Bert Weedon dies

[RonBloor]

Anybody here know of Bert Weedon?? Personally I've never heard of him, but I guess he was a figure of some note in the "guitar world" of the UK!! I was surprised to see that he was also called "Mr. Guitar"!! RIP Bert.
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2012/04/20/Mr-Guitar-Bert-Weedon-dies-at-91

[Norm]

Titles like "Mr Guitar" and "Nashville Sound" are made up and pushed by the media.

When you think of it, very few electric guitarists have held their own niche in the global market. Chet is one. Les Paul is another but one might wonder if he would have that status (and the guitar named after him) if Mary had not come into his life. Duane Eddy is another. Ask non guitar playing people today who is the 'best ever' most polls name Jimi Hendrix. The three guys I just named are usually waaaaaay down on the list.

Point being, there are very few guitarists that gain international status. The rest of the better known ones are usually a variation of sideman if you look at it.

[rhirvine]

I guess he was a like Mel Bey in Great Britton. I have heard of him.

[AngusH]

Bert was a prolific session player in the 50s and 60s and one of the pioneers of the electric guitar in the UK. He was probably too old to be considered 'cool' by the youngsters in the 60s, and is best known for his 'Play In A Day' guitar method. I tried it in the 70s and many, many years later I'm still rubbish

His name is synonymous with the guitar in the UK, but I can understand how that wouldn't travel across the Atlantic.

For anyone who's interested, there was a good obituary in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/ap ... NTCMP=SRCH

Angus

[RonBloor]

Thanks for that information Angus... all I can say is "play in a day" seems a bit optimistic to me I can imagine that title haunted him, but he probably laughed all the way to the bank

[Vidar Lund]

I remember Bert Weedon very well from the early 1960´s. We Europeans used to listen to Radio Luxembourg from the late 1950´s, about the only radio station to broadcast pop music at that time. He stood out among all the singers, playing his electric guitar in a very special way, as I recall today. Another star guitar player with his own trademark sound was (still is) Hank B. Marvin of the Shadows, of course. By the way, Jørgen Ingmann of Denmark was also tremendously popular at that time. He covered the Shadows´ giant hit Apache, which became i No 1 hit in US in his version.