jET HARRIS NEW BOOK

[Paul Childs]

This cheating in the studio has gone on for years.
Even a lot of The Beach Boys records had someone else recording the instruments while they were on tour and they just did the vocals when they came back.
Musicians from Phil Spectors Wrecking Crew were used a lot.
I also read somewhere once about The Ronnettes traveling through L.A. listening to the car radio and it mentioned 'This is the new one by the Ronnettes' and it was the first they had heard of it.
Then, what about The Monkees! I believe James Burton played the intro on Last Train to Clarksville.
The Byrds Mr. Tambourine man only had Roger Mcguinn playing his Rickenbacker 12 string.
Have you ever listened to Yellow River by Christie and also The Tremeloes version? The instrumentation sounds very familiar.

[iefje]

Well then, did Jet play on "Diamonds", "Besame Mucho" and "Main Title Theme (The Man With The Golden Arm)"? I am suddenly beginning to question all the early 1960's solo recordings. If he didn't play "Theme For A Fallen Idol", then he maybe also didn't participate in "This Sportin' Life" and "The Guitar Man", all from the same session. Did Tony Meehan even play on all the 1960's recordings?

Yes, Jet played on Diamonds, Besame Mucho and Main Title Theme (as well as Big Bad Bass). Or at least, there is no reason at all to suppose that he didn't.

Can of worms indeed. What I would not want is for it to be thought that Jet was in any way dishonest about any of this. He certainly wasn't and he was the person who revealed it, albeit it was a long time ago.

JN

But did Jet have part in "Scarlett O'Hara" and "Applejack", so not the lead part, but maybe the bass guitar part? Tony did participate in these two hits?

[biba]

HI.
For me and many others I have talk with this come as a big disapointment.
what will the reaction be if someone in the music business suddenly told us that Hank does not played on Apache,F.B.I and Wonderful Land?
It was played by ....................
That is my point!

biba

[Arpeggio]

I Found out about "Theme For A Fallen Idol" 22 years ago quite by chance when I was interviewing former Jethro Tull guitarist (later of Blodwyn Pig) Mick Abrahams. It was during the time when he was getting back to live playing with a new line up of '...the Pig'. It was a fascinating interview especially when Mick mentioned that he started out life (musically) as a 12 - year - old 'Hank Marvin Clone' in a group playing many Shadows instrumentals. It was later....when I asked him what he'd been doing (as he spent some time out of the music business) in between the demise of the Mick Abrahams Band and his 1989 'renaissance'....that he thought for a moment and said..."Hmmmm...ah...I was Jet Harris briefly back in 1975.." I was staggered - as his throwaway comment came right out of the blue. Mind you....Mick was also taken aback when I asked him if that was on "Theme For A Fallen Idol" produced by Roger LaVerne. He confirmed that it was & that the reason was that Jet had turned up for the session....but that he was heavily under the influence of alcohol and his attempts at playing were utterly disastrous. I also recalled that Mick was chief guitar demonstrator for SRT at the time & so it all made sense.
"I was a great fan of the Shadows and Jet Harris", he said, "...Roger LaVerne couldn't abort the session because other musicians were involved and he'd have to pay them whether they played anything or not. Anyway....I went over to the studio and quickly learnt the music. Then I just did my very best Jet Harris impression (on the guitar) for two and a half minutes...but I couldn't resist just putting a flashy couple of bars in at the end...." (Mick laughed as he said that).

As part of the Joe Meek Society I also got to know Roger LaVerne quite well and he subsequently confirmed Mick's account of events. Roger was also fiercely loyal to Jet and (even in 1989) he asked me not to let it be known that Jet wasn't on "Theme..." - purely to protect Jet at the time. Jet certainly played the number live during the 1970s. Re: "This Sportin' Life" and "Guitar Man" - neither Mick Abrahams nor Roger LaVerne have ever said that Jet didn't feature on those tracks.

Like some people (as has already been mentioned) I knew that Jet didn't play on "Scarlett O'Hara" and "Applejack" - although, of course, he subsequently played both numbers live (& on future re - recordings) many, many, many times. No - one has ever suggested that it wasn't Jet on "Besame Mucho", "...Golden Arm", "Diamonds" etc., etc. The main reason that Jet didn't actually play on a handful of tracks was, sadly, the effects of his alcoholism. Dave Nicholson's book certainly doesn't paint a very flattering picture of Jet. It's not surprising as it dwells heavily on the periods of Jet's life when he was a chronic alcoholic in the depths of depression. It makes for painful and harrowing reading.

When Jet famously said that he'd been "To Hell and back" - it was heartfelt. When he managed to end c. 35 years of alcohol addiction in 1997 - it must have been incredibly difficult for him to come to terms with what had happened during those terrible years. Yes.....it must have had a dreadful effect on those closest to him. Sadly, a lot of it he simply couldn't remember. It's always extremely difficult to separate out the tremendous effect musically that our heroes have on us from their private lives. It's not for me to judge Jet (who I knew privately on one level for almost 25 years)....but the book (although I don't doubt the brutal honesty of some of the accounts) is upsetting.

But.....musically...for what he did with the Shadows and his solo career (even though he didn't play on on two or three tracks) and particularly for the years 1997 - 2010 - he still (IMHO) deserves the accolades he received. Jet's interaction with the fans was also 100% genuine. Let's just also say that the personal lives of many great musicians (Jazz, Rock, Popular, Soul, Folk, Classical etc) and composers - do not make for pleasant reading. Generally though - we all tend to separate out all of these personal issues when enjoying great music. Similar parallels can also be drawn with many great and popular authors, poets, artists etc., etc., etc.

Best wishes to all....Rob

[bgohara]

Rob - absolutely spot on. Thanks for your well thought out comments - which bring a sense of reality to this discussion.
Bernie

[iefje]

This cheating in the studio has gone on for years.
Even a lot of The Beach Boys records had someone else recording the instruments while they were on tour and they just did the vocals when they came back.
Musicians from Phil Spectors Wrecking Crew were used a lot.
I also read somewhere once about The Ronnettes traveling through L.A. listening to the car radio and it mentioned 'This is the new one by the Ronnettes' and it was the first they had heard of it.
Then, what about The Monkees! I believe James Burton played the intro on Last Train to Clarksville.
The Byrds Mr. Tambourine man only had Roger Mcguinn playing his Rickenbacker 12 string.
Have you ever listened to Yellow River by Christie and also The Tremeloes version? The instrumentation sounds very familiar.

I also read somewhere that Gerry McGee, the second lead guitarist of The Ventures played on "Last Train To Clarksville".

[dave robinson]

HI.
For me and many others I have talk with this come as a big disapointment.
what will the reaction be if someone in the music business suddenly told us that Hank does not played on Apache,F.B.I and Wonderful Land?
It was played by ....................
That is my point!

biba

As someone who has been in a band and recorded since the sixties, I thought that it was common knowledge that session musicians were used to save studio time and money - I have been involved in recordings where I didn't play lead guitar as the track was already laid down (Terry Britten played on one of ours) but it wasn't because we or I couldn't play it rather than we simply weren't there at the session as we were at the other end of the country gigging. We added our vocals at a later date. Jet was capable of playing his hits on all his appearances since the record was made so what is the big deal, he is still THE MAN when it comes to the early Shadows bass lines and is still a legend. You need to get over it as it's now getting boring. By the way, The Tremeloes WERE the sound of Yellow River, Jeff Christie gave them the song which they recorded and never used at the time, inviting Jeff to add his own vocal to the Trems track which resulted in a number one hit for Christie. How do I know ? Lead guitarist Ricky West told me when we worked together in Lincoln last year.

[Alan Prudhoe]

Beautifully put Rob - as always.

[d jones]

Hi

Thanks Rob, as Alan says beautifully written. You're the one man with a way with words even for a sensitive and touchy subject! Cheers Rob.

Dave

[cockroach]

Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones wrote in his book 'Stone Alone' that on the February 1964 Stones package tour which also featured Jet, he noticed that Jet was drinking heavily, a whole crate of light ale every night in his dressing room, a consequence of which was that he mimed on stage while Billy Kyle of the Innocents, his backing group, played the tunes hidden behind the stage curtains.

It is known that this was a very bad period for poor old Jet, after his car accident etc

Having had the privilege of meeting and talking to Jet at Shadowmania in 2007, I doubt that he would have denied such happenings, or made a fuss about it, he would have been open and honest - as he admitted to my mate, who interviewed him some years ago, 'I was a very naughty boy'....

We love these guys, and they are musical heroes and an inspiration to us all, but they are all human, with usual human failings..

Same with Hank and Bruce- let's face it, the sackings of Tony, then Jet, at the peak of the band's popularity, may have been considered necessary to keep the band on track and functioning professionally, but they were just as ruthless as the Beatles sacking Pete Best, and the Stones ejcting Brian Jones, and so many other examples.

I haven't read this book about Jet, and whether he wanted it published or not, it's out there and available now, after his passing, but to suggest that people not buy it, or read it, or mention it on this site (of all others!) is a bit ridiculous.

It's not so much a matter of speaking ill of the dead, but if much if not all of it can be shown to be truthful (such as other people on this thread have said, that many of the less happy events etc were true, admitted and known to some long ago) then it is surely a valid topic to be discussed on this site, provided nobody becomes offensive or abusive.

Maybe people will disagree with my opinion here, or rebuke me , but if we can't speak our minds or offer an opinion in a civilised and thoughtful manner, without wishing to cause offence, then this site has outlived its usefulness.

If this site descends into a sycophantic hero worship forum, or people are afraid to post an opinion or comment for fear of being banned or censored, then it's not worth being a member.

As Basil Fawlty said- 'oops, I mentioned the war, but I think I got away with it...'