Consider the lowly harmonica. When was the last time the harmonica–aka the mouth organ, the mouth harp, or simply the harp–truly stirred an audience or moved any musical needle in anyway?
Was it the mid-’90s, when John Popper shredded on “Run-Around” and other Blues Traveler hits? Maybe, but that was decades ago. What’s the harp been up to since? And what were other highlights in its pop cultural history?
For most of the prior century, there was always something lowly about the harmonica, and lonely, too. The hobo in the freight car blowing an old-timey tune was one trope, as was the soldier in the trenches wheezing out a quiet mournful melody. In the post-WWII period, the harmonica in TV and film signified rural experience. It suggested something not just backwoods but backwards, a regressive force in a society rocketing into modernity. A harmonica on the soundtrack told you the character on screen was not to be taken altogether seriously.
Things changed with the surge of urban black music in the ‘50s, particularly the electric blues and R&B forms: the instrument found a new attitude, a new swagger. The “blues harp” worked well in the new tube amplifier era–it could assert itself both as a chugging rhythm element, and as an expressive solo instrument able to wail, weep, or moan. Little Walter, Junior Wells, and Sonny Boy Williamson II were some of the innovators of the period. Younger players like James Cotton and Charlie Mussselwhite carried the blues harp idiom into the 21st century.
Young European artists in the early ’60s absorbed R&B and Chicago-style blues, and brought the harp into the rock era. The earliest Beatles hits featured Lennon’s harmonica hooks. Bands like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin made the blues harp a steady fixture throughout the decade and well beyond. Mick Jagger and Robert Plant blew the harp through echo- and delay-effects developed for guitar, bringing a fresh new edge to blues-based jammers like “Midnight Rambler” and “When the Levee Breaks.” Even on non-blues material–such as the psychedelic/soul classic “Gimme Shelter,” or the disco-era hit “Miss You”–the harp found a place to shine. On “Miss You,” Jagger turned the harp over to Sugar Blue and his jazz-infused playing style. Sugar Blue had taken the blues harp sound well beyond Chicago blues and blues-rock conventions, leaning into John Coltrane as much as Little Walter.
The simple ol’ folk harmonica didn’t fall out of fashion in the era. That’s mostly thanks to Bob Dylan, whose neck rack harp became iconic both visually and sonically. His unruly and unpolished harp blowing suited his provocative lyrics, whether Dylan was in political protest mode, or playing the lovesick troubadour.
The singer-songwriter movement of the ‘70s certainly took cues from Dylan, but they were usually more tuneful, less brash. Neil Young featured mellow melodic harmonica on some of the decade’s most notable hits, from “Heart of Gold” to “Hey Hey, My My,” and in the ‘90s his harp set the romantic mood on “Harvest Moon.” But it was Bruce Springsteen’s home-recorded Nebraska from ‘82 that offers one of the finest examples of the harmonica in its old rural American folk form. Nebraska arrived at a time when synthesizers, MTV, and Jumbotrons were leading listeners away from organic and intimate musical experiences; Bruce stood up for simplicity, tradition, and the time-honored approach of giving voice to the marginalized. See also “The Ghost of Tom Joad” (1995).
The other major innovator of the modern era was Stevie Wonder. He brought musical sophistication to the instrument with his mastery of the chromatic harmonica. (A chromatic harmonica can play all twelve notes of the musical scale, allowing for complex melodies and seamless key changes; you hear the simpler diatonic harmonica in most country, folk, and blues music.) Wonder had other abundant musical gifts, so the harp wasn’t always forefront in his best known works–but when it’s there it is distinctive, vibrant, and virtuosic. Through the ‘90s and into more recent years, Stevie Wonder’s harp solos helped make hits for Elton John, Sting, the Eurythmics, Alicia Keys, and (in 2018) Travis Scott.
But so much for broad trends and notable players: let’s not forget that the harp makes winning appearances on an ad-hoc basis, independent of popular movements. It was the harmonica, not the piano, that makes Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” instantly recognizable. The undying charm of “Karma Chameleon” has a lot to do with the harp that permeates the song. EDM superstar Diplo placed a harmonica riff at the heart of his hit “Do Si Do.” And don’t even get us started on Toots Thielemans! He’s the man who made the harmonica “a legitimate voice in jazz” (per Ted Gioia) and then gave us the theme to Midnight Cowboy, and the closing theme to Sesame Street.
Let’s get to our survey of great covers that are harp-led or at least harp-forward, from players old and new, well-known and not-so-well-known but deserving more recognition.
Tom Waits feat. Charles Musselwhite – Ain’t Going Down to the Well (Leadbelly cover)
Tom Waits is known to play this ancient-seeming Leadbelly number on banjo, unaccompanied, although you can say his beatboxing (vocal percussion) is the accompaniment. That solo rendition seems faithful to the source, since the song dates back a century ago or more. But the choice to add Charlie Musselwhite’s more modern approach to blues harp works well, too. Both players go at it like men possessed and men driven; you feel the swampy weight of history here.
Muddy Waters himself took a very young Musselwhite under his wing in the south-side of Chicago blues joints, thus launching a six-decade career that is still going strong. Charlie has probably won more awards in the past few years than he earned in his youthful prime, but who’s counting?
Grégoire Maret – Brothers in Arms (Dire Straits cover)
Mark Knopfler tackled a timeless theme in this song, and his songcraft stands the test of time. Melodically, lyrically, you don’t get much better than “Brothers in Arms.” Good call for European jazzer Grégoire Maret to open his harmonica-led Americana album with this instrumental arrangement. A harmonica, a piano, and plenty of space within and around them. Maret’s playing is spare but intimate; on piano, Romain Collin’s meditative playing sets an introspective and dignified mood.
The simplicity of Maret’s playing contrasts with the music he’s best known for–complex and virtuosic wizardry that land him in collaborations with jazz giants like Pat Metheny, David Sanborn, and Bill Frisell.
Bonnie Raitt feat. Norton Buffalo – “Runaway” (Del Shannon cover)
Del Shannon started out hot when his song “Runaway” reached number 1 in 1961. But then came the Beatles era and his star faded. Bonnie Raitt’s 1977 cover managed to put Shannon back on the radar while scoring her first commercially-successful single.
The original didn’t have a harp solo, but Bonnie always had great harp players on her early albums and tours–Junior Wells, Paul Butterfield, and Taj Mahal, to name a few. Less well-known is Norton Buffalo, who shines on Raitt’s studio recording of “Runaway,” and in the live version shown here, where you can see for yourself that his playing involves four different harps. He fronted his own band for a minute, but mainly Buffalo made a career of touring with major stars of the era, like Jerry Garcia, Linda Ronstandt, and the Doobie Brothers. He was also a long-standing member of the Steve Miller Band.
Stevie Wonder – Fragile (Sting cover)
During his 60th birthday bash, Sting modestly takes a back seat on his own song, “Fragile,” and rightly so: Stevie Wonder is singing it, and taking the instrumental verse and chorus too. Sting can only shake his shaker and smile at what a birthday gift he is getting here. Stevie’s harp playing is instantly recognizable and his fluidity still astounds. That unique tone has been electrifying the airwaves since Stevie was a 13-year-old wunderkind on the new Motown label, and yet no one has come close to touching it in all the decades since.
Blues Traveler with Mickey Raphael – Roadhouse Blues (Doors cover)
Harp-led bands are few and far between. Blues Traveler’s John Popper took harp-playing to new levels of popularity in the mid-90s jam band scene, scoring some big mainstream hits along the way. Here we have a later incarnation of the band engaging Mickey Raphael to duel it out with Popper on a surprisingly durable blues number by The Doors. Raphael is best known for being in Willie Nelson’s band from 1971 forward, and for playing on hundreds of recordings by–well, you name it: Waylon, Merle, Townes, Emmylou, and (it almost goes without saying) Mötley Crüe and Snoop Dogg. He’s frequently playing in Chris Stapleton’s band, and appears on Ringo Starr’s latest album.
The Doors weren’t a blues band, but for their original recording of “Roadhouse Blues” they were savvy enough to bring in an ace blues harp player in John Sebastian. (Sebastian was still in The Lovin’ Spoonful, and thus not credited.) Sebastian’s contribution to the jam is the highlight of the original recording; the lowlight was Jim Morrison’s brief attempt at scat singing.
Rory Gallagher – As the Crow Flies (Tony Joe White cover)
Rory Gallagher is mostly known for his flashy electric guitar work and frenzied performances, but on this Tony Joe White swamp-folk number his other talents shine. His fancy picking and slide playing on the acoustic resonator is impressive, but his inspired harp solo takes it over the top. It may not be master-level but it’s direct and soulful. As an interpreter, Rory full reimagines the song. It’s a highlight from Gallagher’s double-live Irish Tour ‘74 album.
Some people think Tony Joe White was a one-hit wonder with “Polk Salad Annie,” but this is the guy who wrote “Rainy Night in Georgia” and hits for Tina Turner among other achievements. Like J. J. Cale he’s something of a one-off, a school of one. Unlike Cale, no mainstream artist did much to boost his signal.
Frédéric Yonnet – Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix cover)
Frédéric Yonnet is a French-born, US-based chromatic harmonica virtuoso. Known for blending jazz, funk, and R&B, he’s collaborated with Prince, Erykah Badu, The Roots, and played harp in Stevie Wonder’s band (think about that assignment). Here Yonnet pays homage to Jimi Hendrix, and I’m sure someone somewhere has called him the Hendrix of the harmonica (Dave Chappelle practically says it in his intro), but it’s enough to say Yonnet has his own unique voice as a master player, and he pushes the instrument forward to higher ground in the great tradition of Stevie Wonder.
Hindley Street Country Club – Low Rider (War cover)
The jazz-fusion-funk band War ranks with the greatest of American bands–-pretty good for band founded by two Europeans: Eric Burdon (formerly of The Animals) and Lee Oskar (born and raised in Denmark). Oskar, the band’s harp player extraordinaire, eventually became a harmonica designer and manufacturer (shades of Les Paul). On “Low Rider,” Oskar simply plays the song’s classic signature riff (in tandem with a saxophone). No showy solo, no distracting accompaniment or rhythm playing. And make all the jokes you want about cowbell: the killer “Low Rider” groove has filled dancefloors for a half century.
Once in a great while a cover band has the chops, spirit, and presence to transcend their “cover band” status. Check out Aussie cover band Hindley Street Country Club. This number doesn’t quite improve on the original (impossible), but some of their many other covers absolutely do.
That was fun, thanks.
One for you, Sahm Covers Sahm with Rob Bolland on harp:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr1bWi1Ejrs&pp=ygUgc2hhbmRvbiBzYWhtIHNoZSdzIGFib3V0IGEgbW92ZXI%3D