Re: [Harp-L] History of bluegrass harmonica

[Cara Cooke <cyberharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

I'm glad you asked him.  He wrote a good book on bluegrass, at a time when
almost nothing else of a similar nature really existed.

I had forgotten to mention that Earl Taylor had also recorded with his own
band.  I am glad he mentioned it.

I am sure that those of us who have old recordings will do what we can to
help you out in your search.

Cara

On Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 1:32 PM, Glenn Weiser
<banjoandguitar100@xxxxxxxxx>wrote:

> Prof. Neil V. Rosenberg, an authority on bluegrass, wasted no time in
> shedding light on this subject for me. I pass along his reply. This is
> clearly the most complete information I have to date. Now I have to track
> down some of these recordings. focusing on Earl Taylor. Can anyone help
> with this?
>
> "Glenn,
>
> "I'm glad to know you're writing about bluegrass harmonica.
>
> "I'm not an expert about bluegrass harmonica.  Perhaps someone else has
> written on this -- there's much out there that I'm unaware of.
>
> "I guess any discussion of the harmonica in bluegrass begins with DeFord
> Bailey. Charles Wolfe and I discuss his relationship with Monroein our book
> "The Music of Bill Monroe", 224-225. Others have written about this as
> well.  Like Bailey, Curley Bradshaw played harmonica on stage with Monroe.
> Neither recorded with him. I know of no harmonicas on Monroe's studio
> recordings, but there are many live recordings I've never heard.
>
> "When Onie Wheeler recorded with Flatt & Scruggs at several sessions in
> the 1950s, he played bass.
> The first recordings of harmonica with a bluegrass band that I know of
> came in 1959 on the album "Alan Lomax presents . . . Folk Songs From The
> Blue Grass" by Earl Taylor and His Stoney Mountain Boys, United Artists UAL
> 3049. Earl played harmonica on two cuts: "Mama Blues", a harmonica dialog
> with the band playing backup; and "Race Between A Locomotive and a Model
> T," a solo. It's significant that both pieces are credited to Lonnie
> Glosson. Glosson and Wayne Raney (who sometimes performed together on
> radio) were among the most influential country harmonica players of the
> late 1940s and early 1950s.
> "The next bluegrass recordings I know of with harmonica were made in 1964
> when Earl Taylor played harmonica for the Stanley Brothers at four sessions
> that resulted in two albums. He can be heard on "A Crown He Wore" on King
> 914, "Hymns of the Cross," recorded 4/2/64. And he's on "How Bad I Do
> Feel," "Our Darlin's Gone" and "How You've Tortured My Mind" on King 924,
> "The Remarkable Stanley Brothers," recorded 7/16-17/64.
> "To me Tayloris THE bluegrass harmonica pioneer. I don't have all of the
> recordings he made in the early sixties, so I may have missed some
> essential stuff in the lists I've just given.
> "Charlie McCoy's first session with Flatt & Scruggs was December 15, 1964.
> He played on all of their 1965 sessions. He did not tour with the band,
> just did studio work.
> "Earl Taylor was a member of F&S's Foggy Mountain Boys from late 1965
> until mid-1966. He recorded at three sessions: (1) 12/65 where he played
> mandolin and McCoy played harmonica, (2)  3/66 where he played mandolin on
> 4 tracks and harmonica on 2, and (3) 5/66 where he played harmonica on all
> 4 tracks.
> "After that point in 1966 until their final sessions in 1969, McCoy played
> on all but two of F&S's recordings. He was essentially a part of the studio
> sound of the Foggy Mountain Boys from 1965-69.
> "I hope you'll have room in your column to mention Mike Stevens, he's been
> working in bluegrass for a long time now -- most notably with Jim & Jesse. (
> http://www.mikestevensmusic.com/about)
> "I'm copying this to Fred Bartenstein, who is more knowledgeable than I
> about early bluegrass recordings. If I've missed anything, he'll spot it.
>
> "Good luck with your project.
> "Cheers
> N"
>