Jet Harris
Encyclopedia
Jet Harris, MBE
(born Terence Harris; 6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English
musician. He was the bass guitarist
of The Shadows
until April 1962, and had subsequent success as a soloist
and as a duo
with the drummer
Tony Meehan
.
, North London
, England
. His prowess as a sprinter at Dudden Hill secondary modern school
earned him the nickname Jet.
Although he learned to play clarinet
as a teenager
, he made his own four-string double bass
to play in a jazz
group
and later graduated to a professionally made double bass. In 1958, while playing jazz with drummer
Tony Crombie
and his group the Rockets, Crombie got a Framus
bass guitar for Harris, making him one of the first British exponents of the instrument.
He subsequently was given by Cliff Richard the first Fender Bass (red) guitar in the UK in 1960 soon after Hank Marvin received his Fender Stratocaster (red) guitar. Both instruments were used in The Young Ones film while The Shadows played 'The Savage' (showing the famous Shadows' walk) to an invited audience of teenagers.
He played in several groups including the Vipers Skiffle Group and the Most Brothers before, in 1959, joining Cliff Richard
's backing group the Drifters, who later changed their name to The Shadows
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
, one of the first to come to Britain from the United States
.
Harris also contributed vocally, adding backup
harmonies
and occasional lead vocals. He had a trademark scream used in the Shadows' "Feeling Fine" and Cliff Richard's "Do You Wanna Dance?
"
In Mike Read
's book The Story of the Shadows Harris lays the blame for the start of his depression and related alcohol addiction with Carol Costa, whom he married in 1959. She, the first of Harris’s four wives, had an affair
with Cliff Richard
, and remains the only woman known definitively to have slept with Richard.
In 1962, he left the Shadows following disagreements (documented in The Story of The Shadows, written by the group with Mike Read). He had been forced to resign (ie a constructive dismissal) after Bruce Welch
made an off-hand remark about his wife's ongoing affair with Richard. He had never been given time off from the Shadows during 1959-62 to facilitate a reconciliation with his wife and/or deal with his depression and alcoholism.
and released solo instrumental
and vocal work with some success. Then, as part of a duo with former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan
, he topped the UK Singles Chart
for three weeks in early 1963 with "Diamonds
". Harris and Meehan followed this with two further hit singles, "Scarlett O'Hara" (also written by Jerry Lordan) a UK #2, and "Applejack" (composed by Les Vandyke
) reaching UK #4 also in 1963. Harris's singles were relatively unusual in that they made prominent use of the bass as a lead instrument which was an idea he got from Big Jim Sullivan
, and the best of them—"Diamonds," "The Man With the Golden Arm", and "Man From Nowhere"—had a menacing, shuddering bass reminiscent of the best James Bond
soundtrack
s. Harris was partly responsible for helping both Jimmy Page
and John Paul Jones
break into the music business. Page's first major session was as a rhythm guitarist on "Diamonds", in late 1962. After "Diamonds" became a hit, Harris and Meehan hired Jones to play bass in their touring band.
There were several court appearances involving drunkenness and violent behaviour before the partnership with Meehan came to an abrupt end in September 1963 when a car crash (in which his girl-friend, singer Billie Davis
, was also injured), 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
, porter
in a hospital, bus conductor, and as a seller of cockle
s on the beach in Jersey
.
s.
In 1998, he was awarded a Fender Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in popularising the bass guitar in Britain. He appeared annually in Bruce Welch's 'Shadowmania' and tours each year with the Rapiers (a Shadows tribute band
) who are recording
artists
in their own right. He recorded continuously from the late 1980s with a variety of collaborators including Tangent, Alan Jones (also an ex-Shadows bassist who retired due to a serious car accident), Bobby Graham and the Local Heroes. His previous problems with stage nerves had seemingly disappeared, and 2006 saw Harris's first single
release in over forty years, "San Antonio".
In 2007 Harris was invited by legendary UK singer Marty Wilde
to be special guest on his 50th Anniversary tour. This culminated in an evening at the London Palladium with other guests including Wilde's daughters Kim and Roxanne, Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, members of the original Wildcats - Big Jim Sullivan, Licorice Locking and Brian Bennett, who also joined Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of the Shadows on stage with Wilde and his band the Wildcats (Neville Marten and Eddie Allen on guitar, Roger Newell bass, John Dutton keyboards and Bryan Fitzpatrick, drums). The show's finale featured the closest thing to a Shadows reunion possible with Marvin, Welch, Harris and Brian Bennett (who in 1962 had replaced the late Tony Meehan) all appearing on stage with the show's company.
The evening was filmed and a DVD released, with Harris playing three tunes - "Diamonds", "Theme From Something Really Important" and "Scarlett O'Hara" - backed by the Wildcats.
So successful was this tour that Wilde repeated the invitation to join him on his 2010 Born To Rock And Roll tour, which finished in Basingstoke on November 20. Harris has said that this was his most enjoyable working experience in years.
In a December 2008 interview for the Daily Mail
, Harris spoke about not having been invited to join the Shadows for their 50th anniversary, at the Royal Variety Performance
.
His fan club arranged a 70th birthday party for him on 5 July 2009, at the Winter Garden
s, Weston-Super-Mare
. He resided in Bembridge
, Isle of Wight
.
In 2010, Harris was presented with a special award from the US Fender
guitar company for his services to their company in effectively launching their bass guitar in the UK in 1960.
and died on 18 March 2011, two years after being diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary, at the home of his partner Janet Hemingway, in Winchester
.
1956 - The Delinquents (jazz trio)
1956-57 - Wee Willee Harris & Tony Crombie's Rockets
1958 - The Vipers (aka The Vipers Skiffle Group)
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(born Terence Harris; 6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
musician. He was the bass guitarist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
of The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
until April 1962, and had subsequent success as a soloist
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
and as a duo
Duet (music)
A duet is a musical composition for two performers. In classical music, the term is most often used for a composition for two singers or pianists; with other instruments, the word duo is also often used. A piece performed by two pianists performing together on the same piano is referred to as...
with the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan
Daniel Joseph Anthony "Tony" Meehan was a founder member of the British group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch...
.
Early life and career with the Shadows
Harris, the only child of Bill and Winifred Harris, was born Terence Harris at Honeypot Lane, KingsburyKingsbury
Kingsbury is an area in the London Borough of Brent, northwest London. The name Kingsbury means "The King's Manor".-History:Kingsbury was historically a small parish in the Hundred of Gore and county of Middlesex. Until the nineteenth century it was largely rural with only scattered settlements....
, North London
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England. It is an imprecise description and the area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes. Common to these definitions is that it includes districts located north of the River Thames and is used in comparison with South...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. His prowess as a sprinter at Dudden Hill secondary modern school
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
earned him the nickname Jet.
Although he learned to play clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
as a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, he made his own four-string double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
to play in a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
group
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
and later graduated to a professionally made double bass. In 1958, while playing jazz with drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Tony Crombie
Tony Crombie
Anthony John "Tony" Crombie was an English 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...
and his group the Rockets, Crombie got a Framus
Framus
Framus is a German 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 ....
bass guitar for Harris, making him one of the first British exponents of the instrument.
He subsequently was given by Cliff Richard the first Fender Bass (red) guitar in the UK in 1960 soon after Hank Marvin received his Fender Stratocaster (red) guitar. Both instruments were used in The Young Ones film while The Shadows played 'The Savage' (showing the famous Shadows' walk) to an invited audience of teenagers.
He played in several groups including the Vipers Skiffle Group and the Most Brothers before, in 1959, joining Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
's backing group the Drifters, who later changed their name to The Shadows
The Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
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 electric bass.Designed by Leo Fender as a prototype in 1950 and brought to market in 1951, the Precision was the first electric bass to earn widespread attention and use. A revolutionary instrument for the time, the Precision Bass has made an immeasurable impact on...
, one of the first to come to Britain from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Harris also contributed vocally, adding backup
Backing vocalist
A backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
and occasional lead vocals. He had a trademark scream used in the Shadows' "Feeling Fine" and Cliff Richard's "Do You Wanna Dance?
Do You Wanna Dance?
"Do You Wanna Dance?" is a song written by Bobby Freeman , and recorded by him in 1958. It is also popular in a version performed by the Beach Boys, which was released in 1965, and in a version recorded by Bette Midler in 1972...
"
In Mike Read
Mike Read
Michael David Kenneth Read is an English radio disc jockey, writer, journalist and television presenter.-Early life:...
's book The Story of the Shadows Harris lays the blame for the start of his depression and related alcohol addiction with Carol Costa, whom he married in 1959. She, the first of Harris’s four wives, had an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, and remains the only woman known definitively to have slept with Richard.
In 1962, he left the Shadows following disagreements (documented in The Story of The Shadows, written by the group with Mike Read). He had been forced to resign (ie a constructive dismissal) after Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch
Bruce Welch OBE, is an English guitarist, songwriter, producer and singer, best known as a member of The Shadows.-Biography:...
made an off-hand remark about his wife's ongoing affair with Richard. He had never been given time off from the Shadows during 1959-62 to facilitate a reconciliation with his wife and/or deal with his depression and alcoholism.
With Tony Meehan
He signed with DeccaDecca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
and released solo instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
and vocal work with some success. Then, as part of a duo with former Shadows drummer Tony Meehan
Tony Meehan
Daniel Joseph Anthony "Tony" Meehan was a founder member of the British group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch...
, he topped the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
for three weeks 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.The recording features Jimmy Page on acoustic rhythm guitar....
". Harris and Meehan followed this with two further hit singles, "Scarlett O'Hara" (also written by Jerry Lordan) a UK #2, and "Applejack" (composed by Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke
Les Vandyke was a popular music singer and later songwriter in the 1950s and 1960s. He was also known as Johnny Worth and John Worsley...
) reaching UK #4 also in 1963. Harris's singles were relatively unusual in that they made prominent use of the bass as a lead instrument which was an idea he got from Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan
Big Jim Sullivan is an English musician, whose career started in 1959. He is best known as a session guitarist. In the 1960s and 1970s, Sullivan was one of the most "in-demand" studio musicians in the UK, and performed in more than one thousand charting singles over his career...
, and the best of them—"Diamonds," "The Man With the Golden Arm", and "Man From Nowhere"—had a menacing, shuddering bass reminiscent of the best James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s. Harris was partly responsible for helping both Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, 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 founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and John Paul Jones
John Paul Jones (musician)
John Paul Jones is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, composer, arranger and record producer. Best known as the bassist, mandolinist, and keyboardist for English rock band Led Zeppelin, Jones has since developed a solo career and has gained even more respect as both a musician and a...
break into the music business. Page's first major session was as a rhythm guitarist on "Diamonds", in late 1962. After "Diamonds" became a hit, Harris and Meehan hired Jones to play bass in their touring band.
There were several court appearances involving drunkenness and violent behaviour before the partnership with Meehan came to an abrupt end in September 1963 when a car crash (in which his girl-friend, singer Billie Davis
Billie Davis
Billie Davis is an English female singer who had hits in the 1960s, and is best remembered for the UK hit version of the song, "Tell Him" and "I Want You to Be My Baby" ....
, was also injured), 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 craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The term also refers to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. In British and Australian English, a bricklayer is colloquially known as a "brickie".The training of a trade in...
, porter
Porter (carrier)
A porter, also called a bearer, is a person who shifts objects for others.-Historical meaning:Human adaptability and flexibility early led to the use of humans for shifting gear...
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 molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....
s on the beach in Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially 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 two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
.
Later career
Harris was declared bankrupt in 1988. The BBC reported that it took Harris 30 years of heavy drinking before he finally admitted to being an alcoholic and sought help. For many years Harris made a point in his stage shows of saying how long it had been since he quit drinking, winning applause from audiences who knew how it had wrecked his career in the 60s. 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' concertConcert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be 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 appeared annually in Bruce Welch's 'Shadowmania' and tours each year with the Rapiers (a Shadows tribute band
Tribute band
A tribute act is a music group, singer, or musician who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act - sometimes one which has disbanded, ceased touring or is deceased. Probably the largest class of tributes acts are Elvis impersonators, individual performers who mimic the songs and style...
) who are recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
artists
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
in their own right. He recorded continuously from the late 1980s with a variety of collaborators including Tangent, Alan Jones (also an ex-Shadows bassist who retired due to a serious car accident), Bobby Graham and the Local Heroes. His previous problems with stage nerves had seemingly disappeared, and 2006 saw Harris's first single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
release in over forty years, "San Antonio".
In 2007 Harris was invited by legendary UK singer Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
to be special guest on his 50th Anniversary tour. This culminated in an evening at the London Palladium with other guests including Wilde's daughters Kim and Roxanne, Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, members of the original Wildcats - Big Jim Sullivan, Licorice Locking and Brian Bennett, who also joined Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch of the Shadows on stage with Wilde and his band the Wildcats (Neville Marten and Eddie Allen on guitar, Roger Newell bass, John Dutton keyboards and Bryan Fitzpatrick, drums). The show's finale featured the closest thing to a Shadows reunion possible with Marvin, Welch, Harris and Brian Bennett (who in 1962 had replaced the late Tony Meehan) all appearing on stage with the show's company.
The evening was filmed and a DVD released, with Harris playing three tunes - "Diamonds", "Theme From Something Really Important" and "Scarlett O'Hara" - backed by the Wildcats.
So successful was this tour that Wilde repeated the invitation to join him on his 2010 Born To Rock And Roll tour, which finished in Basingstoke on November 20. Harris has said that this was his most enjoyable working experience in years.
In a December 2008 interview for the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
, Harris spoke about not having been invited to join the Shadows for their 50th anniversary, at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
.
His fan club arranged a 70th birthday party for him on 5 July 2009, at the Winter Garden
Winter Garden
Winter Garden may refer to:* A winter garden, winter-hardy plants grown for winter interest and decoration, or to be harvested for food between winter and early spring.-Places:* Winter Garden, California, former community in Kern County...
s, Weston-Super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare
Weston-super-Mare is a seaside resort, town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which is within the ceremonial county of Somerset, England. It is located on the Bristol Channel coast, south west of Bristol, spanning the coast between the bounding high ground of Worlebury...
. He resided in Bembridge
Bembridge
Bembridge is an affluent village and civil parish located on the easternmost point of the Isle of Wight. It had a population of 3,848 according to the 2001 census of the United Kingdom, leading to claims by residents that Bembridge is the largest village in England, and occasional claims that it is...
, Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
.
MBE
He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.In 2010, Harris was presented with a special award from the US Fender
Fender
Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, commonly referred to as simply Fender, of Scottsdale, Arizona is a manufacturer of stringed instruments and amplifiers, such as solid-body electric guitars, including the Stratocaster and the Telecaster...
guitar company for his services to their company in effectively launching their bass guitar in the UK in 1960.
Personal life and death
Harris had 4 sons. He was a heavy smokerTobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
and died on 18 March 2011, two years after being diagnosed with cancer of unknown primary, at the home of his partner Janet Hemingway, in Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
.
Members of pre-Shadows groups
1952 - School band- Peter Newman (saxophone) + John Welsh (clarinet) + Jet Harris (bass) + Ray Edmunds (drums)
1956 - The Delinquents (jazz trio)
- ? (vocals) + ? (guitar) + Jet Harris (bass) + ? (drums)
1956-57 - Wee Willee Harris & Tony Crombie's Rockets
- ? (vocals) + ? (guitar) + Jet Harris (bass) + Tony Crombie (drums)
1958 - The Vipers (aka The Vipers Skiffle Group)
- 7" single (Liverpool Blues/Summertime Blues on Parlophone)
- Wally Whyton (vocals) + Johnny Booker (guitar) + Freddie Floyd (guitar) + Jet Harris (bass) + Tony MeehanTony MeehanDaniel Joseph Anthony "Tony" Meehan was a founder member of the British group The Shadows with Jet Harris, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch...
(drums)
- 1958 - The Vipers - live concert
- Wally Whyton (vocals) + Johnny Booker (guitar) + Hank MarvinHank MarvinHank Brian Marvin is an English guitarist, best known as the lead guitarist for The Shadows. The group, which primarily performed instrumentals, was formed as a backing band for vocalist Cliff Richard...
(guitar) + Jet Harris (bass) + Johnny Pilgrim (wb)
Singles
- "Besame MuchoBésame Mucho"Bésame Mucho" is a Spanish language song written in 1940 by Mexican songwriter Consuelo Velázquez.-Inspiration:According to Velázquez herself, she wrote this song even though she had never been kissed yet at the time, and kissing as she heard was considered a sin.She was inspired by the piano...
" (solo) - May 1962 (Decca F11466) UKUK Singles ChartThe UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
#22 - "Main Title Theme (from The Man With the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden ArmThe Man with the Golden Arm is a 1955 American drama film, based on the novel of the same name by Nelson Algren, which tells the story of a heroin addict who gets clean while in prison, but struggles to stay that way in the outside world. It stars Frank Sinatra, Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold...
)" (solo) - August 1962 (Decca F11488) UK #12 - "DiamondsDiamonds (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.The recording features Jimmy Page on acoustic rhythm guitar....
" 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" b/w "The Tall Texan" (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" / "You Don't Live Twice" - 1967 (Fontana TF 849) (arrangedArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
by Tony Meehan) - "San Antonio" (solo) - 2006
- "Jet Harris / Wild One (Real Wild Child) - Decca
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)