Fifty years ago next Friday...

[JimN]

...10th August 1962... Jet Harris's second Decca single, Main Title Theme (The Man With The Golden Arm) was released.

It had been recorded on 5th June and was the follow-up to Jet's first solo record: Besame Mucho.

I don't remember hearing Besame Mucho until 1976 (when I got a copy aboard a Decca compilation LP), but Main Title Theme was an entirely different kettle of fish. It was all over the media, even being reviewed on Associated-Rediffusion's "Needle Match" TV programme, where it was matched against the new Duane Eddy single Dance With The Guitar Man, for a panel including Oliver Reed to assess which one they thought the better track. Wish I could remember which one they picked...

Main Title Theme reached number 12 in the UK charts and spent eleven weeks in the best sellers list. It finished up as the 93rd best-selling single of 1962, with the debut single of a new group just beating it by attaining 92nd place: The Beatles with Love Me Do.

[Arpeggio]

Still as briliant as ever. Another timeless classic. Many thanks for the reminder and, as ever, superb background information Jim.

Rob

[Arpeggio]

I've just realised.....Jet and Decca had great taste (but then again, so did I!!!!!) as "Main Title Theme..." was actually released on my 10th birthday!! I do recall hearing it played on the radio (especially 'Luxy'). The following week (17th) - "Telstar" was released. I also recall hearing that on Radio Luxembourg and initially thought that the still brilliant FX at the beginning was actually 'Luxy's' usual appalling signal failures (with all that 'whooshing', fading, surging, 'wow and flutter' that used to happen). Anyway - the result was that, because of birthday money etc, by the end of August both of those magnificent singles were in my possession. I shall celebrate next week by playing them both at full blast. As a child, I could never have imagined that I would have ever have met (let alone count some of them as friends!) Jet Harris, Tony Meehan, Charles Blackwell, Big Jim Sullivan, Clem Cattini, Heinz, Roger LaVern and Geoff Goddard. Sadly - many of them are no longer with us. But what memories! The music does indeed live on!!!!

Rob

[David Martin]

We must make sure it does...

[Jay Bass]

Its Also 50 years ago today (4th august )that The Shadows Entered The Charts At No 28
With Guitar Tango .
The First Release With Jet's Replacement Brian Licorice Locking on bass.

Regards
Jay

[Fenderman]

I thought Jet played on the basic track for Guitar Tango, just before he left?

[Iain Purdon]

No, there's an earlier version of Guitar Tango with Jet but the arrangement was not quite the same and it was not regarded as right for release. Licorice was on the session for the released version.
Jet is on the B side, however, with What a Lovely Tune. HIs last appearance on a Shads single.

Iain

[Arpeggio]

Spot on Iain. "What a Lovely Tune" was completed on April 4th, 1962. The Shads (as Iain noted) were still working up and polishing the arrangement for "Guitar Tango". Several unreleased rehearsal takes featuring Jet, doubtless recorded during March / April (Jet left on April 15th) 1962, do still exist. Licorice took over and the released version of "Guitar Tango" (featuring Lic) was recorded on May 23rd, 1962. But...anyway....like hundreds of thousands of other fans, I too bought the single back in August, 1962. What a fantastic month for Instrumentals! No wonder my second decade got off to such a wonderful start!!!

Rob

[anniv 63]

Regarding the black and white video footage of Jet miming to Man With The
Golden Arm.
This comes from a Scottish Television(stv) show from around August 1962,
and was called Studio Downbeat.
The host on the brief introduction on some copies is somebody called Raymond
Boyd. The show would presumably have been telerecorded at the Stv studios in
the Theatre Royal Hope Street Glasgow which was the main base for most
programming then.
Think I picked up this info on some site when the company was celebrating
50 years of broadcasting.

Mike

[cockroach]

Jet mimed MTT on Spot the Tune around that time...first time I saw a Bass VI...