Influential Guitarist Bert Weedon Dies

Clapton, May and McCartney learned guitar from his books

Published 20th Apr 2012

A successful musician in his own right, Weedon became the first British solo guitarist in the UK Singles Chart, with "Guitar Boogie Shuffle" in 1959 and the first solo guitar player to top the Official Top 40 album charts with 22 Golden Guitar Greats. He also achieved a number of other chart hits at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s.

But it was his Play In A Day guitar guide which made its indelible mark on popular culture, with Paul McCartney, Brian May and Eric Clapton picking up some of their early tuition from the book.

"Thank you for all those tips on guitar playing that I got from your book, when I was young," Clapton said in the past.

Queen guitarist Brian May called him a "legend" and thanked him for "spreading the guitar and your enthusiasm to all of us".

Sir Paul has also previously revealed that both he and George Harrison used Weedon's manuals to learn the chords D and A, and John Lennon admitted he began playing the guitar using Play in a Day.

Weedon was an in demand guitarist, and he accompanied artists such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole and Judy Garland during a long and hugely successful career.

He was awarded an OBE for his services to music in 2001.

RIP Bert Weedon, 1920 - 2012