Depp Stole Music Book To Become A Guitarist
14 January 2008
Depp Stole Music Book To Become A Guitarist
Johnny Depp's music career started with the theft of a chord book.
The movie star, who has been lauded for his portrayal of singing barber Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's dark new musical, admits he learned to play the guitar as a kid with a stolen Mel Bay book.
Depp, who has performed on Oasis and Shane MACGowan records and featured in bands including The Kids and P, recalls, "When I was 12, I talked my mom into picking up a Decca electric guitar for me for $25.
"The first thing I did was steal a Mel Bay chord book. I went to this store, stuffed it down my pants and walked out.
"It had pictures - that's why I needed it so badly, because it was immediate gratification. If I could match those photographs, then I was golden. I conquered it in days."
And Depp admits he's more than proud of his guitar efforts on friends' records, although he's always mystified as to how he sounds so good.
He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "The Oasis stuff was fun... I enjoyed playing slide on what was it called? Fade In-Out.
"I was playing a guitar that had some strange tuning, and I didn't know the chords to the song. So, looking back, it was sort of miraculous that I was able to stay on key."
The movie star, who has been lauded for his portrayal of singing barber Sweeney Todd in Tim Burton's dark new musical, admits he learned to play the guitar as a kid with a stolen Mel Bay book.
Depp, who has performed on Oasis and Shane MACGowan records and featured in bands including The Kids and P, recalls, "When I was 12, I talked my mom into picking up a Decca electric guitar for me for $25.
"The first thing I did was steal a Mel Bay chord book. I went to this store, stuffed it down my pants and walked out.
"It had pictures - that's why I needed it so badly, because it was immediate gratification. If I could match those photographs, then I was golden. I conquered it in days."
And Depp admits he's more than proud of his guitar efforts on friends' records, although he's always mystified as to how he sounds so good.
He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "The Oasis stuff was fun... I enjoyed playing slide on what was it called? Fade In-Out.
"I was playing a guitar that had some strange tuning, and I didn't know the chords to the song. So, looking back, it was sort of miraculous that I was able to stay on key."
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