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Although HBM played no part in the original recording has anyone any knowledge of just how Hank would have interpreted the lead part. As he has changed little of Ernie Shears interpretation are we to understand that it is as Samwell wanted it?

As a session musician, Ernie would usually have had to 'read the dots' and there's a prime example of this on the double-CD 'Great British Rock'n'roll Instrumentals' where he's the named soloist as 'Ernie Shear & The Lew Randall Band' when they tackle Cannonball for the UK covers label Society Records.

Compared to his inspired improvisations for Move It, Cannonball sounds very wooden indeed. In fact the whole thing sounds as if it was knocked off in one ragged take, with the double-bass player uncertain about the key changes. The whole album stands as an argument against trying to play rock'n'roll from a sheet of music symbols.

Leading the charge towards the golden land that was Apache are four guys who actually grew up with rock'n'roll rather than the assorted jazzers who thought that they could make a bob or two by playing quickstep rhythms with sticks instead of brushes. Those four are represented on this album by Chinchilla, Driftin', Jet Black and Bongo Blues. Their group's name? - it's at the top of your screen.

Ray

Ooooh, careful Ray!

Some of the best guitar (and other) playing on many classic rock'n'roll recordings (in the USA) was played by jazz players working as session musicians!

Quite a few British session players and band members were also jazz players- after all what were guys like Jet, Tony, Brian Bennett and Hank playing too before they played rock? Jazz (modern and trad) and dance band standards! What does Hank play NOW?

The ultimate result of people who couldn't really play was was punk rock in the 1970's- which may have had energy and 'attitude' but little musical merit...and listen to most young 'rock' players these days...hardly genius level , most of 'em...

Point taken, John, about US jazz players though I was focussing on the UK scene in the late 1950s where there was a mindset among the 'Archer Street crowd' that saw rock'n'roll as something crude and unmusical compared to the music that they had grown up with. An obvious example is tenor sax player Benny Green who played in Lord Rockingham's XI on the 'Oh Boy' show because he needed the work but wore dark glasses so that he wouldn't be recognised!

Agreed that Jet, Tony, Brian Bennett and Hank played briefly in jazz and dance bands but they were still only in their middle-teens when they were exposed to Bill Haley, Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee, Fats Domino, then a year or two later to Buddy Holly, Ricky Nelson, Eddie Cochran . . . . . They had the examples of Lonnie Donegan and Tommy Steele to show the way to fame and fortune in the UK and they quickly moved into skiffle and then the 2i's scene because they'd found their music. As Bruce says, the four that would later become The Drifters and then The Shadows actually played together for the first time on the stage of the 2i's in the summer of 1958. Not much time in their young lives to have done much jazz!

Ray

Hello Ray,
Would you please give me some further info on the double CD Great British Rock'n' Roll Instrumentals.
Would love to get a copy to add to my collection.
Cheers,
JB

Hello John

It has an auxiliary title Just About As Good As It Gets and it is 'Marketed and Distributed by Smith & Co' SCCD 1188. I got my copy in the big Oxford Street HMV store in London's West End, but as that's obviously impractical for you in New Zealand, you could buy it mail order from Bob at Bim-Bam.
http://www.bim-bam.com/instro.html
This will show you the full track listing.

Ray

Thanks for the comments.
Having put the guitar in the attic in 64 to join the Blue Funnel and only discovered it again in the last few years in retirement I used Move It to tune the guitar followed by one of Jets Harris's for bottom E A

Ray

Not all British session men who were jazzers and music readers were ashamed to play on rock stuff- dear old Bert has said that when such folk disapproved of him playing rock stuff, he told them 'if you can't play it, don't knock it!'

Despite their tenders years, Jet, Tony and Brian Bennett were quite experienced musicians before they joined the Shads...in fact I would guess that Bruce was the only real rocker/skiffler, and was not as widely experienced as the others in having played a wider range of musc. Hank was originally a jazzer with his banjo, and it was Bruce who turned him on to rock stuff. Skiffle was a key thing here because of it's 'common ground' mid way position betreen trad jazz, blues, folk, and country, but it was also simple enough to play by amateurs, like early rock- by the way, one of my first public performances was singing 'Puttin' on the style' at a primary school concert in London about 1958/9....so this opinion is not vicarious, as I WAS around back then!

cockroach wrote:Ray

Not all British session men who were jazzers and music readers were ashamed to play on rock stuff- dear old Bert has said that when such folk disapproved of him playing rock stuff, he told them 'if you can't play it, don't knock it!'

Despite their tenders years, Jet, Tony and Brian Bennett were quite experienced musicians before they joined the Shads...in fact I would guess that Bruce was the only real rocker/skiffler, and was not as widely experienced as the others in having played a wider range of musc. Hank was originally a jazzer with his banjo, and it was Bruce who turned him on to rock stuff. Skiffle was a key thing here because of it's 'common ground' mid way position betreen trad jazz, blues, folk, and country, but it was also simple enough to play by amateurs, like early rock- by the way, one of my first public performances was singing 'Puttin' on the style' at a primary school concert in London about 1958/9....so this opinion is not vicarious, as I WAS around back then!

Wow, At least when I went to sea ships were steam driven. I would hazard a guess that they were still sail driven when you were a lad.