Founder
Jim Marshall
1923–2012 · Kensington, London
The Hanwell drum teacher who gave British blues its roar
He was a singer. He was a drum teacher. He opened a shop. When his customers asked for a louder American amp, he built something British instead.
Jim Marshall grew up in TB treatment — he spent most of his childhood in a rigid brace. As a young man he sang with dance bands, earned good money doing it, and used the takings to open a music shop in Hanwell, west London, in 1960.
Drums were the main trade, but the guitarists coming in — among them young men called Pete Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore — complained the American amps were too expensive and not loud enough. Marshall teamed up with engineer Ken Bran and built the JTM45 in 1962. It was obviously inspired by the Fender Bassman, but with British KT66 valves and a fresh preamp design that gave it a different temperament: brighter, angrier, less compromising.
Anecdotes & moments
- When Eric Clapton recorded Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton (the Beano album) in 1966, he used a Marshall 1962 combo cranked flat out and a borrowed Les Paul. The sound became the British blues standard, and gave the model its permanent nickname: Bluesbreaker.
- The JTM initials stand for Jim and Terry Marshall — his son. The family stayed involved with the company right up until Jim's death in 2012.
Links
Photo: Wikimedia Commons