[Harp-L] Harmonicats & Peg

[BassHarp <bassharp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Regarding the stance of the 'Cats and their contribution to pop music, I 
offer the following. Note the position of "Peg" on the Hit Parade. They 
recorded Peg in Feb 1947, and The Three Suns quickly picked up on the 
new sound, recording it in April 1947, followed by Buddy Clarke with his 
vocal release. But the Harmonicats retained the #1 spot for their version.

From the 1948 Britannica Yearbook:

The three leading tunes of 1947 were probably “Near You”, “That’s My 
Desire” and “Peg O’ My Heart,” and each of them won the attention of the 
public through a single phonograph record of comparatively obscure origin.

“Near You,” which headed radio’s Hit Parade six times, made its first 
impression in a band recording conducted by its composer Francis Craig 
whose name, like that of the lyricist Kermit Goell, was about as 
unfamiliar as that of the record-maker, “Bullet” or the publisher, 
“Supreme.”

“That’s My Desire,” by Carroll Loveday and Helmy Kresna, had been 
obscurely published 16 years before, with the copyright later assigned 
to Mills Music, Inc. A Mercury record by Frankie Laine catapulted it to 
a prosperity, which was shared by Laine and the manufacturer.

The real “old-timer” of the top trio, however, was “Peg O’ My Heart,” 
which was first heard in 1913 when Alfred Bryan’s words and Fred 
Fisher’s music capitalized on Hartley Manners’ play of the same name. It 
was a Vitacoustic record by the Harmonicats (three harmonicas and a 
guitar) that brought back this charmingly unpretentious ballad of the 
past. The song was on the Hit Parade for 20 weeks, 10 times at the top.

Top ranking bands were those conducted by Ted Weems, Eddy Howard and 
Francis Craig; smaller combinations such as the Harmonicats, the Three 
Suns and the King Cole Trio were also prominent.

Ref: 1948 Britannica Book Of The Year - A Record of the March of Events 
of 1947 - Published by Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc, pages 509, 510.

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BassHarp
Hudson, FL
http://www.bassharp.com/bh_itin.htm
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