The Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica, SPAH, was founded in 1963 by Earl Collins (1924-88), Gordon Mitchell (1927-2001) and Richard Harris (1938-2015). Fortunately, the youngest member of the trio, Richard Harris, was an enthusiastic photographer and recording engineer so you get a chance to hear the history of SPAH as it […]
Tommy Reilly
Tommy Reilly – In his own words
Tommy Reilly set the standard for playing chromatic harmonica and he was mainly responsible for the acceptance of the harmonica as a solo instrument on the classical stage. He had a prolific recording career. He was born in Canada in 1919 but spent most of his life in the UK. Here Tommy talks about his […]
Major Chromatic Harmonica Soloists.
Four solists 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 […]
Golden Age of the Harmonica on BBC Radio – 1950 to 1960
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 […]
Old Harmonica Favourites – Part 2 – Quartets, Trios, Duos and Soloists
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. Old Harmonica Favourites […]
Old Harmonica Favourites – Part 1 – Quartets, Trios, Duos and Soloists
These 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 groups and soloists. Some of the tunes are from the period of the […]