Q&A with Graham Dee

Exclusive Interview by Karen Beishuizen
Photos courtesy of Graham Dee

Graham Dee is an English Bass and Guitar player who worked with The Laurie Jay Combo, John Lee Hooker, Memphis Slim, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. In April this year Acid Jazz Records released his long lost 1971 album “Mr. Super Cool” after some old tapes had re-surfaced. He is 82 and still writes songs and plays Live.

KB: Did you always want to be a musician growing up?

No, not always. At a young age I was more interested in wildlife and photography. Any musical interests were for the harmonica or trumpet. That was until Lonnie Donegan and skiffle came along, then all I wanted was a guitar.

KB: I read you were a gardener before taking up bass. Tell me the story.

That’s right. Whilst at school, during the holidays I was fortunate enough to have a couple of weeks’ work experience at Sir Peter Scott’s Wildfowl Trust, which was arranged by my father through John Arlott the cricket commentator. I was then offered a job for later by Sir Peter Scott, but unfortunately the digs were more than double my wages, so I couldn’t take the job. I then did a one-year horticultural course at the Queen Elizabeth College for the Disabled owing to the fact I couldn’t get any other work. It was during this time that I took more interest in the guitar and did some skiffle gigs with another student in the local cider pubs. I eventually got some gardening jobs working at Shoebury Park mowing the lawns, working on a tomato and flower nursery, and on the grounds at Runwell Mental Hospital and Rayleigh Shoe Factory.

But I was also looking for a band and was offered a position as bass player in local Southend group The Planets. I didn’t have a bass guitar at the time, so the band ended up buying my Fender Stratocaster so that I could afford to buy my own bass.

KB: I read you have neuromuscular disorder. How did this affect your life and musical career?

I don’t really like discussing my medical history, especially from that era, but I will say that life could be difficult at times. I feel that I spent more time attempting to contain my twitch or involuntary muscular movements and keeping my self-respect, rather than focusing fully on my music.

KB: How did you join the Laurie Jay Combo?

Another Graham, who was the bass player for Southend group The Premiers and had taken my place in The Planets was asked to join the Laurie Jay Combo, and he put my name forward as guitarist.

KB: As part of the Combo you worked with John Lee Hooker. What was it like working with him?

It was so long ago it’s hard to remember. This would have been around 1963 when I was 20. That year we did gigs backing John Lee Hooker, Gary US Bonds, blues pianist Memphis Slim, country singer Hank Snow, and British singer Kenny Lynch. I do recall that one of the venues we played at was Club Noreik in Tottenham, but I can’t remember who we were backing.

This was at a time when the first American blues acts were coming across and performing in the UK. We performed a lot of 12-bar blues with John Lee Hooker. He was a free and instinctive guitarist, and would change chords unexpectedly, which was challenging for the backing band. We had to be alert to the changes, and quickly adapt. So, I learned from this that what’s known as the 12-bar blues could be anything from 8 to 14 bars.

I also remember John Lee Hooker’s agent coming into the dressing room with the old-style postcard photos of him, but they had already been signed on John’s behalf by someone else because apparently, he couldn’t read or write.

Another memory of working with these black American blues artists was seeing them in the dressing room with a hot towel around their heads like a turban. Before a performance they would apply thick wax to their hair, and wrap it in a hot towel to flatten it down, so they could fit into the white man’s world. That didn’t change until Jimi Hendrix came on the scene.

KB: As a session musician you worked with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones. How did you meet and what was it like working with these guys?

There were two Jims on the session scene at the time, Big Jim Sullivan and little Jim who was Jimmy Page. I remember doing quite a few sessions with Big Jim Sullivan on guitar, and used him on several of my early productions.

I did a couple of recording sessions with Jimmy Page prior to the Led Zeppelin era. If I remember correctly, one was for Elkie Brooks, and we were both on guitars.

John Paul Jones was an excellent bass guitarist. I used him on quite a few of my productions because he was a very good sight reader, and he got a great sound from his Fender Jazz bass.

There were some excellent guitarists around with great sightreading skills, and this got them lucrative session work including film scores. As a producer, I worked with a few of these guys, and names that spring to mind are Ray Russell, Laurie Steele, Burt Weedon and Bryan Daly, but they never became household names as did the likes of Ritchie Blackmore, Big Jim and Little Jim of course. Me? You could say I just dabbled!

KB: Are there any artists out there you would love to collaborate with or wished you had?

Well, I was fortunate enough to have worked with people like The Drifters, The Walker Brothers, Carl Perkins, Tommy Tucker, Elkie Brooks and many more, so I can’t really complain. But I did have the opportunity to sit and listen to Wes Montgomery rehearsing when he was at Ronnie Scott’s for a week or so, but I was just too busy at the time. In hindsight, how could anyone be too busy to listen to Wes practicing his guitar?

Chet Atkins was an idol of mine when I started playing guitar. I did get to meet him once, but I’d love to have worked with him. He was the king of country guitar.

Quincy Jones? I’d be so lucky!

Curtis Mayfield of The Impressions. But the closest I got to that was me on the guitar accompanying Gerry Butler demoing some of his songs for agent Don Arden. Gerry Butler was a former member of the Impressions, when there were four rather than three.

KB: You can make an album with 7 of your most favorite songs (not your own: what would you pick and why?

This has been a very difficult question to answer, as believe it or not, there are many brilliant songs. As far as recordings go a wonderful musical arrangement and production can enhance the song, and make it sound much better than it really is.

The songs I’ve named here are ones I would never attempt to record myself because I love the way I’ve always heard them. So, it’s whether it’s the song, the vocals, the arrangement, instrumentation or production. If it moves me almost to tears, that’s what I’m looking for in a record.

The Beatles

“Fool on the Hill” – Great songwriting, the simplicity of the arrangement and McCartney’s voice.

Honeybus

“Do I Figure in Your Life” – This is down to the songwriting. Instrumentation is clean, simple and sparce. Nice hooks in the song.

Lorraine Ellison

“Stay With Me Baby” (Written my Jerry Ragovoy and George David Weiss) – It’s the voice and the production that makes this stand out.

Aretha Franklin

“Natural Woman” (Written by Carole King) – One of the great pop records of all time. Everything about it is brilliant.

Carole King

“It Might as Well Rain Until September” – This one and the next track are all about the songwriting and production. And they both come from my teens and early twenties.

Bobby Vee
“The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” (Written by Benjamin Weisman, Dorothy Wayne, and Marilyn Garrett).

The Impressions

I’m So Proud – This simply has a great feel, top harmonies. Big fan of Curtis and the Impressions.

Of course, this is what I have come up with today. Tomorrow might be a different list of songs.

KB: What are you currently up to?

Well, I’m 82 now but I’m still songwriting, and have projects I want to work on.

In April this year Acid Jazz Records released my long lost 1971 album “Mr. Super Cool” after some old tapes had re-surfaced, and I still have plenty of other unreleased tracks I would love to get out there.

I’m also planning to record an album with more of a country feel to it. I’m hoping to go back to Arizona next year, so maybe I’ll use some of the local Tucson musicians and studios for the album

My friend Richard is also working on a book about my music and travels that I contribute to occasionally, but that’s a long-term project.

Check out Graham’s website: HERE

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