"Diamonds" is an

instrumental An instrumental or instrumental song is music without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through Semantic change, semantic widening, a broader sense of the word s ...

composed by Jerry Lordan and first released as a single by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan in January 1963. It became a number-one hit on the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top of the chart.

Background and release

In 1962, guitarist Jet Harris left

the Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

and was signed to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis after his acquisition of a gramophone manufacturer, The Decca Gramophone Company. It set up an American subsidiary under the Decca name, which bec ...

as a solo artist, releasing his debut hit single " Besame Mucho" in May 1962. Former Shadows' drummer Tony Meehan was working at Decca as a producer and suggested to Harris that they team up. He asked Jerry Lordan, writer of several hits for the Shadows ("

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

", " Wonderful Land" and " Atlantis"), for an instrumental with bass guitar and a drum solo, and he gave them "Diamonds". "Diamonds" was recorded on 23 November 1962 at Decca Studios. Harris detuned a Fender Jaguar electric guitar in order to hit much lower notes than an ordinary guitar. The recording session was the first to feature

Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...

, who played rhythm on an acoustic guitar. It also features bass guitar by

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 – July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-born naval officer who served in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. Often referred to as the "Father of the American Navy", Jones is regard ...

, who along with Page would go onto form

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

. It was released at the beginning of January 1963 with the B-side "Footstomp", written by Meehan. "Footstomp" features

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

by Harris and

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...

by Meehan. It also features Joe Moretti on acoustic rhythm guitar, who would also play lead guitar on "

Scarlett O'Hara Katie Scarlett O'Hara is the protagonist of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 in literature, 1936 novel ''Gone with the Wind (novel), Gone with the Wind'' and the 1939 Gone with the Wind (film), film of the same name, where she is portrayed by Vivien Le ...

" and " Applejack".

Track listing

7": Decca / F 11563 # "Diamonds" – 2:25 # "Footstomp" – 2:49

Personnel

* Jet Harris – electric lead guitar * Tony Meehan – drums *

– acoustic rhythm guitar *

– electric bass guitar * Glenn and Chris Hughes –

baritone saxophone The baritone saxophone (sometimes abbreviated to "bari sax") is a member of the saxophone family of instruments, larger (and lower-pitched) than the tenor saxophone, but smaller (and higher-pitched) than the bass saxophone, bass. It is the lowe ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, piano

Charts

Other versions

*In May 1963,

the Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson (musician), Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. The band, which was a quartet for most of its existence, helped to popularize the electric guitar acro ...

recorded it for their ''Surfin album. *

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters between 1958 and 1959) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the pre-Beatles era from the late 1950s to the early 1960s. They served as the bac ...

, without their former members Harris and Meehan, recorded "Diamonds" in 1983.

References

{{authority control 1963 singles 1960s instrumentals UK singles chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Songs written by Jerry Lordan 1963 songs Decca Records singles