All Topics  
Jet Harris

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Jet Harris
 
 
  Topics Jet Harris Topic Home

Jet Harris (born Terence Harris, 6 July 1939, Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury
Kingsbury

Kingsbury is a town in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Its name means "The King's Manor"....
, North London
North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) was the bass guitarist
Bassist

A bass player is a musician who plays a double bass, bass guitar, or another low-pitched instrument, such as keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as tuba or sousaphone....
 of The Shadows
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
 until April 1962 and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with drummer Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan

Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan was a founder member of the United Kingdom group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and The Shadows hit record and on early Shadows instrumentals ....
 .

ough he learned to play clarinet
Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
 as a teenager, he made his own four string double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
 to play in a jazz group
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
 and later graduated to a professionally made double bass. In 1958, while playing jazz with drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 Tony Crombie
Tony Crombie

Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English people jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene across six decades ....
, Crombie suggested that Harris should try "this new guitar".






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Jet Harris'
Start a new discussion about 'Jet Harris'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Jet Harris (born Terence Harris, 6 July 1939, Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury
Kingsbury

Kingsbury is a town in the London Borough of Brent, North West London. Its name means "The King's Manor"....
, North London
North London

North London is the northern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
) was the bass guitarist
Bassist

A bass player is a musician who plays a double bass, bass guitar, or another low-pitched instrument, such as keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as tuba or sousaphone....
 of The Shadows
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
 until April 1962 and had subsequent success as a soloist and as a duo with drummer Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan

Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan was a founder member of the United Kingdom group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and The Shadows hit record and on early Shadows instrumentals ....
 .

Life and career

Although he learned to play clarinet
Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et meaning little to the Italian word clarino meaning a particular type of trumpet, as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet....
 as a teenager, he made his own four string double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
 to play in a jazz group
Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform songs. The following articles concern types of musical bands:...
 and later graduated to a professionally made double bass. In 1958, while playing jazz with drummer
Drummer

A drummer is a musician who plays a drum or drums, particularly a drum kit , marching percussion or hand drums. The term percussionist applies to a musician performing on any percussion instrument, but usually refers to one who plays Classical music or Latin percussion....
 Tony Crombie
Tony Crombie

Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English people jazz drummer, pianist, bandleader and composer. He was regarded as one of the finest jazz drummers and bandleaders, and occasional but very capable pianist and vibraphonist, to emerge in Britain, and as an energising influence on the British jazz scene across six decades ....
, Crombie suggested that Harris should try "this new guitar". Thus Harris was possibly the first person in Britain
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 to own an electric bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, and certainly the first to play one in a band. His original instrument was a Framus
Framus

Framus is a Germany guitar, Bass , lap steel guitars and banjo manufacturing company, that existed from 1946 until going bankrupt in 1975. The Framus brand was revived in 1995 as part of Warwick GmbH & Co Music Equipment KG in Markneukirchen ....
 Star bass imported by Besson & Co
Besson (company)

Besson is an established manufacturer of brass instruments. It is owned by Buffet Crampon, which bought Besson in 2006 from The Music Group.The company was formed in 1837 by Gustave Auguste Besson, who at the age of 18 produced a revolutionary design of cornet which surpassed all contemporary models....
 from West Germany
West Germany

West Germany was the common English name for the Germany , from its formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when East Germany was dissolved and its States of Germany became part of the Federal Republic, ending the more than 40-year division of Germany....
.

He played in several groups including The Vipers Skiffle Group and The Most Brothers before joining (in 1959) Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard

Sir Cliff Richard Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter, actor and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts....
's backing group The Drifters, who later changed their name to The Shadows
The Shadows

Nick-named: the Shads, The Shadows are the most successful United Kingdom instrumental and vocal group from the 1950s to the 2000s with an aggregate total of at least 64 UK hit singles....
 at Harris's suggestion. In 1959, after the neck of his Framus was terminally damaged in a dressing room accident, he was presented (by the importers) with a Fender Precision Bass
Fender Precision Bass

The Fender Precision Bass is an bass guitar, and was the first widely-available model of the instrument. It was designed by Leo Fender and brought to market in 1951....
, one of the first to come to Britain from the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

Harris also contributed vocally, adding backup harmonies
Harmony

In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously, and chord s, actual or implied, in music. The word is related to the word "harmonic" which implies related wavelengths of waves....
 and occasional lead vocals. He had a trademark scream used in the Shadows' "Feeling Fine" and Cliff Richard's "Do You Want to Dance".

In 1962, he left the Shadows following disagreements (documented in The Story of The Shadows, written by the group with Mike Read
Mike Read

Mike Read is a United Kingdom Presenter, writer and television presenter....
). He released solo instrumental and vocal work with some success and, as part of a duo with former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan

Daniel Joseph Anthony 'Tony' Meehan was a founder member of the United Kingdom group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch. He played drums on early Cliff Richard and The Shadows hit record and on early Shadows instrumentals ....
, topped the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
 in early 1963 with "Diamonds
Diamonds (Jerry Lordan song)

Diamonds is an instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. It was a #1 hit in the UK for Jet Harris and Tony Meehan.The guitar Jet Harris used on the record was a Fender six string bass....
" (featuring Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page

James Patrick Page Order of the British Empire is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he co-founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin....
 on rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar

Rhythm guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chord al accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the country music, blues music, rock music or Heavy metal music genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the melodic lines and solos play...
). Harris and Meehan followed this with two further hit singles, "Scarlett O'Hara" and "Applejack".

However, a motor car crash later that year (in which singer Billie Davis
Billie Davis

Billie Davis is an English people female singing of Jewish origin who had hit record in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the United Kingdom hit cover version of the song, "Tell Him " and "I Want You to Be My Baby" ....
 was also injured), as well as personal problems, meant that this success did not last long. Harris attempted a solo comeback in 1966 and was briefly in the line-up of the Jeff Beck Group in 1967, but somewhat fell out of the music industry. He then worked variously as a labourer, bricklayer
Bricklayer

A bricklayer or mason is a tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use Cinder block to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry....
, porter
Porter (carrier)

A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who carries objects for others....
 in a hospital, bus conductor, and as a seller of cockle
Cockle (bivalve)

Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
s on the beach in Jersey
Jersey

The Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes the nearly uninhabited islands of the Minquiers, ?cr?hous, the Pierres de Lecq and other rocks and reefs....
.

Harris still played occasionally, with backing band The Diamonds or as a guest with The Rapiers, and teamed up with Tony Meehan for a support performance in Cliff Richard's 1989 'The Event' concert
Concert

A concert is a live performance, usually of music, before an audience. The music may be performed by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band....
s.

In 1998 he was awarded a Fender Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in popularising the bass guitar in Britain.

He appears annually in Bruce Welch's "Shadowmania" usually to a raptuous standing ovation. He tours each year with The Rapiers (a Shadows tribute band) who are recording artists in their own right.

He has recorded continuously since the late 1980's with a variety of collaborators including "Tangent", Alan Jones (also an ex-Shadows bassist who retired due to a serious car accident), Bobby Graham, The Local Heroes. His previous problems with stage nerves seem to have disappeared and his personal appearances display his great dry sense of humour as well as his excellent bass and lead guitar artistry.

2006 saw Harris' first single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
  release in over 40 years, "San Antonio".

In a December 2008 interview for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is a United Kingdom newspaper, currently published in a tabloid format. First published in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun ....
, Harris spoke about not having been invited to join The Shadows for their 50th anniversary performance at the Royal Variety Show.

Harris will stage a 50th Anniversary Concert on June 6 and 7, 2009 at the Amersham Rock 'n' Roll Club.

Solo Discography


Singles

  • "Besame Mucho
    Bésame Mucho

    "B?same Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 in music by Mexican Consuelo Vel?zquez before her sixteenth birthday. The phrase "b?same mucho" can be translated into English as "kiss me a lot"....
    " (solo) May 1962 Decca F11466 UK#22
  • "Main Title Theme (from The Man With the Golden Arm
    The Man with the Golden Arm

    The Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a morphine addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world....
    )" (solo) August 1962 Decca F11488 UK#12
  • "Diamonds
    Diamonds (Jerry Lordan song)

    Diamonds is an instrumental written by Jerry Lordan. It was a #1 hit in the UK for Jet Harris and Tony Meehan.The guitar Jet Harris used on the record was a Fender six string bass....
    " b/w "Footstomp" (with Tony Meehan) January 1963 Decca F11563 UK#1
  • "Scarlett O'Hara" b/w "(Doing the) Hully Gully" (with Tony Meehan) April 1963 Decca F11644 UK#2
  • "Applejack" (with Tony Meehan) September 1963 Decca F11710 UK#4
  • "Theme For a Fallen Idol"/"Guitar Man"
  • " Big Bad Bass"/"Rifka"
  • "Diamonds/"Big Bad Bass From Texas"
  • "My Lady" b/w "You Don't Live Twice" 1967 UK Fontana TF 849 (arranged by Tony Meehan)
  • "San Antonio" (solo) 2006


Albums

  • "Inside Jet Harris" Ellie Jay Records/ Castle Records (1977)
  • "Diamonds and Other Gems" Deram 820634-2 (1989)
  • "The Anniversary Album" Q Records (1992)
  • " Twelve Great Guitar Gems" Zing Records (1994)
  • "Live Over England" Zing Records (1996)
  • "Beyond The Shadow of a Doubt" Zing Records (1993)
  • "Two of a Kind" (with Alan Jones) Zing Records (1997)
  • "Tributes and Rarities" Zing Records (1995)
  • "One of Our Shadows is Missing" (with The Local Heroes) (1998)
  • "The Phoenix Rises" Mustang Music (2001)
  • "Diamonds are Trumps" Solent Records (2002)
  • "The Journey" Crazy Lighthouse Records (2007)


External links