Django Reinhardt: The jazz innovator who influenced Paul McCartney and Wings
All roads lead to Rome, but all popular music tends to lead back to jazz – if it’s half-decent, anyway. Jazz laid the foundations for so much musical rebellion, from the defiant sounds of Max Roach, John Coltrane, and Nina Simone during the civil rights movement to the Afro-jazz of apartheid South Africa. Moreover, the expansive genre provided a wealth of music inspiration to artists of all different varieties, including such legendary pop figures as Paul McCartney.
Throughout their tenure, The Beatles explored a vast range of musical inspirations, from their early origins as a skiffle outfit to covering tracks by some of Motown’s finest soul stars to the mind-expanding Eastern psychedelia of records like Revolver. It was this expansive range of sounds that helped the ‘Mop Tops’ to reach the dizzying heights that they did, becoming a global music phenomenon which is still unparalleled 55 years after the band dissolved. Inevitably, jazz formed a major influence on the Fab Four, stretching back to their early days, and Belgian jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt was always a particular favourite.
Among the first Europeans to make their mark on the jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s, Reinhardt completely reinvented expectations of guitar music. During his heyday, the Belgian musician was among the only jazz musicians to focus almost entirely on the guitar, while other groups resigned the six-string to the background. With this innovative sound, the guitarist became a defining figure of jazz during the period, performing alongside legendary figures such as Duke Ellington and Coleman Hawkins.
Although the Belgian guitarist died suddenly in 1953, at the age of only 43, his influence over popular music has never wavered in subsequent years. Paul McCartney, in particular, has always maintained an appreciation for the jazz star. In fact, an early photograph of The Beatles, during their Pete Best years, sees them performing at the Aldershot Palais Ballroom in front of multiple album covers, including Reinhardt’s The Art of Django.
While this photography could be considered coincidental, and the LP covers were likely put on stage by the venue rather than the band itself, Reinhardt’s influence seems to have followed McCartney throughout his musical career.
During his time recording with Wings, for instance, Denny Laine and Jimmy McCulloch took a considerable amount of inspiration from the Belgian guitarist. The 1978 track ‘Deliver Your Childen’ bears a striking resemblance to some of Reinhardt’s work, and Laine later shared, “Very me that song, and people like it,” explaining the inspiration behind the track, before adding: “I like Django Reinhardt.”
McCartney himself has rarely spoken about the Belgian jazz pioneer or his role in shaping a lot of modern guitar music and pop. However, Reinhardt’s influence over the former Beatle’s career is difficult to dispute. Wings were certainly more indebted to the jazz artist than The Beatles had been, but the marks were always there.
Then again, his innovative approach to guitar playing and composition inspired countless individuals, paving the way for so much incredible pop music. McCartney, as a premier producer of groundbreaking pop, certainly owes a lot to Reinhardt’s forward-thinking work, whether he knows it or not.
