born 10 May 1920

Bert Weedon (10 May 1920 – 20 April 2012) was an English guitarist whose style of playing was popular and influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was the first British guitarist to have a hit record in the UK singles chart, in 1959.

Herbert Maurice William Weedon was born in Burges Road, East Ham, Essex (now part of the London Borough of Newham).His father was a train driver who had a collection of hillbilly records and was an amateur singer. Weedon bought his first guitar aged 12 from Petticoat Lane market and began learning classical guitar, and decided to become a professional musician. As a teenager, he was the leader of such groups as the Blue Cumberland Rhythm Boys and Bert Weedon and His Harlem Hotshots. In the 1930s and 1940s the guitar was not the ubiquitous instrument it would later become and, Weedon said: "The only time you saw a guitar was in the hands of a cowboy in a western singing Home on the Range." He soon graduated to the semi-professional Dixieland jazz group Harry Gold's Pieces of Eight and performed with the violinist Stéphane Grappelli and the pianist George Shearing in the early 1940s. Weedon and the classical guitarist Julian Bream provided the music for a postwar London production of Lorca's Blood Wedding.

The first amplified guitars were beginning to appear and Weedon became an enthusiastic exponent, playing in the orchestras of Ted Heath, Mantovani and Ronnie Aldrich. His career was interrupted by a bout of tuberculosis. After he was discharged from hospital, doctors advised him to avoid smoky dancehalls and nightclubs, so he switched the focus of his career to records, radio and television. Although he first appeared on TV in 1946, it was not until the arrival of the independent network in 1955 that Weedon began to appear frequently on the small screen. He was seen in Slater's Bazaar, the first TV advertising magazine. He joined the BBC Show Band directed by Cyril Stapleton in the 1950s, when he began to be featured as a soloist and could be heard almost daily on the Light Programme throughout the 1950s.

                                       

He also worked as a session musician on many early British rock and roll and other records for artists such as Marty Wilde, Tommy Steele, Billy Fury, Adam Faith and Kenny Lynch, and worked as an accompanist to visiting American singers such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Nat King Cole. It is estimated that he performed on over 5,000 BBC Radio broadcasts. He was also seen regularly on British television in the 1950s, including some of the most popular children's television programmes. In 1959 he was asked by Top Rank Records to make a record as a solo guitarist. He became the first British guitarist in the UK singles chart, with "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959.From the late 1950s to the mid-1960s he was a regular in a series of children's shows: Small Time, Tuesday Rendezvous and Five O'Clock Club, with Muriel Young, Wally Whyton and the glove puppet Ollie Beak. When Weedon invited anyone needing help to play the guitar to drop him a line, sackfuls of mail arrived at Associated Rediffusion, who had to print and mail out thousands of instructional leaflets.

As well as his hits and TV appearances at a crucial time in modern music history, his best-known contribution to British guitar style is his tutorial guide Play in a Day, first published in 1957, which many stars claim was a major influence on their learning  and playing. It sold over one million copies. He also wrote a follow-up, Play Every Day. His playing style focussed on both rhythm and melody, and was itself influenced by the jazz guitarists of the 1950s, notably Les Paul.Weedon was cited as an influence by many stars, including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon, Pete Townshend, Keith Richards, Sting, Hank Marvin, Robert Smith, Mike Oldfield, Mark Knopfler and Jimmy Page. McCartney commented: "George and I went through the Bert Weedon books and learned D and A together." According to Clapton, “I wouldn’t have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement Bert’s book gives you. I’ve never met a player of any consequence that doesn’t say the same thing.” Brian May stated: "There's not a guitarist in Britain from my generation who doesn't owe him a great debt of gratitude."

Weedon placed a lot of emphasis on control of tone, and wanted to make the guitar the star of his music. The style became best known through the music of The Shadows, especially Hank Marvin. The Bonzo Dog Band mentioned Weedon in their song "We are Normal" on their album, The Doughnut in Granny's Greenhouse (1969). With the various "rock revivals" of the 70s, Weedon was once again in demand, making the hit albums Rockin' at the Roundhouse (1970) and 22 Golden Guitar Greats (1976), a No 1 that sold more than 1m copies. For much of his career Weedon was involved with the entertainment industry charity the Grand Order of Water Rats, becoming King Rat in 1992. In 1999, Weedon performed at the Pipeline Instrumental Rock Convention in London. He was appointed OBE in 2001 for services to music and was honoured by the Variety Club of Great Britain, the British Music Hall Society and the British Association of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

Married to Maggie Weedon, he had two sons, Lionel and Geoffrey, nine grandchildren and a great-grandson. He died at his home in Beaconsfield on 20 April 2012, aged 91, following a long illness.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Dave Laing obit @ the Guardian)

Here's a clip of Bert Weedon backed by The Jaguars with "Gimme that jive" taken from one of his last concerts.