Re: [Harp-L] Pre WW II harp

["Rob Paparozzi" <Chromboy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ahh..HUGE ....thanx to Scott Dirks, his expertise never ceases to amaze 
me....it was Rhythm Willie (Willie Hood)

I found this write up thru a Pat Missin link: (I love the park about the 
Union not accepting him as it wasn't a REAL instrument!,-)
Rhythm Willie, whose real name was William Hood, had been performing in the 
top black and tans in Chicago since 1938, particularly at the Club DeLisa. 
He began recording in 1939 behind bluesman Peetie Wheatstraw, and was 
responsible for one previous recording session as a leader: Rhythm Willie 
and His Gang, consisting of Willie on harmonica and piano, with unidentified 
bassist and drummer, cut four sides for OKeh on October 10, 1940, all of 
which were released.

The two sides Rhythm Willie did for Premium in September 1950 were not 
accompanied by Memphis Slim and His House Rockers, as discographers have 
surmised in the past. Nor is Red Saunders' band involved; we are pretty sure 
now that they worked the studios on the previous Eddie Chamblee and Sarah 
McLawler sessions, but by the time of the Rhythm Willie affair Red had 
signed for three years with Columbia, and this may have been a deterrent to 
using him on more sessions. A listen to dubs provided by Mike Kredinac makes 
clear that the "Orchestra" behind Willie was a strictly bebop aggregation, 
complete with bomb-dropping drummer, spiky, chord-feeding pianist, 
Ornithological alto saxophone soloist on "Wailin' Wille," bop riffs on "I've 
Got Rhythm," and a chase chorus on the same tune between a Cecil Payne-style 
baritonist and a tenor saxophonist who sounds a bit more old fashioned 
(roughly like Budd Johnson). "Wailin' Willie" (UB50-1062) was a version of 
the Swing classic "C-Jam Blues" which he had been performing for several 
years (interestingly, Premium didn't bother to put a composer credit on it). 
"I've Got Rhythm" (UB50-1063) was the George Gershwin standard, 
which--according to Scott Dirks in his definitive Rhythm Willie story in 
Blues & Rhythm 127 (March 1998)--"in Willie's hands became a vehicle for 
some swinging, spirited improvising at the top end of the harp."

Rhythm Willie appeared regularly in the Chicago clubs during this period. 
Most of his appearances cannot be tracked on the Local 208 contract list, 
because for many years the Musicians Union did not accept harmonica players 
(the rationale: they weren't playing a "real" instrument!). However, we know 
that Willie booked into the Brass Rail (in the Loop) for 3 weeks in November 
1952 (contract accepted and filed on November 6), and that he landed a gig 
at the Hollywood Show Lounge in March 1953 (indefinite contract posted on 
March 5). In August 1953 he went into the Toast of the Town as part of a 
revue that featured Danny Overbea and the King Kolax combo (indefinite 
contract posted on August 6). Unfortunately, Rhythm Willie's reputation as 
harp virtuoso was fully matched by his reputed propensity to consume vast 
quantities of alcohol, and he died prematurely in 1954, around the age of 
45. (Note: the Miracle master numbers that we have are in conflict with the 
numbers for two Terry Timmons sides. The Rhythm Willie records really do 
carry the matrix numbers that we have listed, meaning that the Terry Timmons 
numbers, which were almost certainly recorded at the same session with the 
same band, are probably in error.)



best, Rob Paparozzi

www.myspace.com/hudsonriverrats