Rickenbacker International Corporation

Industry	Musical instruments
Founded	1931
Founder(s)	Adolph Rickenbacher and George Beauchamp
Headquarters	3895 South Main Street, Santa Ana, California, USA
Area served	Global
Key people	Adolph Rickenbacher, George Beauchamp
Website	Rickenbacker.com

Rickenbacker 330JG

Rickenbacker International Corporation, also known as Rickenbacker, is an electric and bass guitar manufacturer based in Santa Ana, California. In 1932, the company became the world's first to produce electric guitars and continues to produce a range of electric and bass guitars to this day.^[1]

Founding[link]

Sketch of Rickenbacker "frying pan" lap steel guitar from 1934 patent application

The company was founded in 1931 as the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (ElectRo-Patent-Instruments) by Adolph Rickenbacher and George Beauchamp in order to sell electric Hawaiian guitars. These instruments had been designed by Beauchamp, assisted at the National String Instruments Corporation by Paul Barth and Harry Watson.^[1] They chose the brand name Rickenbacher (later changed to Rickenbacker), though early examples bear the brand name Electro.^[2]

Nicknamed "frying pans" because of their long necks and circular bodies, the instruments were the first solid-bodied electric guitars, though they were a lap-steel type. They had pickups with a pair of horseshoe magnets that arched over the strings. By the time production ceased in 1939, several thousand "frying pans" had been produced.

Electro String also sold amplifiers to go with their electric guitars. A Los Angeles radio manufacturer named Van Nest designed the first Electro String production-model amplifier. Shortly thereafter, design engineer Ralph Robertson further developed the amplifiers, and by the 1940s at least four different Rickenbacker models were made available. James B. Lansing of the Lansing Manufacturing Company designed the speaker in the Rickenbacker professional model. During the early 1940s, Rickenbacker amps were sometimes repaired by Leo Fender, whose repair shop evolved into the Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company.

Early history[link]

George Beauchamp was a vaudeville performer, violinist, and steel guitarist who, like most of his fellow acoustic guitarists in the pre-electric-guitar days of the 1920s, was searching for a way to make his instrument cut through an orchestra. He first conceived of a guitar fitted with a phonograph-like amplifying horn, and approached inventor and violin-maker John Dopyera to create a prototype which proved to be, by all accounts, a failure. Their next collaboration involved experiments with mounting three conical-shaped aluminum resonators into the body of the guitar beneath the bridge. These efforts produced an instrument which so pleased Beauchamp that he told Dopyera that they should go into business to manufacture them. After further refinements, Dopyera applied for a patent on the so-called tri-cone guitar on April 9, 1927. Thereafter, Dopyera and his brothers began to make the tri-cone guitars in their Los Angeles shop, calling the new guitars "Nationals". On January 26, 1928, the National String Instrument Corporation was certified and, with its new factory located near a metal-stamping shop owned by Adolph Rickenbacher and staffed by some of the most experienced and competent craftsmen available, began to produce Spanish and Hawaiian style tri-cone guitars as well as four-string tenor guitars, mandolins and ukuleles.^[3]

Adolph Rickenbacher was born in Switzerland in 1886 and emigrated to the United States with relatives after the death of his parents. Sometime after moving to Los Angeles in 1918, he changed his surname to "Rickenbacker". This was done probably in order to avoid German connotations in light of the recently concluded First World War as well as to capitalize on Adolph's distant relation to World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. In 1925, Adolph Rickenbacker and two partners formed the Rickenbacker Manufacturing Company and incorporated it in 1927. By the time he met George Beauchamp and began manufacturing metal bodies for the "Nationals" being produced by the National String Instruments Corporation, Rickenbacker was a highly-skilled production engineer and machinist. Adolph soon became a shareholder in National and, with the assistance of his Rickenbacker Manufacturing Company, National was able to boost production to as many as fifty guitars a day.^[4]

Unfortunately, National's line of instruments was not well diversified and, as demand for the expensive and hard-to-manufacture tri-cone guitars began to slip, the company realized that it would need to produce instruments with a lower production cost if it was going to succeed against rival manufacturers. Dissatisfaction with what John Dopyera felt was mismanagement led him to resign from National in January 1929, and he subsequently formed the Dobro Manufacturing Corporation, later called Dobro Corporation, Ltd, and began to manufacture his own line of resonator-equipped instruments (dobros). Patent infringement disagreements between National and Dobro led to a lawsuit in 1929 with Dobro suing National for $2,000,000 in damages. Problems within National's management as well as pressure from the deepening Great Depression led to a production slowdown at National, and this ultimately resulted in part of the company's fractured management structure organizing support for George Beauchamp's newest project: the development of a fully electric guitar.^[5]

By the late twenties, the idea for electrified string instruments had been around for some time, and experimental banjo, violin and guitar pickups had been developed. George Beauchamp had himself been experimenting with electric amplification as early as 1925, but his early efforts involving microphones did not produce the effects he desired. Along the way Beauchamp also built a one-string test guitar made out of a 2X4 piece of lumber and an electric phonograph pickup. As the problems at National became more apparent, Beauchamp's home experiments took on a more rigorous shape, and he began to attend night classes in electronics as well as collaborating with fellow National employee Paul Barth.^[1] When the prototype electric pickup they were developing finally worked to his satisfaction, Beauchamp asked former National shop craftsman Harry Watson to make a wooden neck and body to which the electronics could be attached. It was nicknamed the frying pan because of its shape, though Adolph Rickenbacker liked to call it the pancake.^[6] The final design Beauchamp and Barth developed was an electric pickup consisting of a pair of horseshoe-shaped magnets that enclosed the pickup coil and completely surrounded the strings.^[1]

At the end of 1931, Beauchamp, Barth, Rickenbacker and with several other individuals banded together and formed the Ro-Pat-In Corporation (elektRO-PATent-INstruments) in order to manufacture and distribute electrically amplified musical instruments, with an emphasis upon their newly-developed A-25 Hawaiian Guitar, often referred to as the "Frying Pan" lap-steel electric guitar as well as an Electric Spanish (standard) model and companion amplifiers. In the summer of 1932, Ro-Pat-In began to manufacture cast aluminum production versions of the Frying Pan as well as a lesser number of standard Spanish Electrics built from wooden bodies similar to those made in Chicago for the National Company. These instruments constitute the origin of the electric guitar we know and use today by virtue of their string-driven electro-magnetic pick-ups. Not only that, but Ro-Pat-In was the first company in the world specifically created to manufacture electric instruments. In 1933 the Ro-Pat-In company's name was changed to Electro String Instrument Corporation and its instruments labeled simply as "Electro". In 1934 the name of Rickenbacher" was added in honor of the company's principal partner, Adolph Rickenbacker. In 1935 the company introduced several new models including the Model "B" Electric Spanish guitar which is considered the first solid body electric guitar. Because the original aluminum Frying Pans were susceptible to tuning problems from the expansion of the metal under hot performing lights, many of the new models were manufactured from cast Bakelite, an early synthetic plastic from which bowling balls are made.^[2]

Rickenbacker continued to specialize in steel guitars well into the 1950s, but with the rock and roll boom they shifted towards producing standard guitars, both acoustic and electric. In 1956, Rickenbacker introduced two instruments with the "neck through body" construction that was to become a standard feature of many of the company's products, including the Combo 400 guitar, the model 4000 bass, and, later, the 600 series.

In 1958, Rickenbacker introduced its "Capri" series, including the double-cutaway semi-acoustic guitars which would become the famous Rickenbacker 300 Series.

In 1963 Rickenbacker developed an electric twelve-string guitar with an innovative headstock design that enabled all twelve machine heads to be fitted onto a standard-length headstock by alternately mounting pairs of machine heads at right-angles to the other.

Rickenbacker guitars and 1960s rock and roll[link]

Body of a 370/12, with the distinctive R-tailpiece, sharkfin inlays and stereo jacks.

This section has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. It needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since September 2007. It may contain original research. Tagged since September 2007.

During the 1960s, Rickenbacker benefited tremendously when a couple of Rickenbacker guitar models became permanently intertwined with the sound and look of The Beatles.

In Hamburg in 1960, Beatles guitarist John Lennon bought a Rickenbacker 325 Capri, which he used throughout the early days of The Beatles. He eventually had the guitar's natural alder body refinished in black, and made other modifications including the fitting of a Bigsby vibrato tailpiece and regularly changing the control knobs.^[7] Lennon played this guitar for The Beatles' famous 1964 debut on The Ed Sullivan Show (as well as for their third Sullivan appearance, pre-taped the same day but broadcast two weeks later). During Lennon's post-Beatles years in New York, this guitar was restored to its original natural wood finish and the cracked gold pickguard replaced with a white one.^[7]

Two new 325s were created for Lennon and were shipped to him while The Beatles were in Miami Beach, Florida, on the same 1964 visit to the US: a one-off custom 12-string 325 model and an updated six-string model with modified electronics and vibrato. He used this newer 6-string model on The Beatles' sequentially "second" appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.^[7]

Lennon accidentally dropped the second 325 model during a 1964 Christmas show, breaking the headstock. While it was being repaired, Rickenbacker's UK distributor Rose Morris gave Lennon a model 1996 (the export version of a 325, available exclusively in a red finish and with an F-hole). Lennon later gave the 1996 to fellow Beatle Ringo Starr.^[7]

The typical 12-string headstock, with the slotted tuners for the octave strings.

Beatles guitarist George Harrison bought a 425 during a brief visit to the USA in 1963.^[7] In February 1964, while in New York City, F.C. Hall of Rickenbacker met with the band and their manager, and gave Harrison a model 360/12 (the second electric twelve-string built by Rickenbacker).^[7] This instrument became a key part of the Beatles' sound on their LP A Hard Day's Night and other Beatles songs through late 1964. Harrison played this guitar sporadically throughout the remainder of his life.

On August 21, 1965, during a Beatles concert tour, Randy Resnick of B-Sharp, a Minnesota music store, presented Harrison with a second model 360/12 FG "New Style" 12-string electric guitar, distinguishable from Harrison's first 12-string by its rounded cutaways and edges. There was a television documentary produced by KSTP TV in Minneapolis documenting this event.

Harrison used this guitar on the song "If I Needed Someone" and during The Beatles' 1966 tours.^[7] This 12-string's whereabouts are unknown, as it was stolen at some point after the band ceased touring.^[7]

After the Beatles 1965 summer tour, Paul McCartney frequently used a left-handed 1964 4001S FG Rickenbacker bass, as its tone was better suited to recording than the lightweight Höfner basses he had used previously. The instrument became popular with other bassists influenced by his highly melodic style, as it produces a clear tone even when played high up the neck, its deep cutaways allowing easy access to the higher frets.

In 1967, McCartney gave his 4001 a psychedelic paint job, as seen in the promo film for Hello Goodbye, and in the Magical Mystery Tour film.^[7] A year or so later the finish was sanded off; a second over-zealous sanding in the early 1970s removed the "points" of the bass' cutaways. McCartney predominantly used the Rickenbacker bass during his time with Wings, until the late 1970s.

Partly because of the Beatles' popularity and their consistent use of the brand, Rickenbackers were quickly adopted by many other 1960s notables.

As both the British invasion and the 1960s came to an end, Rickenbacker guitars fell somewhat out of fashion; however Rickenbacker basses remained highly in favor through the 1970s and on. Perhaps as an echo of the past, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rickenbacker guitars experienced a renaissance as many New Wave and jangle pop groups began to use them.

Rickenbacker guitars and basses continue to be very popular to this day with demand persistently and exponentially outstripping new factory supply. Demand is particularly high amongst retro groups who have been influenced by the sound and look of the 1960s.

Hallmarks of Rickenbackers[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Many Rickenbackers — both guitars and basses — are equipped to be compatible with a "Rick-O-Sound" unit via an extra "stereo" output socket that allows the two pickups (or neck and middle pickup combined/bridge pickup, in the case of three pickup instruments) to be connected to different effects units or amplifiers. Another idiosyncrasy of Rickenbackers is the use of two truss rods (rather than the usual one) to correct twists, as well as curvature, in the neck.

Known for their distinctive jangle and chime, Rickenbacker guitars tended to be favoured by Jangle Pop, Power pop and British Invasion-style groups - bands such as The Who, The Byrds and The Beatles. The early Rickenbackers that made this sound famous were equipped with lower-output "Toaster" pickups. These pickups were phased out circa 1969-70 for newer "Hi-Gain" pickups, which had twice the output of their illustrious predecessors. This change was almost certainly due to the trend toward the louder "Rock" sounds of the 1970s, despite the earlier models being credited by Pete Townshend as being key to the development of "the Marshall sound" and his refinement of electric guitar feedback techniques^[8]

In more recent years, a diverse cross-section of artists have started to favour Rickenbacker guitars. In 1979, Tom Petty and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers would adopt the Rickenbacker 12-string "toaster" jangle into their records and still use the vintage 1960s models. The post-1960s "Hi-gain" pickup-equipped guitars are associated with The Jam and REM. The "Hi-gain" pickups are well suited to harder spiky pop/rock sounds as well as the classic clean chime.

Basses[link]

Rickenbacker 4001JG

The 4000 series were the first Rickenbacker bass guitars, production beginning in 1957. The 4000 was followed by the very popular 4001 (in 1961), the 4002 (limited edition bass introduced in 1977), the 4008 (an eight-string model introduced in the mid-1970s), the 4003 (in 1979, replacing the 4001 entirely in 1986 and still in production in 2012), and most recently the 4004 series. There was also the 4005, a hollow-bodied bass guitar (discontinued in 1984); it did not resemble any of the other 4000 series basses, but rather the new style 360-370 guitars. The 4001S (introduced 1964) was basically a 4001 but with no binding and dot fingerboard inlays. It was exported to England as the RM1999. However, Paul McCartney received the very first 4001S (his was left-handed, and later modified to include a "zero fret").

Rickenbacker basses have a distinctive tone. The 4000 bass has neck-through construction for more solid sustain due to more rigidity. The sustain at the bottom end is particularly striking, and by routing the two outputs from the stereo "Rick-O-Sound" output, the brighter bridge pick up through a guitar rig and the bassier neck pickup through a bass setup, a particularly distinctive bass sound is produced. The 3000 series made from the mid-1970s to mid-1980s were cheaper instruments with bolt-on 21 fret necks. There was also a set neck 4000 version in 1975 and 76 (neck set like a Gibson Les Paul) which had a 20-fret neck, dot inlays, no binding (similar to the 4001S) but only a single bridge position mono pickup. (more info needed)

Along with McCartney's usage, some of the earliest Rickenbacker bass players were Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, John Entwistle of The Who, and Peter Quaife of The Kinks.

Rickenbacker basses became a staple of 1970s hard rock and were featured on countless recordings of the decade. These instruments were also widely used among progressive rock bassists, especially Chris Squire of Yes, who achieved a distinctive signature sound with his Rickenbacker bass, strung with round-wound Rotosound bass strings. The "Ricks" were not as visible among the punk/new wave explosion of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

In recent times, many bass players have continued to play Rickenbackers. (see "Ric" players section below)

Rickenbacker acoustic guitars[link]

Rickenbacker has produced a number of uniquely-designed and distinctively-trimmed acoustic guitars. Although a small number of Rickenbacker acoustics were sold in the 1950s and were seen in the hands of stars like Ricky Nelson^[9] and Sam Cooke,^[10] the company concentrated on their electric guitar and western steel guitar business from the early 1960s onward. From about 1959 through 1994, very few Rickenbacker acoustic guitars were made.

In 1995, an effort was made to re-introduce Rickenbacker acoustics, with factory production beginning in their Santa Ana manufacturing facility in 1996. Four models of flat top acoustic Rickenbackers were depicted in factory literature (maple or rosewood back & sides, jumbo or dreadnaught shape). Each of these four models was also available in both six- and twelve-string configurations, yielding a range of eight distinct instruments.^[11] (The 760J "Jazzbo," an archtop model, was only built as a prototype, with three examples known to exist.) It is estimated that fewer than 500 Rickenbacker acoustic guitars were built before the factory shut down the acoustic department in mid-2006.

In late 2006, the license to build Rickenbacker acoustics was granted to Paul Wilczynski, a luthier with a workshop in San Francisco, California. He continues to offer all eight models of the Rickenbacker flat top guitar line, each instrument being built to order.^[12]

Pickups[link]

Rickenbacker manufactures three distinct pickups for their current standard models: Hi-gain, Vintage Single Coil Toaster Top, and Humbucking. All three pickup designs share the same footprint, allowing them to retrofit into most current or vintage models. The tone varies from one style to the next, partially because of the types of magnets used^[13] but also due to the amount of wire wound around the pickup's bobbin.

Most models come with single-coil Hi-gain pickups as standard equipment. Many post-British invasion Rickenbacker players such as Peter Buck, Paul Weller, and Johnny Marr have used instruments with these pickups. Rickenbacker's humbucker/dual coil pickup has a similar tone to a Gibson P-90 pickup, and comes standard on the Rickenbacker 650 C. Vintage reissue models, and some signature models, come with Toaster Top pickups, which resemble a classic two-slotted chrome toaster. Despite their slightly lower output, "Toasters" produce a brighter, cleaner sound, and are generally seen as key to obtaining the true British Invasion guitar tone, as they were original equipment of the era.

In addition to the standard pickups, vintage reissue bass models are equipped with Horseshoe wrap-around style pickups, very similar to the pickups on the earliest Rickenbacker Frying Pan models.^[14]

Rickenbacker Product List[link]

Notable Rickenbacker players[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rickenbacker

Guitar portal

• Rickenbacker International Corporation
• "Born to Rock" guitar exhibit at Harrods, London, February 2007, featuring the 1931 Rickenbacker "Frying Pan". Also see BBC 6 Music
• Rock On - 'Born To Rocks' opens, BBC 6 Music website. (An article about a guitar exhibition, includes details on the Rickenbacker Frying pan.)
• Björn Ericksson's Rickbeat Reference Page
• Rickenbacker register and resource page

Coordinates: 33°41′43″N 117°52′04″W / 33.695250°N 117.867835°W / 33.695250; -117.867835

This article is about Johnny Marr, guitarist of The Smiths, The Cribs, and Modest Mouse, whose birth name was John Maher. For the former Buzzcocks drummer, see John Maher (Buzzcocks drummer).

Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr in 2010.
Background information
Birth name	John Martin Maher
Born	(1963-10-31) 31 October 1963 (age 48) Ardwick, Manchester, England
Genres	Alternative rock, indie pop, indie rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, guitarist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, harmonica, mandolin, harmonium, Saxophone
Years active	1982–present
Labels	Various
Associated acts	The Smiths, Electronic, Johnny Marr and the Healers, Modest Mouse, The The, The Cribs, Pet Shop Boys, Oasis, John Frusciante, Talking Heads, Billy Bragg, Pretenders, Happy Mondays
Notable instruments
Rickenbacker 330 Fender Jazzmaster Gibson SG Fender Jaguar Fender Telecaster Gibson ES-355

Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher; 31 October 1963) is an English musician and songwriter. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, with whom he formed a prolific songwriting partnership with Morrissey. Marr has been a member of Electronic, The The, and Modest Mouse. In 2008, he joined The Cribs after touring with them on 2008's NME Awards Tour, a group in which he would remain until 2011.

Marr's jangly Rickenbacker guitar-playing in The Smiths proved to be popular among other musicians and has influenced many guitarists that followed particularly in the Britpop era.

Marr was voted the fourth best guitarist of the last 30 years in a poll conducted by the BBC in 2010.^[1]

Childhood and personal life[link]

Marr was born in Ardwick, Manchester, the son of Irish immigrants.^[2] His parents came from Athy in County Kildare. In 1975^[3] he attended the Roman Catholic St Augustine's Grammar School, which in 1977^[4] merged with other schools to form a comprehensive school, St John Plessington High School. Marr had aspirations to be a professional football player, and was approached by Nottingham Forest and had trials with Manchester City (which he supports). In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Marr said "I was good enough for City, but they didn't follow up because I was probably the only player out there wearing eyeliner."^{[citation needed]} He currently resides in Manchester with his wife Angie and their children, daughter Sonny and son Nile. Johnny is an honorary board member of Rock For Kids. He is also teetotal and vegan, and runs regularly.

The Smiths[link]

The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Marr and fellow Manchester resident Steven Patrick Morrissey (he had not yet abandoned his first and middle name), an unemployed writer. Marr's jangly Rickenbacker and Fender Telecaster guitar playing became synonymous with the Smiths' sound. Marr's friend Andy Rourke joined as bass player and Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer. Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove", on 13 May 1983.

By February 1984, The Smiths fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band's long-awaited eponymous debut album to number two in the UK chart. Early in 1985 the band released their second album, Meat Is Murder. This was more strident and political than its predecessor, and it was the band's only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts. During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, The Queen Is Dead. In 1989 Spin magazine rated The Queen Is Dead as number one of "The Greatest Albums Ever Made". Spin was not alone in this designation—numerous periodicals rank The Smiths and their albums, especially 'The Queen Is Dead', high on their best ever lists. NME, for example, has dubbed the Smiths the most important rock band of all time.^{[citation needed]}

However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle."^[5] Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin (though he was reinstated in short order). In early 1987 the single "Shoplifters of the World Unite" was released to chart success, as well as mild controversy and concern from parents.^{[citation needed]}

Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr—saw them on the verge of splitting. In August 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey's becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr's growing frustration with Morrissey's musical inflexibility.

Referring to the songs recorded in the band's last session together (B-sides for the "Girlfriend in a Coma" single, which preceded the album's release), Marr said "I wrote 'I Keep Mine Hidden', but 'Work Is a Four-Letter Word' I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn't form a group to perform Cilla Black songs."^[6] In 1989, in an interview with young fan Tim Samuels (who later became a BBC journalist) Morrissey said that the lack of a managerial figure and business problems were to blame for the band's eventual split.^[7]

In 1996, Smiths' drummer Mike Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lion's share of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive 25% thenceforth. As Smiths' royalties had been frozen for two years, Rourke settled for a smaller lump sum to pay off his debts and continued to receive 10%. Morrissey was described by the judge as "devious, truculent and unreliable".^[8]

Both Marr and Morrissey have repeatedly said in interviews that they will not reunite the band. In 2005, VH1 attempted to get the band back together on its Bands Reunited show but abandoned its attempt after the show's host, Aamer Haleem, failed to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and the Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions.^[9] Rumours suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Johnny Marr on his website.^[10] What did eventuate was Rourke joining Marr onstage for the first time since the Smiths broke up, performing "How Soon Is Now?".

In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that "stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?" Marr went on to say that "It's no biggy. Maybe we will in 18 or 32 years' time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I'm doing mine, so that's the answer really." This was the first indication of a possible Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously had said that reforming the band would be a bad idea.^[11]

Marr's guitar playing "was a huge building block" for more Manchester bands that followed The Smiths. The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire has stated that Marr was a major influence.^[12] Oasis lead guitarist Noel Gallagher has called The Smiths an influence, especially Marr whom he described as a "fucking wizard", also stating that "he's unique, you can't play what he plays."^[13] He also stated that "when The Jam split, The Smiths started, and I totally went for them."^[12] Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien has acknowledged that he idolised The Smiths in the 1980s; the band pays homage to The Smiths in their song "Knives Out". After O'Brien played with Johnny Marr in New Zealand in 2001, he acknowledged that Marr was the reason he had picked up a guitar as a teenager.^{[citation needed]}

Post-Smiths[link]

The Pretenders, The The, Electronic (1987–1999)[link]

After Marr left the Smiths in August 1987, he was very briefly an official member of the Pretenders. In late 1987, he toured with the band and appeared on the single "Windows of the World" b/w "1969". He then left the Pretenders, and recorded and toured with The The from 1988 through 1994, recording two albums with the group. He simultaneously formed Electronic with New Order's Bernard Sumner. Electronic were intermittently active throughout the 1990s, releasing their final album in 1999.

Session work (1987–2002)[link]

In 1992 he recorded a cover version of Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the NME compilation Ruby Trax together with Billy Duffy. Fellow Manchester band Happy Mondays also once tried to court him to be a member of their band, which did not work out.^[14]

He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including Pet Shop Boys, Billy Bragg, Black Grape, Jane Birkin, Talking Heads, and Beck. Marr played guitar on several Pet Shop Boys songs; he continues to have guest appearances on their albums, with his most significant contribution on Release (2002). The only remix that Johnny Marr has ever done was for the Pet Shop Boys—it was a mix of his favourite track from their 1987 album, Actually, called "I Want to Wake Up," and was released as the b-side to 1993's "Can You Forgive Her?" He later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry. He also joined Oasis on stage at a gig in 2001, playing "Champagne Supernova" and "I Am the Walrus".

Johnny Marr and the Healers (2000–Present)[link]

In 2000 Johnny recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Cavewaves guitarist Lee Spencer and ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan for his new project Johnny Marr and the Healers. The band had taken two years to come together as Marr had wanted members to be chosen "by chemistry". Their debut album Boomslang was released in 2003, with all lyrics and lead vocals by Marr. A second album was originally scheduled for release in April 2005, and a short tour was expected soon after, but Marr has since stated that the band is on the "side burner" for the time being (Manchester Evening News, May 2007). Drummer Starkey is currently involved with the Who, and Bevan has regrouped with Kula Shaker. In 2011, Johnny began performing with the Healers again. The new Healers line up consists of James Doviak on guitar, Max James on bass and Andy Knowles on drums.

Seven Worlds Collide (2001–2009)[link]

In 2001, Marr performed two Smiths songs and music by others with a supergroup called 7 Worlds Collide consisting of members from Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Split Enz and others, assembled by Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House in 2001. A second set of concerts took place in December 2008/January 2009, and an album of new studio material titled The Sun Came Out was released in August 2009 to raise money for Oxfam.

Modest Mouse (2006–2009)[link]

In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer. In 2006, he began work with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock on songs that eventually were featured on the band's 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07.^[15] During 2008, when Modest Mouse opened for R.E.M. during their summer tour of the United States, Marr would come on stage during the encore of R.E.M.'s set, for "Fall on Me" and, toward the end of the tour, "Man on the Moon". Johnny Marr and R.E.M.'s guitarist Peter Buck have often been compared by alternative music fans as having a similar guitar style.^{[citation needed]}

While with Modest Mouse, Marr was named an Honorary Patron of the University Philosophical Society, Trinity College, Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

The new album reached number one on the American Billboard charts in late March 2007. For Marr this is the first time he has had a number one record in the US. The highest chart position before that was with Electronic, who made the Top 40 in the singles chart with "Getting Away With It".^[16]

In 2007 Marr was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Music at the University of Salford, where he delivered an inaugural lecture (on 4th November 2008), and a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording programme.^[17]

The Cribs (2008–2011)[link]

Marr performs as part of the Cribs at Washington, D.C.'s 9:30 Club in 2010.

In January 2008, Marr was reported to have been contributing his skill and experience to a secret songwriting session with Wakefield indie group The Cribs. Sources revealed that they worked together for a week at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport – a favourite haunt of Bolton's Badly Drawn Boy, Damon Gough and fellow northern indie heroes I Am Kloot – and had penned a number of new songs.^[18] He also played at the Glasgow Barrowlands, Manchester Academy, Oxford Academy, Bristol Carling Academy, Leeds University, Cardiff University and Brixton Carling Academy with the Cribs on the NME Awards Tour. On 23 February 2008, XFM reported that Marr was to become a full member of the Cribs. On 28 February 2008, he also played onstage with the Cribs at NME Big Gig at the O2. Marr also played along with the Cribs at the Reading & Leeds Festival 2008, singer Ryan Jarman introduced Johnny as the newest member of the band, "Johnny Jarman". In 2009 Marr recorded an album with the band titled Ignore the Ignorant, which was released on 7 September.^[19] On Soccer AM in 9 September he explained he met up with the Cribs' bass player in Portland and it has gone from strength to strength. He says the Cribs latest album, Ignore the Ignorant, which came out last year, is "as good as anything I've done".^[20]

On April 2011 it was confirmed that Marr would no longer be part of the band.^[21] Marr, who had been understood to officially leave the band in January, released a statement in which he affirmed that he would be working on solo material "over the next year or so."^[22]

Recent soundtrack and session work[link]

In the late 2007, Marr's daughter Sonny performed backing vocals on the track "Even a Child" on Crowded House's album Time on Earth, on which her father Johnny played guitars.

Marr played a large role in making the score for the 2010 science-fiction/drama film Inception, which was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Using a 12-string-guitar, he produced repetitive, simple melancholic tones that became a character theme for the protagonist, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. "I kept coming up with this phrase ‘churned-up,'" Marr said, "You’ve got this character who all the way through the film has this underlying turmoil." Longtime composer Hans Zimmer penned soundtrack.^[23] On 13 July 2010, Marr performed with an orchestra for a live internet broadcast of the soundtrack.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Marr worked on the Nuevo Noir movie The Big Bang.

Discography[link]

Albums (as band member)[link]

The Smiths[link]

• The Smiths (1984)
• Hatful of Hollow (1984)
• Meat Is Murder (1985)
• The Queen Is Dead (1986)
• The World Won't Listen (1987)
• Louder Than Bombs (1987)
• Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
• Rank (1988)

The The[link]

• Mind Bomb (1989)
• Dusk (1992)

Electronic[link]

• Electronic (1991)
• Raise the Pressure (1996)
• Twisted Tenderness (1999)

Johnny Marr and the Healers[link]

• Boomslang (2003)

Modest Mouse[link]

• We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)
• No One's First and You're Next (2009)

The Cribs[link]

• Ignore the Ignorant (2009)

7 Worlds Collide[link]

• The Sun Came Out (2009)

Albums (as a guest musician)[link]

For a complete discography, see the article Johnny Marr guest musician recordings.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Marr played on three Billy Bragg recordings. In the late 1980s, he performed on albums by Bryan Ferry and Talking Heads. In the 1990s and 2000s, he performed on three Pet Shop Boys albums, and also plays guitar on their Xenomania-produced album, Yes, released in 2009. In the 1990s, he also performed on albums by M People, Beck, and Tom Jones. In the 2000s, he played on albums by bands such as Oasis, Pearl Jam, Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano and Crowded House. He also plays guitar on Girls Aloud's fifth album, Out of Control, on a track entitled "Rolling Back the Rivers in Time", as well as harmonica on the track "Love Is the Key".

He also appeared on two tracks ("Enough Of Me" and "Central") on John Frusciante's album The Empyrean which was released January 2009.

Albums (as producer)[link]

Marion[link]

• The Program (1998)

Haven[link]

• Between the Senses (2002)

Singles[link]

In addition to an extensive singles discography with the artists listed above, Johnny has appeared on singles by Sandie Shaw, Everything but the Girl, the Pretenders, Andrew Berry, A Certain Ratio, the Cult, Denise Johnson, Stex, the Impossible Dreamers (as producer) and Black Grape.

Marr’s recording of "Life is Sweet", the theme song he wrote for the Channel Four Sitcom The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, has been released on Echo Records and made available as a download.

References[link]

• The Big Bang (2011 film) The Big Bang

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Johnny Marr

• Official website
• Manchester v Cancer official concert website