[Harp-L] Re: harmonica-bashing

[BluzeHarp@xxxxxxx]

Not even remotely fair to brand Dave Dexter as a racist  solely based upon 
him turning down 'Love Me Do'.  Is  there some evidence which supports this? 
 For all we know Dave could  have been an outspoken civil rights 
advocate... we  certainly don't know enough about him to justify the defaming  
comments.  Either way, likely he later kicked himself  for not signing the Beatles. 
 
I read it like Slim.  To me, Dave seemed to be saying he was  familiar with 
good harmonica playing, and that the playing by John  Lennon on 'Love Me 
Do' didn't make  the cut.  The quote seemed to be complimenting  the 
traditional blues players, harmonica 'bashing' only in the sense  that he wanted to 
hear a professional skill set  demonstrated by all the instruments on any 
given recording.  Probably  listened to dozens of demos every week, typically 
back then on crappy  sounding 45's, or on an open reel tape machine in a 
studio  setting.  Unlike modern computer based systems it was a cumbersome  and 
time consuming process, if something did  not meet your standards you moved 
on.  During the  same era my dad was a VP for Storz Broadcasting, damn sure  
wish HE had picked up those records!  
 
Christopher Richards
www. harmonicaplanet.com
Staging & Production - SPAH 
 
 
In a message dated 11/22/2015 7:58:59 A.M. Mountain Standard Time,  
harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx writes:

Another interpretation: being familiar with old blues records (as  he 
says), perhaps he found that LennonÃââs harmonica playing lacked the kind  of 
tone and soulful bending he had come to appreciate? IOW, maybe he wasnÃâât  
bashing the harmonica, just LennonÃââs playing?

- Slim.

On Nov  21, 2015, at 2:10 PM, Mick Zaklan <mzaklan@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:  
Dexter didn't think twice about turning down one of the  discs, 'I didn't 
care for it because of the harmonica sound,' he  recalled.  'I didn't care 
for the harmonica because I had grown up  listening to the old blues records 
and blues harmonica players, and I simply  didn't . . . I nixed the record 
instantly.'


>>  I get the feeling Dave Dexter Jr. wanted to say something more here  
but either couldn't articulate it or else realized he might regret it  later.  
Was something racial about to slip out of his mouth?