Friday August 1, 2008
GEORGE HARRISON
and the Wah – Wah
You won't hear me sighing .. no, no, - You won't see me crying .. no, no, no, no !
GEORGE HARRISON
and the Wah – Wah
You won't hear me sighing .. no, no, - You won't see me crying .. no, no, no, no !
The ‘sound effect’ known as a crude precursor to today’s Wah-Wah pedal was invented by a man named Clyde McCoy who used it on his Trumpet in a 1931 recording entitled Sugar Blues. It was not styled as a Wah Wah; as a matter of fact – it was not called anything. There was no mention on the recording as to what exactly made the Trumpet sound ‘different’. Regardless, Clyde nor anyone else ever used the device, again.
In 1945, the US Army used a variation of the device to make a ‘sound effect’ to resemble a baby crying on one of it’s propaganda Shorts, shown in Movie Houses before a full length movie was shown. It was not patented nor was it named. It was a non-issue. When people referred to the ‘noise’ – they called it a ‘crybaby’ because it was played in lieu of a real baby’s cry.
In 1961, Chet Atkins played some live shows using yet another variation of this device. No mention was made as to it’s origin and Chet never used it on a recording.
Now, fast forward to 1964 .. a musical blitz was hitting England, the United States and the World .. known as Beatlemania. Four young lads from Liverpool, England were making music in a fashion that had not been heard before. And they were receiving raves throughout the entire music industry.
Even in those early days – every new song and/or album was different than what had preceded it. Mania was an apt description of what was happening.
They even looked different than the other musical youths of the day .. what with their moptop haircuts and suit jackets with no lapels.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the older ones of the group and they formed a songwriting duo known as Lennon/McCartney. But they were not the only talented ones of the group. As a matter of fact – they were not even the most talented ones. There was a skinny young Lead Guitar player by the name of George Harrison. And although Lennon and McCartney garnered most of the early attention by singing and writing most of the songs on each album, George was making his presence felt.
On the 1964 album, Help (with Movie adaptation), there was a George Harrison penned tune that he sang like a bird. The song was entitled, I Need You. Not much mention was made by the local album buying public to this song but musicians throughout the industry took note of something George had done to make his Guitar sound strange.
All we need do is listen to the first line of the song;
You don't realize how much I need you,
And then, there it was: Wah-wah !
The Wah-Wah pedal was born. And even though George rarely used the device again, other musicians like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Yardbirds and Peter Frampton grabbed it and made vastly popular songs with this unique sound.
What I find so fascinating about this story is the fact that the Wah – Wah, as George used it had never been done before. And there was absolutely no patent on the device nor the sound that it made. With the attention that it was receiving and copycat recordings being made – George had two full years in which to apply for .. and receive a patent and collect vast sums of money from other recording artists that were craving it’s sound.
Eric Clapton was George’s closest friend and was in a Band known as the Yardbirds. The record producer for the Yardbirds was a man by the name of B. J. Plunkett. B. J. asked Eric to have George let the Yardbirds use the Wah – Wah for a discounted fee. Eric asked George and George told Eric that he was NOT going to patent the device nor it’s sound. So, if you look in the Patent Office, you’ll find that the Wah – Wah was patented in 1966 by a B. J. Plunkett. What’s so different about this particular patent is the clause in B. J.’s contract that says anyone using the device or sound that it made had to pay him a royalty .. EXCEPT FOR GEORGE HARRISON ! Pret-ty cool.
Now, over the following years, Eric and others poked fun at George Harrison for NOT patenting the Wah – Wah because of the notoriety and money he could have had. And I’ll never forget what George told Clapton. He said:
" My name is George Harrison. I am (was) a Beatle. I want to help man-kind in any way that I can. I don’t want people 100 years from now, to look up my name in an Encyclopedia and the first sentence be; George Harrison, Inventor of the Wah – Wah Pedal. "
Pret-ty cool !
By the way, as far as helping man-kind – George donated every penny he made from 1971-1979. From Bangladesh to Children’s Hospitals to Cancer Research to AIDS funds.
He’s my favorite Celebrity of all time !
George explains those feelings in his 1971 song entitled
Wah – Wah.
( which you can download and watch / listen to from George’s Madison Square Garden, Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971 .. at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM5Lc3VjJ74
In 1945, the US Army used a variation of the device to make a ‘sound effect’ to resemble a baby crying on one of it’s propaganda Shorts, shown in Movie Houses before a full length movie was shown. It was not patented nor was it named. It was a non-issue. When people referred to the ‘noise’ – they called it a ‘crybaby’ because it was played in lieu of a real baby’s cry.
In 1961, Chet Atkins played some live shows using yet another variation of this device. No mention was made as to it’s origin and Chet never used it on a recording.
Now, fast forward to 1964 .. a musical blitz was hitting England, the United States and the World .. known as Beatlemania. Four young lads from Liverpool, England were making music in a fashion that had not been heard before. And they were receiving raves throughout the entire music industry.
Even in those early days – every new song and/or album was different than what had preceded it. Mania was an apt description of what was happening.
They even looked different than the other musical youths of the day .. what with their moptop haircuts and suit jackets with no lapels.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney were the older ones of the group and they formed a songwriting duo known as Lennon/McCartney. But they were not the only talented ones of the group. As a matter of fact – they were not even the most talented ones. There was a skinny young Lead Guitar player by the name of George Harrison. And although Lennon and McCartney garnered most of the early attention by singing and writing most of the songs on each album, George was making his presence felt.
On the 1964 album, Help (with Movie adaptation), there was a George Harrison penned tune that he sang like a bird. The song was entitled, I Need You. Not much mention was made by the local album buying public to this song but musicians throughout the industry took note of something George had done to make his Guitar sound strange.
All we need do is listen to the first line of the song;
You don't realize how much I need you,
And then, there it was: Wah-wah !
The Wah-Wah pedal was born. And even though George rarely used the device again, other musicians like Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, the Yardbirds and Peter Frampton grabbed it and made vastly popular songs with this unique sound.
What I find so fascinating about this story is the fact that the Wah – Wah, as George used it had never been done before. And there was absolutely no patent on the device nor the sound that it made. With the attention that it was receiving and copycat recordings being made – George had two full years in which to apply for .. and receive a patent and collect vast sums of money from other recording artists that were craving it’s sound.
Eric Clapton was George’s closest friend and was in a Band known as the Yardbirds. The record producer for the Yardbirds was a man by the name of B. J. Plunkett. B. J. asked Eric to have George let the Yardbirds use the Wah – Wah for a discounted fee. Eric asked George and George told Eric that he was NOT going to patent the device nor it’s sound. So, if you look in the Patent Office, you’ll find that the Wah – Wah was patented in 1966 by a B. J. Plunkett. What’s so different about this particular patent is the clause in B. J.’s contract that says anyone using the device or sound that it made had to pay him a royalty .. EXCEPT FOR GEORGE HARRISON ! Pret-ty cool.
Now, over the following years, Eric and others poked fun at George Harrison for NOT patenting the Wah – Wah because of the notoriety and money he could have had. And I’ll never forget what George told Clapton. He said:
" My name is George Harrison. I am (was) a Beatle. I want to help man-kind in any way that I can. I don’t want people 100 years from now, to look up my name in an Encyclopedia and the first sentence be; George Harrison, Inventor of the Wah – Wah Pedal. "
Pret-ty cool !
By the way, as far as helping man-kind – George donated every penny he made from 1971-1979. From Bangladesh to Children’s Hospitals to Cancer Research to AIDS funds.
He’s my favorite Celebrity of all time !
George explains those feelings in his 1971 song entitled
Wah – Wah.
( which you can download and watch / listen to from George’s Madison Square Garden, Concert for Bangladesh on August 1, 1971 .. at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM5Lc3VjJ74
Wah-Wah
You've given me a Wah-Wah
And I'm thinking of you
And all the things that we used to do
Wah-Wah, Wah-Wah
Wah-Wah
You made me such a big star
Being there at the right time
Cheaper than a dime
Wah-Wah, you've given me your Wah-Wah, Wah-Wah
Oh, you don't see me crying
Oh, you don't hear me sighing
Wah-Wah
I don't need no Wah-Wah
And I know how sweet life can be
If I keep myself free from the Wah-Wah
I don't need no Wah-Wah
Oh, you don't see me crying
Hey baby, you don't hear me sighing
Oh, no no-no no
Wah-Wah
Now I don't need no Wah-Wah's
And I know how sweet life can be
If I keep myself free - of Wah-Wah
I don't need no Wah-Wah
Wah-Wah...
LARRY CURTIS SPURLOCK
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