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Country Blues => Weenie Campbell Main Forum => Topic started by: Johnm on January 14, 2016, 12:41:24 PM
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Hi all,
I realized a while ago that quite often it seems as though harmonica is shown off to best advantage in solo settings. I thought it might be fun to start a thread where folks could post particular favorite performances of solo harmonica. I'll start the ball rolling with a couple:
Deford Bailey's "Alcoholic Blues":
https://youtu.be/cONqkwqbX4w
Turner Junior Johnson's "When I Lay My Burden Down":
https://youtu.be/RXcQxHcAwq4
Robert Diggs' "Someday Baby":
https://youtu.be/LSfOIKWuD1c
I think what I especially like about solo harmonica performances is how well you can hear the player's tone. Anyone else have some favorites?
All best,
Johnm
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Yes, it's playing fine for me, Frank. Is that William Grant? Pretty cool the way you pre-cued it! That is a beauty.
All best,
Johnm
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DeFord Bailey's "Davidson County Blues" is a Masterpiece
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHqOaTSSj0Y
as is "Wilkes County Blues" by Gwen Foster (my favorite Old-Time Harmonica Player)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znPJA19VR6Y
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This one has always been a fave of mine;
https://youtu.be/rCVu0Y_PQk4
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https://youtu.be/fMrsPMzsFS0
https://youtu.be/zbKiVqY2GN8
https://youtu.be/mewqxMcRLFk
https://youtu.be/GOFbfY-wY1I
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https://youtu.be/rx_gDDMOltI
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Some Peg Leg Sam would be appropriate here. A master and a monster (Lignite can vouch for that!).
pbl
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Some Peg Leg Sam would be appropriate here.
Sure would... I would have posted his Reuben, but it's not on Youtube... Fast Freight Train is a close second - with Baby Tate on guitar!
https://youtu.be/9FLyVGdJgvs
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Great tunes above, thanks!
My favourite all time harmonica solo recording is this version of La Cucaracha by Walter Horton:
http://www.jeffersonbluesmag.com/images/stories/horton/wh2_lacucaracha.mp3
In the recording Horton says he played that tune as long as he played harmonica.
Other songs from the same session (in a garage) are found in the middle of this page: http://www.jeffersonbluesmag.com/articles/internationell-blues/124-horton-big-walter-120
In the past anyway, this record was not easy to come across.
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https://youtu.be/O0FaebRWars
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I'm glad you enjoyed the Turner Junior Johnson and Robert Diggs tracks, Anthony, and I should mention, they each have several additional tracks up on youtube. Just search for them by name and you'll find them. You may find that you prefer some of the other cuts that I didn't post, too. That's always a bonus!
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Here's one I've always loved--sure like his singing, too.
https://youtu.be/YUXhxh7Agv0
HARMONICA SOLO
Hangin' around and foolin' about sure get you down
Sure get you down, sure get you down
Hangin' around and foolin' about sure get you down
If you hang around and foolin' 'bout too long
Police and the High Sheriff come a-ridin' down
Ridin' down, ridin' down
Police and the High Sheriff's come a-ridin' down
And you know you don't want to go
HARMONICA SOLO
Hangin' around the skin game will sure get you down
Sure get you down, sure get you down
Hangin' around the skin game will sure get you down
If you hang around the skin game too long
Police and the High Sheriff come a-ridin' down
Ridin' down, ridin' down
Police and the High Sheriff's come a-ridin' down
And you know you don't want to go
HARMONICA SOLO
Thirty days in the jailhouse will sure get you down
Sure get you down, sure get you down
Thirty days in the jailhouse will sure get you down
If you stay in the jailhouse too long
God's in the road, rider, come and carry you down
Carry you down, carry you down
God's in the road, rider, come and carry you down
And you know you don't want to go
HARMONICA SOLO X 3
All best,
Johnm
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There's a few YouTube videos of Phil Wiggins playing solo, this one was nicely shot in a recording studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIf577IaD3Y (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIf577IaD3Y)
Lindy
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Hi Johnm,
Hadn't heard the Ollis Martin track before....sounds to me like the song is the prototype for Billy Grammer's hit "Gotta Travel On" written by, among others, folksinger Paul Clayton.
Odd how these musical ideas get around, eh?
best,
bruce
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Hi all,
Here are a couple more, from Palmer McAbee:
https://youtu.be/WpA4gRmAyRc
and from Jaydee Short:
https://youtu.be/8jY-lEeMChM
All best,
Johnm
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Hi Bruce,
Did Billy Grammar's hit song have a verse that began, "Papa writes to Johnny, but Johnny can't come home"? I remember hearing that when I was a kid and it was really catchy.
All best,
Johnm
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yep, john, that's the one.
also has verse: "High sheriff and police ridin' after me." Here's Billy G:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9skKTcw6h8
best,
bruce
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I think the folk singer Paul Clayton gets credit for writing the hit version of Gotta Travel On.
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The "Police and High Sheriff" melody and lyrics show up elsewhere, like the old time tune "Big Ball In Memphis" as recorded by the Georgia Yellow Hammers:
https://youtu.be/DEP2Z8sHqss
Sorry to further divert the thread.
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Yeah, this one by the Aiken County String Band also;
https://youtu.be/Wvf9e5RDzzQ
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Hi all,
Roger Matthews was most often recorded in a duo with guitarist Booker T. Sapps, but here he plays solo. In the "John Henry" thread, at http://weeniecampbell.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=4256.msg87954#msg87954 , there is a version by Roger Matthews and Booker T. Sapp of that song in which Roger Matthews' rhythm playing behind the instrumental tag at the end of each verse is other-worldly--I've never heard anything like it.
https://youtu.be/uKl-tuKTcw8
George "Bullet" Williams is not doing his own singing here, does anyone know who the singer is? In the singer's spoken exhortations, he pronounces "touch" "tetch". Williams does some of the scariest vocalizing with his harp here:
https://youtu.be/KRO83bzSbh0
Touch me light, pretty mama, this may be your last
Hey, hey, this may be your last
Touch me light, pretty mama, this may be your last (Spoken: Touch 'em, kid, touch 'em!)
Hey, went to the Nation, from there to the territo'
Couldn't find, my good gal, honey, nowhere I go (Spoken: Touch 'em again!)
Woke up this morning, woke the day before
Woke up this morning with the same thing on my mind (Spoken: Touch 'em now!)
I b'lieve to my soul, mama, got to leave your town
I ain't got no pretty mama, talk baby talk to me (Spoken: Touch 'em, boy, touch 'em!)
Ahh, ahh, talk baby talk to me
Ain't got no pretty mama, talk baby talk to me
I went to the Nation, from there to the territo'
I couldn't find my good gal, honey, nowhere I go (Spoken: Touch 'em, touch 'em!)
Honey, I b'lieve to my soul, got to leave your town
Got to leave your town (Spoken: Touch 'em, touch 'em now!)
Goin' to town, mama, talk with the Chief of Police
Tell 'im my good gal done quit me, sure can't see no peace
All best,
Johnm
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I think it is Wiley Barner on the "Bullet" Williams side.
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https://youtu.be/ZguxwH4MqGc
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Sorry if I'm flooding the thread a bit, but I just remembered this one and I don't feel like William McCoy gets a lot of attention:
https://youtu.be/G2hESjj_hS4
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Hi all,
Here is Kyle Wooten, with "Choking Blues". Apologies if European Weenies can not view the video.
https://youtu.be/GmlJMq44jiA
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
I know some of you have studied with Mark Graham at Port Townsend or Blues Week. He really is amazing.
https://youtu.be/eiz7ymyZ3wk
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Here's one from Hammie Nixon:
https://youtu.be/5fVhySzMDLw
All best,
Johnm
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El Watson solo:
https://youtu.be/DQtHldzTky0
and his duet of "Fox Chase" with Robert Cooksey:
https://youtu.be/FFjlbTvsO7M
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Not a Blues performance, but great solo Harp from Doc Watson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmuz1PsqCIU
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Great find, Mike! One of the things I was sad to see in Doc's performances as the years went by was the progressive de-emphasis on his harmonica playing in his sets. Early on, he'd always have some ripping tunes with harmonica on the rack, like "Muskrat". He was certainly a wonderful guitar player, but I loved to hear him play harmonica, banjo and sing unaccompanied hymns and ballads, too.
All best,
Johnm
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He was a National Treasure, John. No doubt about it. We may never see the like of him again
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Hi all,
Here's a neat one from Buster Brown, "I'm Gonna Make You Happy":
https://youtu.be/mycFQE86kco
All best,
Johnm
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Good one, Sam. About two minutes in it sounds like Wooten plays a bit of "Sleeping Lulu" aka "L and N Rag".
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Kyle Wooten recorded six tracks -- all harmonica solos -- at his only session, for OKeh in Atlanta on December 1, 1930 (a Monday for the true pedants among us). I've got four of them on a Juneberry private issue (no longer available, unfortunately), but the only more widely available one I can track down is Choking Blues on Yazoo's Harmonica Masters (CD 2019). Red Pig was on County's vinyl A Day In the Mountains anthology, and I have a feeling that Loving Henry has also been reissued.
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Almost "perfect" in my understanding is Noah Lewis? solo performance of "Like I Want To Be":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5_Jl7dp2U8
Hehe, I always hear a full band around it but this is just my head.
It has what I love in music: a simply structure, yet much variety and many nuances in it, something new to be found every time, lovely bent blue notes, a full organ-like sound, and it sounds like a dialogue of a weeping woman and a shouting couple who shout about the all too human things, it?s rocking along slowly and steadily like a slow long train, all very powerful and yet very subtle. i cannot really put this in words - it is what I wish I could play like :)
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Noah Lewis is my favorite harp player hands down! He's pretty good in the singing department too. His phrasing and the full sound that he gets is wonderful. I agree with you, Blind Arthur, certainly someone to aspire to.
Best Regards,
Denise
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Hey everyone. Just noticed this thread. As a harmonica player, I seek out a lot of these early harmonic solos too. I noticed that alyoung mentioned Red Pig by Kyle Wooten. The only place I know that it is available on the internet is on the Juneberr78s site. Here it is:
http://www.juneberry78s.com/sounds/cy4953-10.mp3
DeFord Bailey's Muscle Shoals Blues is also there:
http://www.juneberry78s.com/sounds/cy4953-05.mp3
I like this version with the cracks and hisses of the 78 better than the version available on youtube.
Here's one I did a long time ago:
http://sclk.co/s4hhk1
My favorite solo piece by Noah Lewis is Devil in the Woodpile:
https://youtu.be/7u7IDFYHyhQ
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Hi all,
Here is one I found today by Walter "Tonus Maximus" Horton.
https://youtu.be/MwphQwUNleQ
All best,
Johnm
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Anything by PEG LEG SAM!!
pbl
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Hi all,
Here is one from Booker T. Sapps. On his duo pieces with Roger Matthews, whichever of them played the guitar was in Vestapol on every tune of theirs that I've heard guitar on, and it is really expert playing by both of them. I think they're one of the strongest harmonica/guitar duos I've heard and I think the only time they were recorded was by Alan Lomax in Florida in 1935.
https://youtu.be/rYBtCHkd70Y
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Here's a nice one from El Watson: "One Sock Blues":
https://youtu.be/0N_5h0cYcPg
All best,
Johnm
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Hi all,
Here is a train tune from Eddie Mapp--"Ridin' The Blinds":
https://youtu.be/MBp0A-3FK-s
All best,
Johnm
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Back in the day, I played some of my field recordings for Alan Lomax. On hearing Peg Leg Sam's version of "Fox Chase", he said, "He's even better than Sonny Boy Terry!" Now, Alan did record both Sonny Terry and Sonny Boy Williamson at different times, so that was not faint praise at all! Sam was a master in all formats.
Peter B.
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Oddenda, are those recordings of Peg Leg Sam reissued? I would love to hear them. I've been a Peg Leg Sam fan for years after seeing the doc on Folkstreams. Turned out, my Uncle recorded him playing at a folk fest in the 70's and learned his version of Froggy Went A Courtin' from him.
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Can't forget this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dO__IuDr-o
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Hi all,
Here are a couple from Clarence Alexander, a new name to me. First, "Disability Boogie Woogie":
https://youtu.be/xOvnTeAr7QE
And "Prison Blues":
https://youtu.be/z9nGKrQRMlU
All best,
Johnm
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btasoundsradio -
"My" album of Peg Leg Sam was reissued on CD some time ago (Trix 3302) with same title and and release # about 1993 by Joe Fields. It has not been redone since then to the best of my knowledge. There was also separate release on Blue Labor from Kent Cooper. Check the usual sources. That's about it, with some anthology appearances and the medicine show albums from Flyright. Send me your e-mail address - we'll see what can be arranged! Sam was a MONSTER entertainer in so many ways. The doco film is apt and most enjoyable, if still incomplete... anything would be!
pbl
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Here's Joe Filisko playing in Brighton last weekend. The first is a Sonny Terry tribute, the second, not strictly solo harmonica, but as Prof Scratchy has already posted the original by Jaybird Coleman and Ollis Martin, I feel the precedent has already been set. Joe is accompanied by my mate Gareth Tucker on River Of Jordan. https://youtu.be/tJAnkzrr7Mw/ (https://youtu.be/tJAnkzrr7Mw/) https://youtu.be/8P4z0mPtsGM/ (https://youtu.be/8P4z0mPtsGM/)
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Hi all,
Here is another track, "I Done Lost My Health" by Robert Diggs, who was recorded by George Mitchell. I love his tone. Here is the track:
https://youtu.be/YznzQrsrBwE
All best,
Johnm
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This has been a favorite of mine.
https://youtu.be/NymeLwLDK0k
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Hi all,
Here is one from Deford Bailey that I don't believe has been posted here previously, "Dixie Flyer Blues". There's one place in the melody that is reminiscent of Jaybird Coleman's version of "Boll Weevil".
https://youtu.be/AwEzFkjYCIY
All best,
Johnm
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Thanks for the updates on Peg Leg Sam, Pete. A truly unique blues artist. Here is the link to the article by Pete on Peg Leg Sam's releases on Trix:
https://peterblowry.com/2015/05/19/3302/
Review of another release at AllAboutJazz:
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/kickin-it-peg-leg-sam-32-records-review-by-ed-kopp.php
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Someones probably already posted this but here I go!
https://youtu.be/h0eFg12OCHg
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Hi all,
Here is another harmonica solo tune from Henry Whitter, "The Weepin' Blues", recorded at a session in New York City on February 26, 1924. I like the way the tune just sort of goes its own way.
All best,
Johnm
https://youtu.be/I5akGyz9zHA
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Hi all,
Here a couple from Turner Junior Johnson--first "Meet Me In Jerusalem":
https://youtu.be/MvKNUUVwR3E
Here is "Steal Away":
https://youtu.be/s-1rH1LQG78
Here is "Sitting On Top of the World":
https://youtu.be/T6A6XzIqVg0
All best,
John