[Harp-L] What first attracted you to harmonica? Why did you learn to play it?

[John Kally]

FWIW, when I was a kid back around 1970-early 71  there were a couple of records that got a lot of airplay on the Chicago area “underground” fm stations. John Mayall’s “Room to Move” and Siegel-Schwall’s live  version of “Hush Hush” were the ones.   I also was given a copy of Muddy Water’s “Fathers and Sons” that  Christmas besides the  Mayall lp. I went to see Siegel-Schwall right around then  at a little place called “Alice’s Revisited” in Chicago (I was 15) and that sealed the deal for me on playing harp. It was also lots cheaper than buying a guitar.  Years later I ran into Corky Siegel  when he was doing a solo gig at Cal State LA  and told him about how he influenced me when I was a teenager. His response was “Great. Now I feel really old!”