No one would ever have guessed that the sickly kid in a London hospital would become a pioneer in rock and roll and work with such legends as Pete Townshend and Jimi Hendrix.
Yet Jim Marshall would grow up to found the amplifier company that bore his name and defined the sound of rock for generations.
Growing up sick
James Charles Marshall was born in London in the early 1920s. Much of his childhood was spent in a hospital bed, as he suffered from tuberculosis in his bones.
While he eventually overcame this disease, it was still enough to exempt him from service as a young man in WWII. Instead, Jim began a career as an electrical engineer and moonlighted as a musician.
Combining engineering and music
Initially, he was a singer for a local band, but in 1942 the band’s drummer was called into active service. As a result, Jim started playing the drum set to cover — while still maintaining his singing duties.
This led to a problem, though. Marshall had a quiet singing voice that was difficult to hear above his own drumming. With his background as an engineer, he started building his own portable PA systems to amplify his voice.
Teaching and opening the shop
In the 1950s, Marshall took up teaching the drums and at one point had close to 65 students showing up each week. He later stated that his significant teaching income enabled him to save up enough money to go into business.
This happened in 1960, when Jim opened a music store in London that catered to drummers. The store was popular with the local drumming community, and soon they were bringing their guitarists along with them to the shop.
The local rock bands absolutely loved Marshall because he treated them with respect. Other London music stores focused their efforts on jazz musicians and looked down upon the rock community, but Jim treated everyone equally. They were so enamored by him, in fact, that guitarists started asking him to sell guitars and amps so they could buy them at his shop.
Creating the first Marshall amp
Jim Marshall sensed an opportunity. At the behest of guitar players like Ritchie Blackmore and Pete Townshend, he assembled a small team of engineers and began working on the first Marshall amp prototype.
They started with a Fender Bassman, and after six(!) iterations, they had a product they were happy with. Their goal was to create quality amps at a more affordable price than the competition, which was not the easiest task given post-War England’s limited electrical components. They resorted to using parts such as airplane vacuum tubes but were still able to achieve the sound they wanted.
Townshend loved the finished product and began using Marshall amps with The Who. The amps soon took off in popularity, with even Jimi Hendrix visiting the shop in the late 1960s to place an order.
From shed to mass production
At the time, Marshall’s “pie in the sky” goal was to make and sell 50 amplifiers, but that number was quickly surpassed. Marshall was eventually able to move production from a shed in his yard to a more proper factory setup, where of course today the British company operates a multi-million-pound business.
Far more than a businessman
Jim Marshall was far more than just a maker of cheap amps. Many rock stars of the ’70s and ’80s called him “the father of loud,” or more simply, “Dad.” His customer service and care for people as individuals was unsurpassed.
Slash once fondly noted in an interview that Jim designed a brand-new amp for him after his were all destroyed in a concert riot in 1991, saying, “He took great care of me personally, ever since we first met.”
Marshall supported more than just the music community too. Over the years he quietly donated millions of pounds to charities and other causes, including the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital — the very facility where he was treated for tuberculosis as a child.
The “father of loud” had the love and adoration of many in the music community and in his home country of England for his selflessness, service, and care. In 2003, he was awarded an OBE from Buckingham Palace, one of the top civic honors in the country, for his “services to the music industry and to charity.”
The passing of a legend
Jim Marshall died of cancer in 2012, almost exactly 50 years after he made his first amplifier. Musicians from across the globe paid their respects on social media. It was quite the fitting end for this pioneer of rock music who was loved by all — and for good reason.
Leave a Reply