First Recorded Feedback?

Joey Ace · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

John Lennon claimed the intro on "I Feel Fine" was the first recorded feedback.

Can anyone dispute this??

I suspect ealier R&B artists have used it, but I can't find any examples.

Larry Miller · From: Dothan AL,USA

I believe John's words were something to this effect.....I defy anyone to dispute that we were the first to use feedback on record!

Doug Beaumier · From: Northampton, MA

I agree that some of the early R&B guitarists played with feedback and natural distortion. Roy Buchanon once said that they used to put tears in their speakers to get that sound in the pre-distortion pedal days.

I FEEL FINE was recorded October 18, 1964. It sounds like they played the beginning of the intro by picking a open string through a cold amp... just as the tubes were warming up. But, I never thought of the overall sound as "feedback".

I think SATISFACTION was the first monster hit to feature distortion... August, 1965.

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My Site | Doug's Free Tab

[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 01 June 2002 at 02:03 PM.]

Joey Ace · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Larry Miller · From: Dothan AL,USA

According to most sources, Grady Martin is credited with.... are we talking about distortion or feedback??

[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 01 June 2002 at 03:12 PM.]

Rich Weiss · From: Woodland Hills, CA, USA

If you pluck the sixth string of your electric guitar real hard, then put your thumbnail lightly against the vibrating string, you'll get that exact effect, I'm not sure if that's how George got it, but that's how we used to play it in bands, a long, long time ago.

Joey Ace · From: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Larry,
I suspect you mean George Martin?

If not please explain.

If we're talking Grady then we've move from feedback to distortion to echoplex.

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

Johnny Burnette's "The Train Kept A Rollin" (1956) was also filled with distorted guitar. This was the first time I noticed it in rock-n-roll.

The first recognized use of a fuzz-tone (and its first appearance on a chart record) however, was the Ventures' song "The 2,000-Pound Bee", in 1963.

(I'm still thinking about the "feedback" thing.)

[This message was edited by Donny Hinson on 01 June 2002 at 04:54 PM.]

Larry Miller · From: Dothan AL,USA

Joey, Grady Martin, according to several sources, was the first to use distortion in the 1961 recording of "Don't Worry About Me' by Marty Robbins. Check out this archive from SGF http://steelguitarforum.com/Forum14/HTML/000625.html also http://www.rockabillyhall.com/BobGradyFC.html no George Martin didn't have anything to do with feedback, I stick by my John Lennon story above, I heard it with my own ears, and John wouldn't have lied, would he?

[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 01 June 2002 at 06:02 PM.]

[This message was edited by Larry Miller on 01 June 2002 at 06:06 PM.]

Mitch Drumm · From: Frostbite Falls, hard by Veronica Lake

great distorted electric guitar on a number of blues recordings done by sam phillips in memphis--artists like howlin' wolf and james cotton; guitar by the likes of pat hare and willie johnson.

circa 1953/54.

paul burlison, the great guitar man from the johnny burnette trio, used to sit in with howlin' wolf in memphis, so no doubt he heard it long before he ever recorded with johnny.

[This message was edited by Mitch Drumm on 01 June 2002 at 11:55 PM.]

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

feedback, not distortion.

Thinking back to my "Learning to play with the Ventures" days, then evolved to the Chuck Berry school of standard R+R ,then on to the British invasion, I would say that John Lennon may be right, I wouldn't bet my life on it though . "Feedback" was not in the guitar players tool kit at that time. We were all trying to avoid it while the Beatles found a use for it !

Distortion is a different topic.

I remember when playing in our "Rolling Stones Emulation" band back in the mid 60's we were invited to go to NYC to record a demo , 5 young kids playing electric guitars with Beatle haircuts.. The producer /engineer would not let me use my Telecaster with the Vox fuzz box. He was adimant that I use his Gibson L series guitar clean through an Ampeg amp. I didn't even know what an L series was at the time..Did you ever try to play Satisfaction with a Gibson L series clean ? He evidently wanted me to play the Johhny Smith version of Satisfaction, but that wasn't gonna happen anytime soon, well at least not that day.. He sent us away cause we didn't play real music.
tp

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 02 June 2002 at 05:11 AM.]

Larry Miller · From: Dothan AL,USA

quote:
great distorted electric guitar on a number of blues recordings done by sam phillips in memphis--artists like howlin' wolf and james cotton; guitar by the likes of pat hare and willie johnson.
circa 1953/54.

I agree Mitch, and even Chuck Berry's Chess recordings had distortion, but....the BIG distortion or FUZZ award would have to go to Grady Martin "Don't Worry Bout Me." It is my understanding that after that recording session, Grady got together with the Gibson company and developed the 1st commercial fuzz effects pedal.

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

I think it may be a case of the Beatles being the first to utilise feedback, as previously mentioned everyone else was trying to avoid it at the time.

For fuzz guitar sound, and speaking of Sun, how about 'Rocket 88' by Jackie Brenston, then part of Ike Turner's Kings Of Rhythm and recorded originally as Ike's side, but issued under Jackie's name. We're talkig about 1951 here.

Joe Allwood · From: Russell, IA 50238

Yup, I think Jason's right. The Beatles were the first to use feedback, specifically designed in a controlled, musical sense, rather than as I use it, to incite screams and ear covering

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

FOR RICH:

The technique George used on "I Feel Fine" is as follows:

He placed his left middle finger on top of the 5th String (A) just below the nut and picked the string - sounded somewhat "damped" but according to what I have read....and the way I have played for years.....that sounds like the deal...

Try it...you will see...

Tim Harr

Joel Glassman · From: Waltham MA USA

The earliest distorted or overdriven guitar
sound can think of in CW music is Junior Barnard with the Texas Playboys in around 1947 or so. He was a rockin' dude

, and I read an interview where Jimi Hendrix mentions him. There must have been distorted blues guitar music before this though. (Actually Charlie Christian's playing was a bit distorted too)--Joel

Bob Shilling · From: Berkeley, CA, USA

I think Doug is right re: the first MONSTER hit with distortion. I had heard that Keith poked a hole in his speaker with a pencil for that one. But as pointed out here, there were lots of recordings (with distortion) before "Satisfaction", and some were hits.

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Bob Shilling, Berkeley, CA--MSA S10, "Classic"

[This message was edited by Bob Shilling on 13 June 2002 at 12:08 PM.]

Jim Smith · From: Midlothian, TX, USA

Almost everyone on this thread is talking about distortion instead of feedback as if they are one and the same. In my mind they are completely different. Has this thread gone completely off topic (not unusual) or am I missing something?

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

No, it simply seems that no-one can dispute the claim of the Beatles being the first to utilise feedback as part of a song.

Doyle Weigold · From: CColumbia City, IN, USA

I've got to agree with Larry Miller and Grady Martin on "Don't worry "bout me" sung by Marty Robbins. It's the first time I heard it. I hate to tell my age but I'm almost 64 and that was the first time I heard it. That don't make me right, just the first time I heard it. The story at that time was that Grady had blew a speaker on the recording??????

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

i thought it was Charlie Christian,
while playin" a gig w: Benny Goodman.
my grand ma told me it was Gene Vincent's Blue cap
(what was his name again ?)
Thank God, Muddy Waters invented Elektricity
Steel know my History...

[This message was edited by CrowBear Schmitt on 23 June 2002 at 12:36 AM.]

Joerg Hennig · From: Bavaria, Germany

CrowBear, the guitar player who was with Gene Vincent on most of his famous tunes from the ´50s was Cliff Gallup. The distortion thing seems strange however, because everything I ever heard by him was very clean.

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Continuing under the assumption that this is still a topic about feedback as a musical device rather than an unwanted side effect, I'd have to nominate some of the early Who albums, I believe their debut was rejected by the pressing plant due to the distortion and feedback levels.
Kinda tame by todays standards, but a great debut. (if somewhat tinny sounding)

Bobby Lee · From: Cloverdale, California, USA

I'll bet that Les Paul recorded feedback. He just never had the crazy urge to release it on a record. Only George Martin would do something like that.

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Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (F Diatonic) Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6)

Jim Cohen · From: Philadelphia, PA

Well, my first awareness of recorded feedback came from my second grade teacher, who wrote home to my parents that I shouldn't be such a wise guy. (Obviously, I don't take well to feedback.)