Going off at a tangent (but sort of on topic) in 1993, for reasons best known to themselves, Simon & Schuster sent me a complimentary copy of a book entitled 'Harmonicas, Harps and Heavy Breathers: the evolution of the people's instrument". The writer is a player but the book is not an 'instructional", purely a general reference work on the history of the instrument and its practitioners. Basically an "idiots guide" ideally suited to the likes of myself.
I guess it's long out of print but if there's cheap copies floating about on the internet probably worth picking up. Here's the table of contents:
Chapter 1 : East Meets West 19
Chapter 2: America 33
Chapter 3: The Bands 43
Borrah Minevitch and the Harmonica Rascals 44
Johnny Puleo and His Harmonica Gang 54
Carl Freed and the Harmonica Harlequins 55
The Cappy Barra Harmonica Ensemble 57
The Philharmonicas 60
Johnny O'Brien and the Harmonica Hi-Hats 60
Jerry Murad and the Harmonicats 61
The Mulcays 66
The Stagg McMann Trio 68
Chapter 4: The Soloists 75
Larry Adler 76
Charles Newman 84
Leo Diamond 86
Mike Chimes 87
Pete Pedersen 87
Richard Hayman 89
Alan "Blackie" Schackner 90
Chapter 5: Folk Music 95
Sonny Terry 98
Harmonica Frank Floyd 100
Peg Leg Sam 102
Mel Lyman 104
Mark Graham 107
Phil Wiggins 111
Chapter 6: Country Music 115
Dr. Humphrey Bate 117
Herman Crook 118
DeFord Bailey 122
Lonnie Glosson 129
Wayne Raney 132
Jimmie Riddle 134
Onie Wheeler 137
Charlie McCoy 138
Don Brooks 149
Mickey Raphael 151
Chapter 7: The Blues 157
Jaybird Coleman 159
The Memphis Jug Bands 161
Will Shade 161
Noah Lewis 163
Jed Davenport 164
The Chicago Players 165
John Lee Williamson 165
Jazz Gillum 167
Rice Miller 168
Little WalterJacobs 171
Walter Horton 177
Junior Wells 180
James Cotton 185
Jimmy Reed 188
Charlie Musselwhite 189
The Southern Players 196
Slim Harpo 198
The Future : 199
Chapter 8: Rock and Roll 201
The British Bands : 204
Bob Dylan 207
Paul Butterfield 211
Lee Oskar 216
Magic Dick 219
Kim Wilson 225
Chapter 9: Soul Music 233
Stevie Wonder 234
Chapter 10: Jazz 24 1
Charles Leighton 243
Don Les 249
Jean "Toots" Thielemans 253
William Galison 259
Howard Levy 263
Chapter 11: Hollywood 269
George Fields 270
Eddy Manson 274
Tommy Morgan 276
Chapter 12: Classical Music 283
John Sebastian 288
Cham-Ber Huang 292
Stan Harper 297
Tommy Reilly 300
Robert Bonfiglio 305
Epilogue 311
Selected Discography 315
Bibliography 327