Herbert Maurice William 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, and his best-selling tutorial, Play in a Day, was a major influence on many leading British musicians, such as Eric Clapton, Brian May and Paul McCartney. 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. and 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. which many stars claim was a major influence on their learning and playing. It sold over one million copies.
McCartney commented: "George and I went through the Bert Weedon books and learned D and A together." Brian May stated: "There's not a guitarist in Britain from my generation who doesn't owe him a great debt of gratitude."
Legacy
Neville Marten, editor of Guitar Techniques magazine, commented that Bert Weedon's contribution to the guitar world cannot be overstated: "With 'students' that number Eric Clapton, Brian May, Sting, Pete Townshend, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and countless others, Weedon could well be described as the most genuinely influential guitarist of all time." In 1999, Weedon performed at the Pipeline Instrumental Rock Convention in London.
Discography
Chart singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="3"| Chart Positions
|- style="font-size:small;"
! width="60"| UK
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1959
| align="left"| "Guitar Boogie Shuffle"
| 10
|-
| align="left"| "Nashville Boogie"
| 29
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1960
| align="left"| "Big Beat Boogie"
| 37
|-
| align="left"| "Twelfth Street Rag"
| 47
|-
| align="left"| "Apache"
| 24
|-
| align="left"| "Sorry Robbie"
| 28
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1961
| align="left"| "Ginchy"
| 35
|-
| align="left"| "Mr Guitar"
| 47
|-
|}
Releases
Albums (Top Rank label)
- BUY026: Kingsize Guitar
- 35/101: Honky Tonk Guitar
Fontana 6438 031 Rockin' at the Roundhouse 1970
Singles (all labels)
- DB 3264: "April in Paris" / "Everything I Have Is Yours" ["With Max Jaffa"] 78 (Columbia: 1953)
- DB 3343: "Dancing Duck" / "Golden Violins" ["With Max Jaffa"] 78 (1953)
- DB 3484: "Petite Ballerina" / "Sally" ["With Max Jaffa"] 78 (1954)
- R 4113: "Stranger Than Fiction" / "China Boogie" 78 (Parlophone: 1956)
- R 4178: "The Boy with the Magic Guitar" / "Flannel Foot" 78 (1957)
- R 4256: "Theme From ITV’s 64,000 Question" / "Twilight Time" 78 (1957)
- R 4315: "Soho Fair" / "Jolly Gigolo" 78 (1957)
- R 4381: "Play That Big Guitar" / "Quiet Quiet Shh!" 78 (1957)
- R 4446: "Big Note Blues" / "Rippling Tango" 78 (1958)
- SAG 2906: "Fifi" / "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" ["As The Rag Pickers"] 78 (Saga: 1959)
- JAR-117: "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" / "Bert's Boogie" 7"/78 (Top Rank: 1959)
- JAR-121: "Sing Little Birdie – Quickstep" / "The Lady is a Tramp – Quickstep" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-122: "Petite Fleur – Slow Foxtrot" / "My Happiness – Slow Foxtrot" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-123: "Charmaine – Waltz" / "It's Time to Say Goodnight – Waltz" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-136: "Teenage Guitar" / "Blue Guitar" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-210: "Jealousy – Tango / "Tango Tango" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-211: "Stardust – Slow Foxtrot" / "Summertime – Slow Foxtrot" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-221: "Nashville Boogie" / "King Size Guitar" 7"/78 (1959)
- JAR-300/TRS-1523: "Big Beat Boogie" / "Theme from a Summer Place" 7" (1960)
- JAR-360: "Twelfth Street Rag" / "Querida" 7" (1960)
- JAR-415: "Apache" / "Lonely Guitar" 7" (1960)
- JAR-517: "Sorry Robbie" / "Easy Beat" 7" (1960)
- JAR-537: "Ginchy" / "Yearning" 7" (1961)
- JAR-559: "Mr Guitar" / "Eclipse" 7" (1961)
- JAR-582: "Ghost Train" / "Fury" 7" (1961)
- JKP3008: "Weedon Winners" EP