Musical style and influences Bell took up guitar when 12 or 13, but only on hearing the first Beatles records was he motivated to play the instrument regularly. He acted as lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist for a sequence of bands, performing songs by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Zombies, and the Animals. Chilton's first awareness of music came at the age of 6 when his brother repeatedly played a record by the Coasters. His father's liking for jazz then exposed him over the next few years to the music of Glenn Miller, Ray Charles, and Dave Brubeck. Chilton's enthusiasm for music took hold when at age 13 he first heard Beatles records; he recalled having known of 1950s rock 'n' roll, but "by 1959 Elvis was syrup and Jerry Lee was pretty much gone, and the rockabilly thing was sort of over so I didn't get really caught up in the rock scene until the Beatles came along".
Musical style and influences Bell took up guitar when 12 or 13 but only on hearing the first Beatles records was he motivated to play the instrument regularly He acted as lead and rhythm guitarist and vocalist for a sequence of bands performing songs by the Beatles the Rolling Stones the Kinks the Zombies and the Animals Chilton's first awareness of music came at the age of 6 when his brother repeatedly played a record by the Coasters His father's liking for jazz then exposed him over the next few years to the music of Glenn Miller Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck Chilton's enthusiasm for music took hold when at age 13 he first heard Beatles records; he recalled having known of 1950s rock 'n' roll but "by 1959 Elvis was syrup and Jerry Lee was pretty much gone and the rockabilly thing was sort of over so I didn't get really caught up in the rock scene until the Beatles came along"