Теренс "Джет" Харрис: Рок-н-ролл музыкантының өмірі мен мансабы

English musician

Terence "Jet" Harris (6 July 1939 – 18 March 2011) was an English rock and roll musician. He was an original member of Cliff Richard's backing band the Shadows, serving as the bass guitarist from the group's inception until April 1962, after which he had success as a soloist and as a duo with that band's drummer Tony Meehan. was born at Kingsbury Maternity Hospital, Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury, North West London, England. His prowess as a sprinter at Dudden Hill secondary modern school earned him the nickname Jet. He played in several groups, including the British skiffle group. the Vipers Skiffle Group and with the Most Brothers (featuring future music producer Mickie Most)

In 1959, he joined Cliff Richard's backing group, then known as "the Drifters", who, in July 1959 at a meeting in the Six Bells pub in Ruislip, changed their name to the Shadows at Harris's suggestion, in order to avoid a legal injunction from the U. S. band, who at the time unbeknownst to its members shared the same name.

After leaving the Shadows, he signed a contract with Decca and released solo instrumental and vocal work with some success, "Besame Mucho" and "The Man with the Golden Arm" featuring a Fender VI six string bass guitar. In late 1962 he was voted 'top instrumentalist' in the readers' poll of the New Musical Express. Harris and Meehan followed this with two further hit singles, "Scarlett O'Hara" (also written by Jerry Lordan) a UK No. 2, and "Applejack" (composed by Les Vandyke) reaching UK No. 4 also in 1963. There were several court appearances involving drunkenness and violent behaviour was also injured), meant that this success did not last long. Harris attempted a comeback as the "Jet Harris Band", in 1966 and was briefly in the line up of The Jeff Beck Group in 1967, but somewhat fell out of the music industry. In 2010, Harris started working with the Shadowers, led by guitarist Justin Daish. He began plans for a new show, featuring fresh material he had never performed before. However, regular tour dates and studio recordings with the Shadowers, Brian "Licorice" Locking and Alan Jones, though discussed, never materialised due to Harris' poor health. His last concert (5 February 2011 at Ferneham Hall, Fareham) saw him perform one tune ("Here I Stand" from his album The Phoenix Rises) with both Locking and Jones; this was the only time the three Shadows bass guitarists would ever perform together.

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. In 2010, Harris was presented with a special award from the US Fender guitar company for his services to their company in effectively launching their bass guitar in the UK in 1960.

Harris had five sons and a daughter. In 2012, The Heritage Foundation erected a blue plaque in his memory at the Kingswood Centre, Honeypot Lane, Kingsbury, on the site of the former Kingsbury Maternity Hospital where he was born. At the luncheon that followed the unveiling of the plaque, various musicians took part in a performance in Harris' memory, including Mike Berry, Clem Cattini of The Tornados, bassist Mo Foster, guitarist Daniel Martin and Harris' backing group the Shadowers. Tributes were read by Bruce Welch and Marty Wilde. Brian "Licorice" Locking could not attend but a few days earlier had made a live recording of a dedicated harmonica performance of Andrea Bocelli's "The Prayer", which was played. Hank Marvin sent a written tribute but it did not arrive in time to be read.