John Weider

Best known today as a jazz/new age guitarist, John Weider has led a many-faceted career; beginning at the height of the British beat boom as a teenager, through the psychedelic era as one of England's most respected musicians, past progressive rock, and out the other side as a serious composer in his 40s and 50s. Weider was born into a Jewish family in London on April 21, 1947. A natural musician, he studied classical violin for nine years, from ages seven to 16, and also took up the guitar (and later bass). By the time he was in his teens, the British beat boom had begun in earnest, with groups like Cliff Richard & the Shadows reaching their peak of influence and popularity, and another, more heavily American-influenced wave about to break. Weider became part of that second wave at 17, as a member of Steve Marriott & the Moments, whose lineup -- including Marriott and organist Jimmy Winston -- eventually comprised half of the original Small Faces. Weider's subsequent groups included Tony Meehan's Combo, starring the ex-Shadows drummer, and stints in the Laurie Jay Combo and Johnny Kidd & the Pirates. In late 1966, bassist/singer Danny McCulloch, who had already auditioned successfully for the bass player spot, told Weider about an opening for a guitarist in a reconstituted version of the Animals that Eric Burdon was putting together. The fact that Weider also played the violin made him ideal for Burdon, who was looking for a new sound for his group. (Another beneficiary of Weider's successful audition was the Moody Blues: they were in the market for a new guitarist and, as that spot was filled in the Animals' lineup, Burdon sent the remaining responses to his blind ad to them. As has been related many times in interviews, the Moody Blues got singer/guitarist Justin...