Hardly a blues, R&B, or rock n roll track was released in the seventies without a harmonica crowbarred into the mix somewhere. At the time, I detested the sound, but looking back, there was some good stuff out there.

My personal favourite harmonica weilding groups were these (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=a2JW1rFEfVM) two (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2OQ9h16pTAs) beauties.

Here's - in my opinion anyway - the greatest harmonica player ever to have lived: Peter Hope-Evans (http://www.peterhope-evans.co.uk/) (click the link at the very bottom right - the hover text says "Caress The Caress").

These days, the hamonica seems to be as dead as the clavichord.

phil alvin of the blasters catch some of his stuff .....brilliant

http://www.amazon.com/London-0-Hull-4-Housemartins/dp/B000002H3Z

Can be listened a snippet via this linky. My best Harmonica song... The mighty ship by The Housemartins

i quite like the sound of the harmonica, theres and old guy 'eggy' who sometimes plays it in town.

These (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=J2L0eT-q8E4) are (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JHUuqsSCn5g) great examples of why it should be kept alive.

Pete Doherty is good at harmonica. :) Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTsXQE8w1J8)

Pete Doherty is good at harmonica. :) Link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTsXQE8w1J8)

Actually, he's not. :hihi:

But it's good to see a young trendy group utilising one.

When I think of harmonicas I just think of the movie Jack Frost.

It's not a random thing, like "I think of harmonicas then I think of trees" - haha... it's 'cause Jack and Charlie played harmonica in the movie.

Hopefully Hawley will have harmonica man Clive with him at the City Hall on Wednesday night, that man sure knows how to suck and blow! ;)

And it's alive and well on a hell of a lot of alt-country records still, infact check out 'Crocodile Man' in the link on my sig below...

What a refreshing post this is.

The good old Gob Iron. You're right, it probably is a dying art. Can you imagine Meet Me On The Corner without that magnificent example of blowing and sucking? The Beatles put it to massive use of course (John was the chief harmonica player but they could all play. They used four massive ones on Being For The Benefit of Mr Kite during the Pepper sessions).

I Should Have Known Better (AHDN), Thank You Girl (b-side From Me To You), From Me To You (American mixes differ slightly to English); it appears on another b-side (to She Loves You) on I'll Get You and it cuts across all lively on their Please Please Me title track (where in some mixes it covers up a lead riff balls-up) and on side 2 track There's A Place. Of course, what would Love Me Do have sounded like without the harmonica? There's a real rasping intro and solo on their With The Beatles track, Little Child and it features prominently on Lennon's Dylanesque Beatles For Sale offering I'm A Loser.

Seems that its usage during Peppers was the last. I'm struggling to think of any Beatles track with a harmonica in later than 1967. I guess they'd moved onto the mellotron by then....(!). The horn/harmonica sound on the fade out to Lennon's Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill was the mellotron (played by Chris Thomas). I'm amazed that during the Get Back/Let It Be sessions it wasn't polished up and ready to be used again as this was the session where they were trying to sound like the group they were in 1963.

I particularly like its use on one of The Smiths' final tracks. Johnny Marr played the harmonica on the fade out to I Won't Share You, from the Smiths' last album proper, Strangeways, Here We Come. That really did sound effective and quite emotional. They used the harmonica on other tracks, noticeably on tracks like Still Ill.

It's a great instrument, all with a flavour of its own. They're cheap and fun to play too!

My brother is currently trying to learn to use it. He is getting quite good now, it all started when he found one in a skip lol

Actually, he's not. :hihi:

But it's good to see a young trendy group utilising one.

true and he is a nob

Useless factoid, Rod Stewart played the harmonica part on Millie's hit "My Boy Lollipop".

I've been thinking about this recently! How strange... Gonna buy one and learn.

A nice choice of harmonica players on this thread, but you can hardly call any of them 'the best', don't forget the masters such as the great Sonnyboy Williamson, Howling Wolf, Jimmy Reed & many others & what about the guy who played 'The old grey whistle test' theme tune Charley McCoy, the song was called "Stone fox chase" & he was in a Nashville band called Area code 615.
I play the harmonica & blues harp (as an amateur) & can play "Stone fox chase" but it's sure difficult, I tend to run out of breath before the end, Charley McCoy must have lungs as big as a hot air balloon.

Ant I like your link of the guys giving a modern edge to the harmonica, that's really good to hear.

Larry Adler was the King! :)