Judd Proctor ( Procter; 2 January 1931 – 21 August 2020) was a British jazz guitarist and

session musician Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...

Biography

He was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, in 1931, though some sources give different years. His birth surname was Procter (with an 'e'), but it was misspelled on early recordings and he later used the spelling with an 'o'."One of the UK’s top guitarists reveals his story to John “Dick” West", ''Pipeline Instrumental Review'', No.78, 2008 He played

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

in his youth, and joined a local trio, but switched to guitar when in his teens, and won a regional ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' contest in a group, The Zetland Players. At the age of 18 he was conscripted into the Royal Air Force, based in Kent, where he met and was influenced by guitarist

Ike Isaacs Ike Isaacs may refer to: * Ike Isaacs (guitarist) (1919–1996), Burmese-British jazz guitarist * Ike Isaacs (bassist) (1923–1981), American jazz bassist {{Hndis, Isaacs, Ike ...

. After his military service ended, he worked in accountancy for

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...

, but soon left to join a dance band in Nottingham and became a professional musician. UK's Jazz Guitar Pioneers: Judd Proctor, ''JazzEddie''
Retrieved 14 December 2022 After playing in various bands he joined Ray Ellington's quartet in 1955, and remained for six years. He appeared on many radio broadcasts including '' The Goon Show''. In the early 1960s, he became a

, appearing on recordings by Cliff Richard,

Helen Shapiro Helen Kate Shapiro (born 28 September 1946) is a British pop and jazz singer and actress. While still a teenager in the early 1960s, she was one of Britain's most successful female singers. With a voice described by AllMusic as possessing "th ...

, The Springfields,

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 – 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...

, Harry Nilsson and many others, including in later years the

Benny Goodman Benjamin David Goodman (May 30, 1909 – June 13, 1986) was an American clarinetist and bandleader known as the "King of Swing". From 1936 until the mid-1940s, Goodman led one of the most popular swing big bands in the United States. His co ...

Orchestra. He also made some instrumental recordings under his own name, including the 1961 single "Palamino" / "Nola", and a 1968 LP, ''Guitars Galore''. Proctor appeared on many television shows with stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., and Victoria Wood, and on many film soundtracks. In the 1960s he toured with

Stanley Black Stanley Black OBE (14 June 1913 – 27 November 2002) was an English bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist. He wrote and arranged many film scores, recording prolifically for the Decca label (including their subsidiaries ''Lond ...

; in the 1970s and 1980s as a member of Don Lusher's orchestra; and later with the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra. His last and longest regular gig was providing incidental music for the TV comedy series '' Last of the Summer Wine''. He died in Market Deeping, Lincolnshire, in 2020 at the age of 89."Celebrating the life of Judd Procter"
Retrieved 14 December 2022

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proctor, Judd 1931 births 2020 deaths English pop guitarists English jazz guitarists Musicians from Doncaster