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The Rolling Stones in the press: “Player of the Month: Brian Jones”
BRIAN JONES, of the Rolling Stones, is one of the most exciting guitarists in the business. But his musical career started in the high-class areas of the school orchestra at Cheltenham Grammar School—he was first clarinettist, playing classical airs on a Boehm system instrument.
He says: “My parents instigated lessons on piano and clarinet and later I moved on to saxophone. It was great for giving me a solid grounding—but I didn’t know in those ‘square’ days where my musical interests were going to lead me…”
In fact, he took up guitar at the age of 17. Can’t remember the make of his first fretted instrument, except it was a copy of a Spanish type and he bought it from a friend who was “selling everything he had to raise funds.”
Brian taught himself from a good book on the instrument, “It’s important to get a good one,” he says. “Some of them are rubbish.” And he became interested in jazz through guitar aces—finally buying a Gibson Cromwell, a pre-war instrument which he now regrets having sold.
He part-exchanged it for a Hofner Committee, which he didn’t like. And then bought a Harmony Jumbo—“which was just great when I became interested in blues music.” From there, he went on to a small-body Harmony and is now on a Gretsch—“a lovely sound, electrically.”
Says Brian: “Though Keith Richards takes the Chuck Berry-style leads with the Rolling Stones, I like getting unusual sounds from my guitar. It’s much more important to me than just knowing a sequence of different chords. I use steel guitar a lot and people seem surprised that I use the conventional tuning for it.”
Favourite musicians?“Well, Django Reinhardt for sure—not that I’d every try to model myself on him. Then there’s Elmore James, who’s a beautiful player. I like Robert Johnson, too. But there are two players with Muddy Waters who I dig a lot—Pat Hare and someone called Jimmy Rodgers, who is NOT to be confused with the folk singers of the same name.”
Brian, quick-smiling, talks fast about his musical attitudes. And says: “To be honest, I prefer playing just slide guitar. It’s that SOUND business all over again—I just like getting soulful sounds without worrying about simple sequences of notes. And harmonica is great, from my angle.”
“But I don’t think you get the real soul stuff from a chromatic harmonica, which is why I stick to the cheap Vamps, which come in a host of different keys and cost just 10s 9d.”
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