Bert Weedon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bert Weedon OBE (born 10 May 1920, East Ham, London) was an influential English guitarist and composer during the 1950s and 60s.
Weedon began learning the guitar at the age of twelve. The first British guitarist in the UK Singles Chart, with "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959, he was an influence on many of today's big names, including Eric Clapton, Brian May, Mike Oldfield, The Shadows and The Beatles.
As well as his hits and TV appearances at a crucial time in modern British music history, his best-known contribution to British guitar style is his tutorial guide "Play in a Day", which many stars claim was a major influence on their learning and playing.
His playing style focuses on both rhythm and melody, and is itself influenced by the jazz guitarists of the 1950s. Weedon placed a lot of emphasis on control of tone, and wanted to make the guitar the star of his music. He won, and his name was synonymous with the guitar for a whole generation of young music fans.[citation needed]
Modest, gentle and unassuming, he is a far cry from the modern guitar hero. The later 1960s generation of underground rock performers satirised him as too mainstream, the Bonzo Dog Band singing the line "We are normal and we dig Bert Weedon" in 1968.
A Water Rat, he is highly active in charity work and fundraising, especially for children and the disabled, and was elected King Rat in 1992. He was awarded the OBE in 2001 for his services to entertainment and charities.
His playing style is best known nowadays through the music of The Shadows, especially Hank Marvin.
