Re: [Harp-L] Question about harps played by Bobby Darin

[Winslow Yerxa <winslowyerxa@xxxxxxxxx>]

Midnight Special is on a D harp, played in second position (key of A).

On Bridge Over Troubled Waters, both harps are F harps (played in second position, key of C). Not sure why he switches; maybe a reed was stuck on the first one. The harp itself is shaped like a Hohner Golden Melody but has a black comb instead of a red one. The Huang Star Performer has a similar body shape and a black comb, but I don't think these were available back then.

Given the year (1973) and location (USA), Hohner harmonicas were the only ones likely to be widely available.
 
Winslow Yerxa
President, SPAH, the Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica
Producer, the Spring 2014 Harmonica Collective
Author, Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-0-470-33729-5
            Harmonica Basics For Dummies, ASIN B005KIYPFS
            Blues Harmonica For Dummies, ISBN 978-1-1182-5269-7
Resident Expert, bluesharmonica.com
Instructor, Jazzschool for Music Study and Performance


________________________________
 From: Eliza Doolittle <eliza.doolittle@xxxxxxxx>
To: "harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx> 
Sent: Friday, March 28, 2014 9:30 AM
Subject: [Harp-L] Question about harps played by Bobby Darin
 

<snip>.

I'm a great fan of Bobby Darin's. <snip>
For me, one of his most contagious songs with harp is this 'The Midnight Special': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbW55CTqf_U

Would you please tell me which harp he's using in this song (jump to 2:57 to hear it)? The song is in A, but I don't know whether the harp is in A, in D, or in some other key.

And, as a very secondary question, can you see/hear what is the brand of his harp? Just out of curiosity (I'm not going to buy a harp only because BD played it, and apart from that, I cannot find anything but Hohner in my town anyway). You can have a better view in http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFNxhYs3N10 (at 3:49). What's the key of this one? He picks the wrong one first, but all I can say is that both of them seem to have a lot of Gs.

Thanks a lot in advance.

Eliza Doolittle