One of the many podcasts I listen to is Radio 4's Last Word which features a diverse range of obituaries on various people who have died in the week prior to broadcast. It is always an interesting and eye-opening listen - and often brings to my attention the life and work of fascinating people just a little too late.
One such this week - whose death was reported on the main news as well as Last Word - was Bert Weedon, the man who wrote "Play In A Day" and is credited with teaching Eric Clapton, Brian May and Sir Paul McCartney the guitar.
He learnt guitar at the age of 12 and developed his Play In A Day concept in 1957 at the age of 37. In 1959 he was the first British act to have a guitar single - but he very almost didn't get credited for it... He had come by the track (written in America) and wanted to record it but the studio he was signed too (Top Rank Records) weren't interest. Weedon arranged to record it elsewhere and for it to be put out under a pseudonym. When he went back to Top Rank, they conceded defeat and the track was released on their label, properly credited.
Here it is, in a version from around 1982, Bert Weedon's Guitar Boogie Shuffle:
Andrew
1 comment:
Have to admit to being somewhat surprised that this chap was still alive - or, at least, had been until recently. He used to be a regular feature on children's TV in the 1950s and a bit later (at a time when there were only two channels). Always struck me as being a nice, modest guy, and it's sad to see him go, especially without having got quite the public appreciation for being the pioneer which he was.
Btw: 'Guitar Boogie Shuffle' got to #10 in 1959, his only higher-placed entry out of the 8 top 50 'hits' he had.
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