Four soloists were mainly responsible for rise in the popularity of the chromatic harmonica in the 1930s, 40s and 50s – Larry Adler, John Sebastian, Ronald Chesney and Tommy Reilly. They were all entertainers and the music they played came from musical shows, classical music and folk music. This programme is introduced by Larry Adler and it contains examples of the music they all recorded on 78rpm records.
There were other performers and they will be featured on future broadcasts.
Major Chromatic Harmonica Soloists.
1 , Ruth Etting , If I could be with you , 0:00 2 , Larry Adler , Smoke gets in your eyes , 0:30 3 , John Sebastian , Ritual Fire Dance , 4:00 4 , Ronald Chesney , Whispering/Margie , 7:15 5 , Tommy Reilly , Can anyone explain, Autumn Leaves , 10:17 6 , Larry Adler, Claire de Lune , 13:15 7 , John Sebastian , Maiden with the Flaxen Hair , 16:20 8 , Ronald Chesney , Fantasie Impromptu , 18:20 9 , Tommy Reilly , Traumerie , 21:35 10 , Larry Adler , Body and Soul , 24:00 11 , John Sebastian , Malaguena , 27:07 12 , Ronald Chesney , Volare , 30:36 13 , Tommy Reilly , Jealousy , 32:57 14 , Larry Adler , Bolero , 35:40 15 , John Sebastian , The Harmonica Player , 39:08 16 , Ronald Chesney , The Flight of the Bumble Bee , 40:49 17 , Tommy Reilly , Hora Staccato , 42:57
The story of Cyril Davies, the first British blues harmonica player. From Traditional Jazz to Country Blues and Jug Bands in the 1950s. Joining up with Alexis Korner at the Round House pub in Soho. The meetings with blues greats like Big Bill Broonzy, Sonny Terry, Muddy Waters and James Cotton. Amplification and the Explosion of Blues Incorporated into the Ealing Club and The Marquee in 1962. A year of fame with his own band, The All Stars, and his early death in January 1964.
This comes from a podcast radio show I did in 2013 on Jonathan Baillie Strong’s “Live Lockdown” on K2K Community Radio in Kilburn. I covered the life of Cyril Davies on from his beginnings in Denham, West London, until his death in 1964, aged 33. With live music from Simon Prager, Doc Stenson, Hylda Sims, John O’Leary and Laurie Garman.
Live Lockdown – Cyril Davies – from Trad Jazz to the Rolling Stones
1 – Intro – 00:00 2 – Cyril Davies – Country Line Special – 01:36 3 – Mick Jagger – Warm up – 03:00 4 – Talk – 03:37 5 – Barbeque Jazz Band – Trad jazz – 05:30 6 – Talk – 06:30 7 – Steve Lane – Tennessee Twilight – 07:25 8 – Talk – 09:10 9 – City Ramblers – On a Monday – 12:40 10 – Talk – 16:05 11 – Big Bill Broonzy – Glory of Love – 21:02 12 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott – San Franciso Bay Blues – 21:38 13 – Speckled Red – Dirty Mistreater – 22:22 14 – Sonny Terry – Harmonica Blues – 23:06 15 – Muddy Waters – Catfish – 23:38 16 – Talk – 24:20 17 – City Ramblers – All by Myself – 30:30 18 – Talk- 33:00 19 – City Ramblers – How Long Blues – 35:10 20 – Talk – 37:20 21 – Blues Inc – Hoochie Coochie Man – 40:54 22 – Alexis Korner Blues Inc – Spooky but Nice – 42:45 23 – Blues Inc – Down Town – 44:30 24 – Alexis Korner Blues Inc -How Long Blues – 46:45 25 – Talk – 49:20 26 – Cyril Davies – Preachin’ the Blues – 55:00
Norman Ives died in 2015. This collection is from the wide range of blues, rock, ballads, country, and international harmonica music which he sold on cassettes in the 1990s. These tapes introduced me, and many others, to the potential of the harmonica.
This is a tribute to Norman, who introduces the first track. He had run an important mail order harmonica business in Caistor, Norfolk, UK, since the 1980s.
1 – Intro – Norman Ives – 0:00
2 – Harmonicats – Peg O’My Heart – 00:23
3 – Rory McLeod – Bansheesh Dance – 02:28
4 – Charlie Musselwhite – Hard Times – 07:32
5 – Fingers Taylor – Harpoon Man – 11:18
6 – Rowland Van Straaten – Orientango – 14:52
7 – Charlie McCoy – Pots and Pans – 18:06
8 – Norton Buffalo- So Much To Say – 20:13
9 – Cajun – Indian On A Stump – 23:48
10 – J.J.Milteau – The Hook – 27:22
11 – Deford Bailey – Fox Chase – 29:54
12 – Little Walter – Quarter to 12 – 31:15
13 – Paul Orta – Wailing at Weavers – 34:34
14 – Sonny Boy Williamson – Help Me – 37:52
15 – William Clarke – Blowing like Hell – 40:59
16 – Stagg McMann – Pinetop Boogie – 43:41
17 – Mox Gowland – Hollor For More – 46:41
18 – Sonny Terry – Change The Lock On The Door 50:17
19 – Jim Darby – Snake Dance – 53:43
20 – Walter Horton & Carey Bell – Have Mercy – 57:17
21 – Lee Oskar – The Immigrant – 61:01
22 – Paul Lamb – Snake Skin Jump – 65:06
23 – Junior Wells – Messing With The Kid – 67:32
24 – Blues Birdhead – Mean How Blues – 71:08
25 – Don Les – Check to Cheek – 74:26
26 – John Hammond – Cat Man Blues – 77:28
27 – John Popper/Blues Travelers – But Anyway – 81:30
28 – Randy Charles – I’m so Lonesome I could cry – 85:37
29 – George Harmonica Smith – Situation Blues – 88:03
30 – Ted Roddy – Honky Tonk Rhythm – 91:37
31 – Michael Herblin – M’pyramid – 97:15
32 – Pete Madcat Ruth – Froggy Went a’Courting – 99:53
33 – J Geils Band – Wammer Jammer – 103:15
You may have heard of some of these performers and groups but there will probably be others that are new to you. Joe Filisko shares his awesome knowledge of the early blues harmonica players and the techniques they developed to play the instrument. The music styles range from early jazz to country blues and popular novelties. If you like this, Part 2, you can listen to Joe on Part 1, on The Archivist web page.
Most of the recordings are from rare 78rpm shellac records, so be ready for the surface noise. In most cases there are no master recordings and for some of the performances only one or two 78s are known to have survived intact.
0 Introduction , Joe Filisko , 0:00
1 Long Haired Doney , Johnny Woods , 0:20
2 Stove Pipe Blues , Daddy Stovepipe , 3:00
3 Mean Low Blues , Blues Birdhead, 7:45
4 Central Track Blues , William McCoy , 12:00
5 One Mint Julep , Peg Leg Sam , 16:00
6 Black Pine Waltz , Gwen Foster , 19:22
7 Key to the Highway , Jazz Gillum , 24:06
8 Police and High Sheriff , 0llis Martin , 27:18
9 Mouth Organ Blues , Hezekiah Jenkins , 31:03
10 You Belong To Me , Arteleus Mistric , 34:40
11 Blues , Wild Bill Phillips , 40:14
12 Sugar Blues , Salty Holmes/Mattie O’Neil , 44:01
13 Son Brimmer’s Blues , Will Shade/ Memphis Jug Band , 47:40
14 Boarding House Blues , Rhythm Willie , 51:33
15 Mistreatin’ Mama , Jaybird Coleman , 55:20
16 Step It Up and Go , Jordan Webb/Brownie McGhee , 59:50
17 St Louis Blues , Willie “Red” Herman , 63:25
18 Jack 0′ Diamonds , Percy Randolph , 66:20
19 Fourth Avenue Blues , Eddie Mapp , 68:30
20 Tampa Blues , Sheffield and Skoodle Dum Doo , 71:53
21 Troubled ’bout My Soul , Frank Palmes , 75:23
22 Wabash Blues , Johnny O’Brien , 79:54
23 Go Back Home , Hot Shot Love , 83:45
24 Beale Street Breakdown , Jed Davenport ,87:04
25 Baby Please Don’t Go , Whispering Smith , 90:50
26 Hill’s Hot Sauce , Robert Hill , 93:52
27 She’s Got Good Dry Goods , Walter Horton/Little Buddy Doyle , 97:12
28 Drink, Drink, Drink , Robert Diggs , 100:35
You can buy the original double CD without Joe’s added information from – Bluebeat Music
Sit back and listen to Joe Filisko introducing 31 solo harmonica recordings from the 1920-30s. The recordings include many examples of train imitations, fox chases and early blues tunes. Joe mentions which harp and key he thinks is the correct one so maybe you will be inspired to play along. Part 2 is now available here – Rare Early Blues Harp Recordings by Singers and Sidemen introduced by Joe Filisko.
You may have heard of some of the performers but there will probably be others that are new to you. Most of the recordings are from rare 78rpm shellac records, so be ready for the surface noise. In most cases there are no master recordings and for some of the performances only one or two 78s are known to have survived intact.
This video is dedicated to Joe Filisko for sharing his awesome knowledge of the early blues harmonica players and the techniques they developed to play the instrument, and also to Ben Hewlett for contacting me when the recording had been taken offline and explaining how valuable this resource is for teaching blues harmonica. This is an updated version as a video with subtitles to help people with difficulties in understanding the speech.
Over to Joe…
Rare Early Solo Instrumental Blues Harp Recordings introduced by Joe Filisko. Introduction , Joe Filisko, 0:00 1 Cracker Cops , Sonny Terry, 0:30 2 McAbee’s Railroad Piece , Palmer McAbee, 4:15 3 Fox Chase , DeFord Bailey, 8:00 4 Middling Blues , George “Bullet” Williams, 11:30 5 Fast Train , Lonnie Glosson , 15:00 6 Rain Crow Bill Blues , Henry Whitter : 19:00 7 Train , Salty Holmes , 22:40 8 Red Pig , Kyle Wooten , 22:20 9 Train Imitations and the Fox Chase , William McCoy , 28:15 10 Up Country Blues , DeFord Bailey , 32:24 11 The Fox Chase , Wayne Raney , 36:21 12 Frisco Leaving Birmingham #3 , George “Bullet” Williams , 39:15 13 Mocking the Dogs , Edward Hazelton , 42:55 14 The Fox end the Hounds , Roger Mathis , 44:30 15 The Alcoholic Blues , DeFord Bailey , 47:4616 16 Mama Blues , William McCoy , 50:30 17 Train and Model-T Race , Curly Fox , 54:45 18 The Old Time Fox Chase , Henry Whitter , 57:40 19 Riding the Blinds , Eddie Mapp , 60:40 20 Dixie Flyer Blues , DeFord Bailey , 64:40 21 C & N.W Blues , D.H Bert Bilbro , 68:25 22 Fox Chase , Salty Holmes, 72:30 23 Devil in the Woodpile , Noah Lewis, 74:20 24 Lost John , Lonnie Glosson , 77:50 25 Pan-American Blues , DeFord Bailey , 81:35 26 Lost John , Walter “Red” Parham , 85:15 27 Mocking the Train , Edward Hazelton , 87:05 28 Lost John , Oliver Sims , 88:25 29 Muscle Shoals Blues , DeFord Bailey , 92:15 30 When the Saints Go Marching In , Jesse Stroller, 95:55 31 Poor Little June Bug , Sonny Terry , 97.15
You can buy the original double CD without Joe’s added information from – Bluebeat Music
Imagine you are back in the 1950s. Tune your AM Radio to the BBC and listen . The harmonica was heard in many radio comedies, variety and serious music shows in the 1950s.
Here are some examples featuring Tommy Reilly, Larry Adler, Ronald Chesney, Max Geldray, The Morton Fraser Gang and The Three Monarchs. Shows mentioned include Dixon of Dock Green, The Grove Family, The Navy Lark, Educating Archie, The Goon Show, Workers’ Playtime, and Variety Bandbox.
Light Programme , Opening , 0:00
Workers Playtime , Essex , 0:16
Tommy Reilly , Medley , 0:31
Tommy Reilly , Dixon of Dock Green , 4:42
Tommy Reilly , Family Joke, The Navy Lark , 5:58
Educating Archie , Ronald Chesney , 9:25
Ronald Chesney , Blues in the Night , 12:05
Ronald Chesney , Hora Staccato , 16:35
Variety Bandbox, , 18:07
Morton Fraser Gang , Medley , 18:15
Morton Fraser Gang , Body and Soul , 20:24
Three Monarchs , Beer Barrel Polka, 23:10
Three Monarchs , Small Talk , 25:05
Three Monarchs , Bach goes to Town , 28:52
Max Geldray , The Goon Show , 30:09
Max Geldray , Side by Side , 31:46
Max Gelday , So Rare , 32:54
Light Progamme , Larry Adler Programme 1 , 34:20
Larry Adler , Smoke gets in your Eyes , 35:10
Larry Adler , Holiday for Strings , 38:40
Larry Adler , Genevieve Film Music , 42:04
BBC Light Programme, Closedown, 48:43
More popular harmonica group favourites from the 1940s and 50s are from a large collection of recordings assembled by John Bryan (1924-2014) who built up contacts and friendships around the world who exchanged music with him. This broadcast covers tracks from many harmonica groups and soloists. See also Part 1, Old Harmonica Favourites.
1. Dick Hayman – Saturday night in the Central Park – 2:07
2. Dick Hayman – Tootle oolie dooley – 2:41
3. W. W. Macbeth – Listen to the mocking bird – 1:03
4. W. W. Macbeth – Carry me back to the old Virginny – 1:16
5. Luciano – Esmeraida – 0:47
6. Luciano – Gipsy melody – 0:34
7. Morton Frazer Gang – Caravana – 2:45
8. Morton Frazer – Chelsea – 2:21
9. Nelson y su conjunto – De buen humor – 2:31
10. The Snapshots – Limehouse blues – 2:23
11. Cappy Barra Harmonica Gentleman – Voodoo – 2:42
12. Hotcha Trio – Saloon bar rag – 2:54
13. Ronald Chesney – Chiqui chaqui – 2:12
14. Los 5 Acordes – El jazz me entristece – 2:13
15. The Multicats – Avalon – 2:39
16. Tommy Reilly – Swiss merry go-round – 1:55
17. Trio Candido – Premier flirt – 1:49
18. The Herold’s Trio – Swing polka – 2:01
19. Roberto Abularach – Sombrero de copa – 2:49
20. Os Harmonicistas – Dinah – 1:49
21. Los Armonica Tango – El entreriano – 1:58
22. Walter Gomez & Picaros – Popurri italiano – 3:02
The history of the harmonica is told by the performers and the music they recorded. Most of the major music collectors have died but this website shares some of the recordings from their collections – shellac, vinyl, cassette and reel to reel tapes, CDs, film and video tapes. It includes all music styles and harmonica types.
