Bert Weedon

Bert Weedon is an English guitarist and composer whose style of guitar playing was popular & influential during the 1950s and 1960s. He was born in East Ham, Essex, now Greater London.

Biography
Weedon began learning the guitar at twelve. The first British guitarist in the UK Singles Chart, with "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959, he was an influence on many stars, 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, notably Les Paul. Weedon placed a lot of emphasis on control of tone, and wanted to make the guitar the star of his music.

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.

Married to Maggie Weedon, he has two sons, Lionel and Geoffrey, and nine grandchildren.

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 appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (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.

Discography
Releases on the Top Rank label

Albums

 * BUY026 Kingsize Guitar
 * 35/101 Honky Tonk Guitar

Singles

 * JAR117 "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" / "Bert's Boogie" 7"/78
 * JAR121 "Sing Little Birdie-Quickstep" / "The Lady is a Tramp-Quickstep" 7"/78
 * JAR122 "Petite Fleur-Slow Foxtrot" / "My Happiness-Slow Foxtrot" 7"/78
 * JAR123 "Charmaine-Waltz" / "It's Time to Say Goodnight-Waltz" 7"/78
 * JAR136 "Teenage Guitar" / "Blue Guitar" 7"/78
 * JAR210 "Jealousy-Tango / "Tango Tango" 7"/78
 * JAR211 "Stardust-Slow Foxtrot" / "Summertime-Slow Foxtrot" 7"/78
 * JAR221 "Nashville Boogie" / "King Size Guitar" 7"/78
 * JAR300 "Big Beat Boogie" / "Theme from a Summer Place" 7"
 * JAR360 "Twelfth Street Rag" / "Querida" 7" (As Bert Weedon & His Honky Tonk Guitar)
 * JAR415 "Apache" / "Lonely Guitar" 7"
 * JAR517 "Sorry Robbie" / "Easy Beat" 7"
 * JAR537 "Ginchy" / "Yearning" 7"
 * JAR559 "Mr Guitar" / "Eclipse" 7"
 * JAR582 "Ghost Train" / "Fury" 7"
 * JKP3008 Weedon Winners EP