The ShadowMusic Web Community

With regards the Paul McCartney quote, maybe also worth mentioning that it was either Lennon or Harrison that said "No Shadows... No Beatles!"

I'll leave you to decide which comment suggests the biggest (and perhaps most important) influence.

It's also certainly a fact that places like America can be incredibly polarised in terms of their acceptance of different genres of music. For example, a band like the Scissor Sisters or Sparks were probably far more popular in New York than they ever were further west. For that reason, I'd be willing to bet that (certainly at first) the Beach Boys had a far bigger following on the west coast than anywhere else. I am guessing that this probably could be verified.

Glad that I got a lively discussion going with my Beach Boys comments. It would certainly be interesting to go back in time, take them out of the equation (separately of course) and see which group did indeed have the most profound effect upon the generations of musicians that followed. Still, for the time being, that isn't going to be possible, but I'll stick with my assertion that - regardless of numbers of records sold - the Shadows made the biggest impression.

Paul Childs wrote: ... Strange The Shadows never caught on in the USA though? Although maybe they are known there by some guitar players and Fender fans. At the time in the early 60s the States had surf music instead but still with the Fender sound.

Well, I'm on the Strat Talk forum which is US based, and believe me, people on there are well aware of the Shadows, their sound and their influence.

And Paul, thanks for reminding me that I keep meaning to do a Shadows-style backing track for Summer Means New Love, and still haven't done it yet.

I'm just reading a huge McCartney biography and for once the Shads get mentioned a few times - at one point the author says ''The Shadows apart'' groups were not known by their individual names until the Beatles. So despite trying to imply the Beatles were the first to be known as individuals, the same sentence admits that the Shads were!

(The book also says the young McCartney used to do an impression of Jet - falling off the Cavern stage)

It was the sleeve notes for The Beatles' first LP (Please Please Me, in the spring of 1963) which mentioned that the only other group whose first names were as well known as those of the Fab Four were The Shadows.

It is more difficult to copy the voices of the Beach boys. It is difficult to find out who's singing what, when they are singing together in the 'Pet sounds' period.
For years I have been looking for websites that explain the separate voices of famous singing groups. I have found nothing.

Try this chap's videos. I think he does other groups and not just Beatles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryn689fW4c0

Jeff Beck fronted Brian Wilson's band and did Surfs Up. Would have loved to have seen Hank front this band with his style of playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF1ZZPsH328

Further to the McCartney biography it says Paul went on holiday (with Jane Asher) and stayed at Bruce's villa - when he arrived he asked Bruce for a guitar - and played Yesterday maybe for the first time as it finished up (i.e. not 'scrambled eggs'). Assume this is well known to Shads fans - but maybe not?

MikeAB wrote:Further to the McCartney biography it says Paul went on holiday (with Jane Asher) and stayed at Bruce's villa - when he arrived he asked Bruce for a guitar - and played Yesterday maybe for the first time as it finished up (i.e. not 'scrambled eggs'). Assume this is well known to Shads fans - but maybe not?

Yes, I've heard that story a few times but have always been puzzled because Paul is a left-handed guitarist and I would assume that any guitars Bruce had lying about would be right-handed. Maybe Paul is ambidextrous...?

Moderne wrote:

MikeAB wrote:Further to the McCartney biography it says Paul went on holiday (with Jane Asher) and stayed at Bruce's villa - when he arrived he asked Bruce for a guitar - and played Yesterday maybe for the first time as it finished up (i.e. not 'scrambled eggs'). Assume this is well known to Shads fans - but maybe not?

Yes, I've heard that story a few times but have always been puzzled because Paul is a left-handed guitarist and I would assume that any guitars Bruce had lying about would be right-handed. Maybe Paul is ambidextrous...?

In my experience, most left handed guitar players can play at least a few chords 'upside down' on a right handed guitar...