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Presented here for your amazement and entertainment are a selection of vintage harmonica performances recorded in the first half of the 20th century. They are all .mp3 files of about 1MB-3MB in size and you are welcome to save them to your computer, or iPod, or whatever. However, please pay attention to the copyright statement at the bottom of this page.
Bear in mind that these tracks are ripped from very old 78RPM disks, or in some cases from cassette copies of 78s, so the audio quality is not going to be quite as good as the latest Nelly Furtado CD, but in most cases it is not too bad.
As mentioned on this page, Pete Hampton was the first African-American harmonica player to be recorded, possibly even the first harmonica player to be recorded. Despite a prolific recording career in the early 1900s, he only seemed to have used the harmonica for one particular song (variously titled "Mouth Organ Coon", "The Mouth Organ Coon" and "Dat Mouth Organ Coon"), although he recorded that song on at least four different occasions. Here is his 1904 recording for Nicole Records:
The harmonica interlude on this version is slightly shorter than on the Edison recording and lacks the simultaneous whistling and nasal harmonica of the earlier performance, but is still very interesting historically, giving a unique glimpse into African-American harmonica stylings of the turn of the 20th century, including vocalising through the instrument and the use of fox chase and train-like rhythmic patterns. Hampton is playing an F diatonic harmonica in first position.
I have no other information about Professor Dickens, except that he recorded two cylinders in 1908 for the Empire Company of Melbourne, Australia. Both of these recordings were available on the CD set that was issued by Larrikin Records to accompany Ray Grieve's excellent book, "A Band In A Waistcoat Pocket", but the CDs seem to be no longer available. Both pieces are solo performances of medleys of well known tunes of the day, played in first position with heavy use of vamped chords. The first piece was played on an A harp (although the pitch comes out a little flat) and was issued as Empire No. 18:
The second piece was played on a G harp and was issued as Empire No. 32:
Turelly was very popular stage entertainer in the US Mid-West from the early 1900s to the 1930s. In a 1925 newspaper article was described as "The only harmonica player ever commanded to appear before British Royalty" and he was also Gary Cooper's harmonica coach for the movie "Meet John Doe". According to reviews of his stage appearances, his repertoire included popular tunes of the day, selections from grand opera and showpieces such as the Overture from "William Tell". However, he wasn't above such crowd pleasing stunts as playing without the use of his hands and his performances also showcased his whilstling abilities
He recorded four tunes for Columbia Records back in 1915: "Imitation Der Wiener Burghwach Parade", "Tiroler Holzhackerbaum Marsch", "Toreador Marsch" and "Irish Tango". The first two were released as Columbia E2329 and the latter two as E2515. "Tiroler Holzhackerbaum Marsch" and "Toreador Marsch" were later rereleased with English titles as Columbia A2594 and these are the two specimens I share with you here.
Composed by Josef Wagner, this piece has been long been a favorite of accordion players and polka bands. Turelly plays the opening part on an F diatonic in first position, switching to a Bb harp for the middle section, then back to the F again to finish the tune.
Once again, Turelly begins this piece with an F harp, then switches to a Bb harp. However, the Bb harp is used to play a section in G minor, making it an early example of fourth position playing. The Gm section begins at about 48 seconds into the piece, then at about 75 seconds, the key changes to Bb major and Turelly continues in first position on the Bb harp. At the 106 second mark, the key moves back to F major and Turelly finishes off the piece on his F harp.
As mentioned on this page, Henry Whitter was the first person to record in the cross harp position and despite being a white musician, he showed a notable African-American influence on his harmonica style. Born in 1892 in Fries, Virginia, Whitter claimed to have made test recordings for Okeh in March 1923, however his first official recording session was in December 1923, in New York City. The first three pieces he recorded at this session were all harmonica solos.
This is perhaps Whitter's most famous harmonica piece and he recorded it twice. This version was released on Okeh 40187 and his 1927 version was released on Victor 20878 (I have transcribed the main theme from the later version on this page). The tune appears to be in the key of Ab, with Whitter playing in second position on a Db harp. However, as Db harps were not generally available back then and his later recording of this tune is in the key of A played on a D harp, then I suspect that this take has been slowed down somewhere in the recording process.
The obligatory train imitation, this one played in first position. It comes out in the key of B, but I suspect it has also been slowed down at some point in the process and was originally played on a C harp.
Back to cross harp again for another staple of the old time harmonica repertoire. Once again, although the tune comes out in the key of F#, I suspect that it was originally in the key of G played on a C harp.
Born Bora Minjevic in the Ukraine in 1902, Borrah Minevitch is best known for his ensemble The Harmonica Rascals. However, his very first recording was as part of a trio put together by Victor Records to record the novelty tune "Hayseed Rag". Billed as The Dizzy Trio, Carson Robison played guitar and the ubiquitous Roy Smeck played banjo, with Minevitch supplying both piano and chromatic harmonica. Recorded in August 1924, this is the earliest commercial recording I have so far found that features the chromatic harmonica. The recording plays in the key of C#, but I suspect that it has been sped up somewhere along the line and was actually played in the key of C, modulating to F for the piano solo, then back again to C. Minevitch is playing a 10-hole C chromatic in what was called "regular" tuning (ie the same as a standard 10-hole diatonic) which enables him to play the chordal vamping under the melody. Typical of early chromatics, the instrument is unvalved, allowing him to do some diatonic-like note bending.
This was the only piece recorded by The Dizzy Trio and was issued as Victor 19421, the other side being a version of "It AinŽt Gonna Rain No MoŽ" by The International Novelty Orchestra.
Another musician about whom I have been able to find very little information, MacBeth seems to have hailed from Dallas, Texas and was regularly featured on the radio in that area in the 1920s. He recorded for Okeh in 1925, for Vocalion in 1928 and for Brunswick in 1929 and 1930. It is from his 1930 that the following two tunes were taken, originally released as BR 373.
This selection of tunes is played on a chromatic harmonica in the key of A. Rather than the solo tuning that later became the standard for chromatic harmonicas, this uses the older tuning commonly used on 10-hole chromatics, essentially the same as a standard diatonic with a button to raise all the notes by a semitone. The medley starts with "Casey Jones", played in the key of Bb, with MacBeth holding the button in for most of the tune. He then releases the button to drop down to the key of A for the second part of the medley, "Old Folks at Home".
This is the earliest recording I have heard that features a minor tuned harmonica, although such instruments were listed in dealers catalogs from the late 1800s. It's hard to be sure from the recording whether MacBeth was using a minor tuned diatonic, or one of the so-called minor tuned chromatics that were available in the 1920s - these were 10-hole slide "chromatics" whose button switched between a major tuned set of reeds and a set of reeds tuned in the relative minor. Either way, he is using an Am instrument for the first part of the medley, "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", although the recording plays a little sharp. He then switches to an A chromatic for "Golden Slippers", pushing the button to move to the key of Bb for the next section "The Girl I Left Behind Me", then dropping back down to A once more.
As a bit of trivia, I also managed to find a report from a Southern Oklahoma newspaper called The Daily Ardmoreite about a "Texas vs Oklahoma" harmonica contest run in 1925 by the WBAP Star-Telegram, of Fort Worth, Texas, where MacBeth was pitted against one C.H. Wright, manager of the Madill Lumber Company. Apparently Wright was the winner.
Gwen (or "Gwyn" or "Gwin") Foster is perhaps better known than most of the other harmonica players on this page, recording quite prolifically during the 1920s and 1930s as a member of the Carolina Tar Heels, The Carolina Twins, The Blue Ridge Mountain Entertainers, with Clarence "Tom" Ashley, with David Fletcher and as a solo artist, playing both harmonica and guitar. He was originally inspired to take up the harmonica by an uncle who player, later learning from a neighbouring musician by the name of Marshall Revels, going on to develop one of the most distinctive harmonica styles in the entire history of the instrument. Foster generally played the harmonica in a rack, whilst also playing the guitar. He seems to have tongue-blocked more or less exclusively and one of his trademark sounds is the sideways wiggling of his tongue to give rapid alternation of two notes with one or more holes blocked between them. He also made extensive use of fast trills between the bent and unbent notes in the same hole of the harmonica.
Times Ain't Like They Used To Be
Foster recorded a well-known version of this tune in 1933 with Clarence Ashley, but this particular recording was made a year earlier by Foster with singer/banjoist Dock Walsh, released on Victor 23682 under the name The Original Carolina Tar Heels. This tune features some typical playing by Foster, in first position on a G harp.
The vast majority of Foster's playing is done in first position, however he did record a few tunes that showed he was quite comfortable playing cross harp. This piece comes from a 1933 Ashley and Foster session, originally issued on Victor 2611. The song is a standard 12-bar blues in the key of B and Foster is playing an E harp.
Willie "Red" Newman, AKA Syd Newman, AKA Willie "Red" Herman, AKA El Pelirrojo Armonico, was a regular member of the Oklahoma Cowboys, a group lead by fiddler and singer Jack Pierce. He also got the chance to record a few tunes under his own name (or names!) including this gem from Bluebird B-6625, issued in 1936:
This is perhaps not the most subtle performance ever recorded of the W.C. Handy classic, but it does feature some interesting harmonica work. Perhaps most notable is the bending of 1 draw upwards in pitch, as described on this page. Willie is playing a C diatonic in first position.
Willie Hood, better known as Rhythm Willie, is one of my favorites. There are other pages where I write about him in more depth (here, here and here), so here I will just share a couple of classic Rhythm Willie performances. First is a track that Willie recorded in 1947 with the Earl Bostic Orchestra:
Here, Willie is rocking out in first position on a Bb harp. This is one of four tunes that were recorded for Aladdin Records, but were not chosen for release. This track eventually turned up on a long out of print LP compilation called "Aladdin Rocks and Rolls 'til Midnight", but the other tracks have never been issued.
The Gershwin classic is given the Rhythm Willie treatment, with Willie playing in first position on a C harmonica. This was one of the two tunes recorded at Willie's last session and issued in 1950 on Premium PR-866, with "Wailin' Willie" on the other side. "Wailin' Willie" has been reissued on both LP and CD, but I believe that "I Got Rhythm" has been out of print since 1950.
Establishing whether or not an old recording is still protected by copyright can be somewhat tricky, particularly in the case of recordings made in America, where copyright is a matter of state law rather than national law. As far as am I able to determine, all of the above recordings are now in the Public Domain and there should no problem in downloading these tracks for personal use. If anyone has evidence that any of these recordings are still protected by copyright, please let me know and I will remove them immediately. Likewise, I believe that none of these tunes are currently available on a commercial CD release. If you know otherwise, please give me the details and I will remove the track and suggest that people buy the reissue CD instead.
Rhythm Willie
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