Rock 'n Roll

Rock 'n Roll


Dee Dee Ramone on how Marriott influenced him..."When
I was a little boy I had a Steve Marriott haircut, Steve Marriott shoes
and Steve Marriott pants. I was always dreaming of having a Steve
Marriott guitar. Later I'd discovered that Mick Jones and Joe Strummer
of The Clash and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols all listened to the
same 25 long forgotten songs...like "Sha La La La Lee" by the Small
Faces. And it was mostly because they had power chords in the songs
instead of a guitar break. Steve Marriott of the Small Faces would
shake his guitar around and just let it hummm. " source here
The Small Faces not only influenced Dee Dee, but others as well...
In fact, the band has played relatively unheralded but integral roles in
the career's of other music superstars like Rod Stewart and Peter
Frampton while having roles of lasting import on their more
commercially successful compatriots The Who and The Stones. The
influential impact of this cult group still resonates today via the
music of diverse yet similarly brash artists like The Jam, Led
Zeppelin, Pretenders, Quiet Riot, Blur, Oasis, X, Ramones, Buzzcocks,
Clash, Sex Pistols, Black Crowes, Blondie, Wilco, Bon Scott, Shane
MacGowan and Billy Bragg.

I'd bet that it wasn't the Small Faces song Sha La La La Lee of which
Dee Dee was referring, but instead it was Whatchya Gonna Do About It.
Why? Well, Whatchya has this semi-famous guitar solo in the middle
where Marriott just rings power chords into the amplifier letting it
feed back. Jimi Hendrix was quoted as saying that this was his
favorite guitar solo of all time.