Daily Almanac - August 8

[<pkrampert@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have no events to report for today.

A recnet thread on one of the harmonica lists dealt with harmonicas in the
movies.  Here are just a few of my favorites;

"They Were Expendable"  This World War Two John Wayne flick has a great
funeral scene where the Duke reads Stevenson's Requiem, then a harmonica
player plays taps.  Very moving.

"Shane"  This classic western has a small sub-plot where a harmonica player
taunts Elisha Cook with his harmonica, playing Union songs.  After Cook is
shot down by Jack Palance, the harmonica player plays Dixie at the
funeral..again, quite moving  (played by Jerry Adler).

Of course there's the classic Twilight Zone episode where Andy Devine
conquers invaders from outer space with his harmonica.

And another Twilight Zone Episode, this time from the newer, re-vamped
1990's Twilight Zone, an episode called "Nightcrawlers" that featured the
percussion section from the Grateful Dead and Huey Lewis playing some very
eerie harmonica.

A recent documentary, "The Donner Party" which ran as part of the series
"The American Experience" featured some unbelievably spooky harmonica
playing by William Galison.

Also, speaking of William Galison,  check out his harmonica playing on the
song "For Once in My Life" on the soundtrack of "The Truth About Cats and
Dogs".  He takes on a harmonica classic and makes it his own.  Truly
remarkable.

There's an amazing amount of great harmonica out there.  You can't overlook
the work of Toots Thielemans on Midnight Cowboy, French Kiss or the Getaway,
Mike Turk's playing in the movie Lonestar and it would be a crime to
overlook the long and simply stunning career of Tommy Morgan.  There's a lot
out there and any list will definitely overlook the harmonica's part in
great moviemaking, but I certainly urge you to give those movies a listen.

That's all I have for today.  Have fun and practice.

Peter Krampert, author
The Encyclopedia of the Harmonica
http://www.eharmonica.net