On this day (April 20) in 2012, Bert Weedon died at the age of 91 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. He was a guitarist who had landmark hits on the charts in the United Kingdom. Weedon also performed alongside stars like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Judy Garland. However, Weedon is best remembered for his short instructional book Play in a Day. Millions of people, including John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Eric Clapton, learned their first chords from the book.
Weedon was a child when he bought his first guitar from a street market called Petticoat Lane. “I used to go down there every Sunday morning, and sort of touch the guitar, and the man would say, ‘Clear off out of it!’ Eventually, I saved up 15 shillings,” Weedon recalled. “I walked up, and he was just about to tell me to clear off. I said, ‘I’ll have that guitar, please,” he added. Weedon proudly walked him with his purchase and began learning to play.
By the time he was in high school, Weedon was forming and leading bands. In 1959, “Guitar Boogie Shuffle” made him the first solo guitarist to land a top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart. In 1972, he became the first solo guitarist to top the Official Top 40 Album Chart with 22 Golden Guitar Greats. Weedon also regularly performed on the radio and television. He also played on hundreds of recording sessions.
However, his biggest impact was a short book titled Play in a Day: Bert Weedon’s Guitar Guide to Modern Guitar Playing. The tutorial sold more than a million copies and helped even more musicians start their journeys.
Legends Remember Bert Weedon
When Bert Weedon died in 2012, the BBC collected quotes from some of the notable musicians and music industry professionals who were impacted by his work.
“There’s not a guitarist in Britain from my generation who doesn’t owe him a great debt of gratitude,” said Queen guitarist Brian May. “He was always teaching people, privately and publicly. You know, he didn’t have any secrets from anyone, and he was so supportive to us all,” May added.
Paul McCartney said that he and George Harrison learned their first chords from Play in a Day. Eric Clapton thanked Weedon for all of the “tips on playing guitar” that he got from the book when he was a child.
Bert Weedon didn’t publish the book, which has been reprinted and translated dozens of times, for profit. Instead, his passion for the instrument pushed him to help others learn to play. “I don’t know what it is about the guitar, but it is, to my mind, the loveliest instrument of all. The violin’s great, the harp’s great, the cello’s great. I love all of those instruments. But the guitar is number one with me,” he once said.
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