Good afternoon all, I hope everyone is doing well. I searched throughout the internet today for the song keys and/or harp keys played on Little Walter songs. There's plenty of information on this when he is playing with Muddy Waters but hardly anything at all when it comes to his own music. Since everyone on this list is so well versed in this area, I thought I'd ask if we could come up with a list for future requests in this area of interest? I will be happy to compile the outcome of your inputs! Thanks everyone.
Here's what I have gleaned thusfar:
Ah'w Baby - Song key: G, C Harp, 2nd position. Back Track - Song key: F, Bb Harp, 2nd position. Blues With a Feeling - Song key: A, D Harp, 2nd position. Boom, Boom Out Go The Lights - Song key: E, A Harp, 2nd position. Can't Hold Out Much Longer - Song key: G, C Harp, 2nd position. I Hate To See You Go - Song key: G, C Harp, 2nd position. Juke - Song key: E, A Harp, 2nd position. Just Your Fool - Song key: A, D Harp, 2nd position. Off That Wall - Song key: G, C Harp, 2nd position. Mean Old World - Song key: F, Bb Harp, 2nd position. You're So Fine - Song key: E, A Harp, 2nd position. My Babe - Song key: F, Bb Harp, 2nd position. or My Babe - Song key E, A-Harp, 2nd position. Key to the Highway - Song key G, C-harp, 2nd position. Jump - Song key B, E-Harp, 2nd position.
01. I Just Keep Loving Her - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 02. Muskadine Blues - Eb, No Harp 03. Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 1 - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 04. Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 2 - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 05. Boll Weevil - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 06. Bad Acting Woman - Eb, No Harp 07. Red Headed Woman - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 08. Moonshine Blues - Eb, No Harp 09. I Wanna Play a Little While -A, No Harp 10. Louise - E, No Harp 11. People Are Meddling (In Our Affairs) - A, No Harp 12. I Done You Wrong - C, No Harp 13. Low Down Sunyland Train - Ab, No Harp
Blues With A Feeling - Chess Collectibles, Disc 1 (Chess/MCA, 1995) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Juke, alt. [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 02. Can't Hold Out Much Longer - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 03. Blue Midnight, alt. [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 04. Fast Boogie, alt. [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Driftin' - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 06. Tonight With A Fool - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 07. That's It [Inst.] - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) & Bb Chromatic (3rd Position) 08. Blues With A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 09. My Kind Of Baby - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 10. Last Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Come Back Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 12. I Love You So (Oh Baby) - Ab, Db Harp (2nd Position) 13. Big Leg Mama [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 14. Mercy Babe (My Babe, alt.) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 15. Thunderbird [Inst.] - D, G Harp (2nd Position) & C Chromatic (3rd Position) 16. Crazy For My Baby - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 17. Can't Stop Lovin' You - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 18. Who - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 19. Flying Saucer [Inst.] - C Chromatic (3rd Position) & D, G Harp (2nd Position) 20. Teenage Beat [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position)
Blues With A Feeling - Chess Collectibles, Disc 2 (Chess/MCA, 1995) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Temperature - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 02. Shake Dancer [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 03. Ah'w Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 04. Rock Bottom [Inst.] - D, G Harp (2nd Position) & C Chromatic (3rd Position) 05. You Gonna Be Sorry (Someday Baby) - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 06. Baby - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 07. My Baby Is Sweeter - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 08. Crazy Mixed Up World - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 09. Worried Life Blues - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 10. Everything's Gonna Be Alright, alt. - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 11. Mean Old Frisco - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 12. One Of These Mornings - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 13. Blue And Lonesome - Dm, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 14. Me And Piney Brown - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. Break It Up - C, F Harp (2nd Position) 16. Going Down Slow - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 17. You're Sweet - A, G Harp (3rd Position) 18. You Don't Know - D, G Harp (2nd Position) 19. I'm A Business Man - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 20. Chicken Shack [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position)
Confessin' The Blues (Chess/MCA, 1996) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. It Ain't Right - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 02. Rocker [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 03. I Got To Find My Baby - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 04. Lights Out [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 05. One More Chance With You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 06. Crazy Legs [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 07. Temperature - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 08. I Got To Go - A, G Harp (3rd Position) 09. Crazy Mixed Up World - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 10. Quarter To Twelve [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Confessin' The Blues - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 12. The Toddle [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 13. Up The Line - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 14. Rock Bottom [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. Mean Old Frisco - B, E Harp (2nd Position)
Hate To See You Go [Import] (Universal, 2004) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Nobody But You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 02. My Baby's Sweeter - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 03. Roller Coaster [Inst.] E, A Harp (2nd Position) 04. As Long As I Have You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Oh Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 06. Take Me Back - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 07. Everything's Gonna Be Alright - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 08. Mellow Down Easy - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 09. Hate To See You Go - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 10. I Got To Find My Baby - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 11. Everybody Needs Somebody - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 12. Blue Midnight [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 13. I've Had My Fun - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 14. Key To The Highway - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. Blue And Lonesome - Dm, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 16. I Got To Find My Baby, alt. - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 17. I've Had My Fun, alt. - E, A Harp (2nd Position)
His Best (Chess 1997) ~~~~~~~~ 01. Juke - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 02. Can't Hold Out Much Longer - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 03. Mean Old World - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 04. Sad Hours - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Tell Me Mama - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 06. Off The Wall - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 07. Blues With A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 08. You're So Fine - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 09. Too Late - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 10. Last Night - D, G Harp (2nd Position) 11. Mellow Down Easy - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 12. My Babe - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 13. Roller Coaster - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 14. Hate To See You Go - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. It Ain't Right - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 16. Boom, Boom Out Goes The Light - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 17. Confessin' the Blues - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 18. Key To the Highway - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 19. Everything's Gonna Be Alright - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 20. Just Your Fool - A, D Harp (2nd Position)
Little Walter: The Essential, Disc 1 (Chess/MCA, 1993) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Juke [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 02. Can't Hold Out Much Longer - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 03. Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 04. Blue Midnight, alt. [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Mean Old World - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 06. Sad Hours [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 07. Don't Need No Horse [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 08. Tell Me Mama - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 09. Off The Wall [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 10. Quarter To Twelve [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Blues With A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 12. Too Late - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 13. Fast Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 14. Lights Out [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 15. Fast Large One [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 16. You're So Fine - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 17. Oh Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 18. I Got To Find My Baby - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 19. Last Night - D, No Harp 20. You Better Watch Yourself - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 21. Mellow Down Easy - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 22. My Babe - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 23. Roller Coaster [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 24. Little Girl - G, C Harp (2nd Position)
Little Walter: The Essential, Disc 2 (Chess/MCA, 1993) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Hate To See You Go - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 02. Boom, Boom, Out Goes The Light - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 03. It Ain't Right - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 04. It's Too Late Brother - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Just A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 06. Ah'w Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 07. I've Had My Fun - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 08. Confessin' The Blues - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 09. Key To The Highway - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 10. Walkin' On [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position)
11. You Gonna Be Sorry (Someday Baby) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 12. Crazy Mixed Up World - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 13. Worried Life - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 14. Everything's Gonna Be Alright - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. Back Track [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 16. Blue And Lonesome - D minor, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 17. I Don't Play - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 18. As Long As I Have You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 19. Just Your Fool - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 20. Up The Line - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 21. Southern Feeling [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 22. Dead Presidents - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position)
Super Blues (Chess. 1967/1992) ~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Long Distance Call - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 02. Who Do You Love? - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 03. I'm A Man - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 04. Bo Diddley - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 05. You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 06. I Just Want To Make Love To You - D, C Harp (3rd Position) 07. My Babe - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 08. You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 09. Studio Chatter (Spoken) 10. Sad Hours - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 11. Juke [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position)
Little Walter Jacobs also appears on: Blues Masters, vol. 16: More Harmonica Classics (Rhino Records, 1998) Blues Masters, vol. 4: Harmonica Classics (Rhino Records, 1992) Jimmy Rogers - Chicago Bound (Chess, 1976) Jimmy Rogers - The Complete Chess Recordings Otis Rush - His Cobra Recordings 1956 -1958 (Paula Records, 1989) Muddy Waters - They Call Me Muddy Waters (Chess, 1990) Many Songs by Muddy Waters
------------------------- 01. Gypsy Woman - A, No Harp 02. Good Looking Woman - A, No Harp 03. Mean Disposition - G, No Harp 04. I Can't Be Satisfied - G, No Harp 05. I Feel Like Going Home - G, No Harp 06. Train Fare Home Blues - G, No Harp 07. Mean Red Spider - Ab, No Harp 08. Streamline Woman - Ab, No Harp 09. Little Geneva - G, No Harp 10. Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 1 - A, No Harp 11. Rolling Stone - E, No Harp 12. Walking Blues - A, No Harp 13. Louisiana Blues (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 14. Evans Shuffle [Inst.] (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 15. Long Distance Call (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 16. Honey Bee - F, No Harp 17. She Moves Me (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 18. Still A Fool - F, No Harp 19. Stuff You Gotta Watch (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 20. Standing Around Crying (Wells) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 21. Flood (Horton) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 22. Baby Please Don't Go (Jacobs) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 23. Blow Wind Blow (Jacobs) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 24. Hoochie Coochie Man (Jacobs) - A, A Harp (1st Position) *Little Walter Jacobs, Big Walter Horton & Junior Wells on Harmonica
Muddy Waters Box - Disc 2 ------------------------- 01. I Just Want to Make Love To You (Jacobs) - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 02. I'm Ready (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 03. Smokestack Lightning (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 04. Young Fashioned Ways (Jacobs) - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) 05. Mannish Boy (Wells) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 06. Trouble No More (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 07. Forty Days And Forty Nights (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 08. Just To Be With You (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 09. Don't Go No Farther (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 10. Diamonds At Your Feet (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 11. I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love (Jacobs) - E, Main Theme: A Harp (2nd Position), Solo: 1st 2 phrases only D Harp (3rd Position) & A Harp (2nd Position) 12. Rock Me (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 13. Look What You Done (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 14. Got My Mojo Working (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 15. Good News (Cotton) - F, No Harp 16. Evil (Cotton) - F#, B Harp (2nd Position) 17. She's Nineteen Years Old (Jacobs) - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 18. Close To You (Jacobs) - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 19. Walkin' Thru The Park (Jacobs) - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 20. Blues Before Sunrise (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 21. Lonesome Road Blues (Cotton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 22. Take The Bitter With The Sweet, Alt. (Cotton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 23. She's into Something (Cotton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 24. Southbound Train (Cotton) - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) 25. Double Trouble (Cotton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) *Little Walter Jacobs, Junior Wells & James Cotton on Harmonica
------------------ 01. I Can't Be Satisfied - G, No Harp 02. I Feel Like Going Home- G, No Harp 03. Train Fare Blues - G, No Harp 04. Rollin' and Tumblin', Part 1- A, No Harp 05. Rollin' Stone- E, No Harp 06. Louisiana Blues (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 07. Long Distance Call (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 08. Honey Bee (Little Walter on guitar) - F, No Harp 09. She Moves Me (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 10. Still A Fool (Jacobs on guitar) - F, No Harp 11. Standing Around Crying (Jacobs or Wells) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 12. Baby Please Don't Go (Jacobs) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 13. I Want You To Love Me (Jacobs or Horton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 14. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Jacobs) - A, A Harp (1st Position) 15. I Just Want To Make Love To You (Jacobs) - D, Chromatic 16. I'm Ready (Little Walter) - Eb, C Chromatic (with lever depressed for the whole song) 17. Young Fashioned Ways - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) 18. Mannish Boy (Jacobs & Wells) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 19. Sugar Sweet (Jacobs or Horton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 20. Trouble No More (Jacobs or Horton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position)
His Best 1956-1964 (Chess 1997) ------------------ 01. All Aboard - D, Embellishments and solo (Jacobs) - Chromatic Train Sounds (Cotton) - G Harp (2nd Position) 02. Forty Days And Forty Nights (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 3:00 03. Just To Be With You (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 04. Don't Go No Farther (Jacobs) - Eb, Chromatic Harp 05. Diamonds At Your Feet (Jacobs) - Eb, Chromatic Harp 06. I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love (Jacobs) - E, Main Theme: A Harp (2nd Position), Solo: 1st 2 phrases only D Harp (3rd Position) & A Harp (2nd Position) 07. Rock Me (Cotton) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 3:15 08. Got My Mojo Working (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 09. She's Nineteen Years Old (Cotton) - B, Intro and embellishments: A Harp (3rd Position) , Solo and outro: E Harp (2nd Position) 10. Close To You (Cotton) - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 11. Walkin' Thru the Park (Cotton) - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 12. She's Into Something (Cotton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 13. I Feel So Good (Cotton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 3:00 14. You Shook Me - D, No Harp 15. You Need Love - E, No Harp 16. My Love Strikes Like Lightning (Cotton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 17. My Home is In the Delta - E, No Harp 18. Good Morning, Little School Girl - E, No Harp 19. The Same Thing - C, No Harp
Rare and Unissued (Chess, 1984/1991) ----------------- 01. Little Anna Mae - A, No Harp 02. Mean Disposition - G, No Harp 03. Feel Like Going Home - G, No Harp 04. You're Gonna Miss Me - Ab, No Harp 05. Standing Here Trembling - Ab, No Harp 06. Last Time I Fool Around With You - G, No Harp 07. Where's My Woman Been - E, No Harp 08. Stuff You Gotta Watch (Little Walter) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 09. Lonesome Day (Little Walter) - F#, B Harp (2nd Position) 10. Iodine In My Coffee (Little Walter or Junior Wells) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Smokestack Lightning (Little Walter) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 12. Let Me Hang Around (James Cotton) - C, C Harp (1st Position) 13. Born Lover (Little Walter) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) 14. Deep Down In My Heart (James Cotton) - D, G Harp (2nd Position) & C Chromatic (3rd Position)
They Call Me Muddy Waters (Chess, 1990) ------------------------- 01. When The Eagle Flies - E, No Harp 02. Crawling King Snake (Cotton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 03. County Jail (Oscher) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 04. It's All Over (Oscher) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 05. Bird Nest On The Ground - G, No Harp 06. They Call Me Muddy Waters (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 07. Find Yourself Another Fool (Oscher) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 08. Kinfolk's Blues (Oscher) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 09. Making Friends (Cotton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 10. Blind Man Blues (Oscher) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Two Steps Forward (Oscher) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 12. Howlin' Wolf (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) * Little Walter Jacobs, James Cotton & Paul Oscher on Ha
"Oh Baby" is not played on a Db harp. It's a C Koch harp - a valveless slide harp tuned like a diatonic. Walter is holding the slide in mostly and playing as if in second position. You can hear him using slide dips and bumps very clearly during his solo.
"That's It" does not use a Bb chromatic. He's attempting to use a C chromatic to play in C with the slide held in but he doesn't understand how to make that work (a few years later Stevie Wonder would show a good grasp of doing the same thing).
As we have learned since the list was compiled by Dave's friend Lance H.,there were some mistakes which were easily accounted for -unfortunately before the list could be updated,it was taken down. Lance did a wonderful job for the most part-with hundreds,maybe even thousands of songs and artists,he took the painstaking effort to transpose the correct key for harmonica,then upload the info to the list. Kudos to you Lance H.,wherever you are!
Last Edited by tmf714 on Oct 25, 2016 5:25 AM
There is so much information in our hands that we forget to share it unless it is requested. I am SO glad I asked! Special thanks go to Gary Jay for this information which was sent to me via e-mail:
As well, a very special thanks to tmf714 for sharing all of the Barrett's website info. So here's the compilation in alphabetical order so it's easier to find one when you need it! Best wishes to everyone!
Ah'w Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) All Aboard - D, Embellishments and solo (Jacobs) - Chromatic As Long As I Have You – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Baby - B, A Harp (3rd Position) Baby Please Don't Go (Jacobs) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Back Track [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Bad Acting Woman - Eb, No Harp Big Leg Mama [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Blow Wind Blow (Jacobs) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Blue And Lonesome - D minor, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Blue Midnight [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Blues Before Sunrise (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Blues With A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Blues With a Feeling. Song key: A, D Harp, 2nd position. Bo Diddley - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Boll Weevil – E, A Harp (2nd Position) Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Boom, Boom, Out Goes The Light - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Born Lover (Little Walter) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) Break It Up - C, F Harp (2nd Position) Can't Hold Out Much Longer - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Can't Stop Lovin' You - B, E Harp (2nd Position) Chicken Shack [Inst.] - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Close To You (Jacobs) - B, E Harp (2nd Position) Come Back Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Confessin' The Blues - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Crazy For My Baby - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Crazy Legs [Inst.] – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Crazy Mixed Up World - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Dead Presidents - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Diamonds At Your Feet (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) Don't Go No Farther (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) Don't Need No Horse [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Driftin' - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Evans Shuffle [Inst.] (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Everybody Needs Somebody - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Everything's Gonna Be Alright, alt. - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Fast Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Fast Large One [Inst.] – D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Flood (Horton) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Flying Saucer [Inst.] - C Chromatic (3rd Position) & D, G Harp (2nd Position) Forty Days And Forty Nights (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Going Down Slow - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Got My Mojo Working (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Hate To See You Go – G, C Harp (2nd Position) Honey Bee (Little Walter on guitar) - F, No Harp Hoochie Coochie Man (Jacobs) - A, A Harp (1st Position) Howlin' Wolf (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) I Can't Be Satisfied - G, No Harp I Don't Play – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) I Done You Wrong - C, No Harp I Feel Like Going Home- G, No Harp I Got To Find My Baby - A, D Harp (2nd Position) I Got To Go – A, G Harp (3rd Position) I Hate To See You Go. Song key: G, C Harp, 2nd position. I Just Keep Loving Her - E, A Harp (2nd Position) I Just Want to Make Love To You (Jacobs) - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) I Love the Life I Live, I Live the Life I Love (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position), D Harp (3rd Position) A Harp (2nd Position) I Love You So (Oh Baby) - Ab, Db Harp (2nd Position) I Wanna Play a Little While -A, No Harp I Want You To Love Me (Jacobs or Horton) - G, C Harp (2nd Position) I'm A Business Man - G, C Harp (2nd Position) I'm A Man - G, C Harp (2nd Position) I'm Ready (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man (Jacobs) - A, A Harp (1st Position) I've Had My Fun - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Iodine In My Coffee (Little Walter or Wells?) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) It Ain't Right - B, E Harp (2nd Position) It's Too Late Brother – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Juke - E, A harp (2nd Position) Jump. Song key B, E-Harp, 2nd position. Just A Feeling - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Just To Be With You (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Just Your Fool - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Key To The Highway - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Last Boogie [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Last Night - D, G Harp (2nd Position) Lights Out [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Little Girl - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Lonesome Day (Little Walter) - F#, B Harp (2nd Position) Long Distance Call - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Long Distance Call (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Look What You Done (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Louise - E, No Harp Louisiana Blues (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Low Down Sunyland Train - Ab, No Harp Mannish Boy (Jacobs & Wells) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Me And Piney Brown - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Mean Old Frisco - B, E Harp (2nd Position) Mean Old World.- F, Bb Harp, 2nd position. Mellow Down Easy - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Mercy Babe (My Babe, alt.) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Moonshine Blues - Eb, No Harp Muskadine Blues - Eb, No Harp My Babe - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) My Babe - G, C Harp (2nd Position) My Babe.- E, A-Harp, 2nd position. My Baby Is Sweeter - G, C Harp (2nd Position) My Kind Of Baby - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Nobody But You – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Off The Wall – G, C Harp (2nd Position) Oh Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) One More Chance With You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) One Of These Mornings - B, A Harp (3rd Position) People Are Meddling (In Our Affairs) - A, No Harp Quarter To Twelve [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Red Headed Woman - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Rock Bottom – G, C Harp (2nd Position) Rock Me (Jacobs) - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Rocker – E, A Harp (2nd Position) Roller Coaster - E, A harp (2nd Position) Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 1 - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Rollin' and Tumblin', Pt. 2 - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Sad Hours - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Sad Hours - F, Bb harp (2nd Position) Shake Dancer - E, A Harp (2nd Position) She Moves Me (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) She's Nineteen Years Old (Jacobs) - B, A Harp (3rd Position) Smokestack Lightning (Jacobs) - Eb, C Chromatic w/ lever depressed (3rd Position) Southern Feeling – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Standing Around Crying (Jacobs or Wells) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Still A Fool (Jacobs on guitar) - F, No Harp Stuff You Gotta Watch (Little Walter) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Sugar Sweet (Jacobs or Horton) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Take Me Back – A, D Harp (2nd Position) Teenage Beat - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Tell Me Mama - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Temperature - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Temperature – F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) That's It - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) & Bb Chromatic (3rd Position) The Toddle - E, A Harp (2nd Position) They Call Me Muddy Waters (Jacobs) - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) Thunderbird - D, G Harp (2nd Position) & C Chromatic (3rd Position) Tonight With A Fool - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Too Late - G, C Harp (2nd Position) Train Fare Blues - G, No Harp Trouble No More (Jacobs) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) Up The Line - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) Walkin' On – G, C Harp (2nd Position) Walkin' Thru The Park (Jacobs) - B, E Harp (2nd Position) Who - E, A Harp (2nd Position) Who Do You Love? – G, C Harp (2nd Position) Worried Life - B, E Harp (2nd Position) Worried Life Blues - B, E Harp (2nd Position) You Better Watch Yourself - E, A Harp (2nd Position) You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover – A, D Harp (2nd Position) You Don't Know - D, G Harp (2nd Position) You Don't Love Me (You Don't Care) – G, C Harp (2nd Position) You Gonna Be Sorry (Someday Baby) - A, D Harp (2nd Position) You Gonna Be Sorry (Someday Baby) - B, A Harp (3rd Position) You're So Fine - E, A harp (2nd Position) You're Sweet - A, G Harp (3rd Position) Young Fashioned Ways (Jacobs) - C,Bb Harp (3rd Position)
Good one! Thanks for the re-ordering too, Owen. I saw Dave Barrett once offer some advice to an aspiring player, that they should first 'learn everything by little Walter'. I remember thinking that was quite a big first step.
Hi Winslow, I take your point that the list wasn’t updated after your post, but also notice it’s been nearly a year since Owen last posted on this thread.
Also, I can not see where Oh Baby! Is listed as using a Db, but I’m updating my list with the info about the Koch harmonica. I’m just unclear at this point as to whether that track is in G, as listed, considering your comment about a C Koch with slide held in, playing as if in 2nd. I gather the record is actually in Ab?
Usually instead of calling it "2nd with the button in" (which is useful if you don't use the button and just hold it in pretending it is a Db instrument) I would think of it as 9th, but calling it playing in Ab on a C Koch is most accurate.
On a C harp, F = 12th Bb = 11th Eb = 10th Ab = 9th ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Oct 17, 2017 6:24 AM
Yes, sorry, 9th. I miscounted. And just realised I didn’t need to count as 2nd is to 3rd as 9th is to 10th. Duh.
Yeah Tom I think you are thinking of Holding the slide in as relative to the common practice of playing a C chromatic in 3rd (that is, playing a C harmonica in D) without use of the slide. If one plays a C chromatic in 3rd (key of D) without operating the slide, thus playing it as a solo-tuned diatonic, one can also use the same paths to play in Eb (10th position) by holding the slide in.
People say ‘3rd with the slide held in’ because it’s convenient to think like that, but by definition it’s 10th. If you start using the slide within the tune, rather than simply holding it in, the differences quickly show up.
For convenience and ease of understanding, players often say "second position but with the slide in." I've learned to tolerate this. =========== Winslow
Thank you, Owen and fmf714. Great lists. On the chromatic numbers, didn't Walter sometimes switch between a diatonic and a chromatic in the same song?
Last Edited by DanP on Oct 19, 2017 2:07 PM
The list tmf714 is referencing, possibly the same as Owen’s contributor is using lists 4 such numbers: That’s it - Bb harp and C chromatic Thunderbird - G harp and C Chromatic Flying Saucer - G harp and C chromatic Rock Bottom - G harp and C chromatic
Thanks Martin, I hadn’t noticed the omission of blue light before
Thank you very much,fmf714. On Thunderbird, Walter obviously played the first part on diatonic and the second part on chromatic. On Flying Saucer, he seems to be going back and forth between the two.
perhaps of interest to some, i went through that list compiled by Lance H and turned it into a spreadsheet. this enables it to be searched and analysed much more easily than the PDF format. It can also be easily updated.
there are 528 harmonica-centric albums listed, with analysis of keys and harps given for each track. there are over 7000 tracks, although this includes many duplicates, triplicates etc as quite a number of compilations and 'best of' type albums.
as you might imagine given the nature and scale of the exercise there are numerous inaccuracies. now that i have made the document searchable and begun to do more analysis these are beginning to come to light. i'm correcting as i become aware of them and very grateful for contributions to threads such as these.
On the listings that say No Harp, I assume Little Walter is playing guitar. I know that's the case on the Muddy Waters tracks.
On Steve Guyger's Blues Harmonica DVD, he says Little Walter's chromatic harp on Muddy Water's I Just Want to Make Love to You, was the first time a chromatic harmonica ever appeared on a blues record and as far as I know, that's true.
Last Edited by DanP on Oct 19, 2017 7:49 PM
Why does it seem to matter so much what Key a song was originally played in? Concertos i can understand,but a Blues? For example i have played 'Help me' in the original key of F but depending on the vocalists choice also in E and D.Made no difference at all to me as the Harp player. I am not razin' at all but am genuinely interested in the subject.
i think it only matters here if you are wanting to play along with the record and want a quick reference to what is going on. looking through the lists its noticeable that some players seem to favour certain keys and seems likely its as much to do with how they sing as anything. i see little walter showed a greater preference for key of F than most, Jr Wells did a lot of work in A, Sonny boy 2 played in C more than almost anyone
DanP, some of those tracks listed as Little walter and 'no harp' are from the album 'The Blues world of Little Walter'. LW is listed as 'guitar' on Muskadine Blues, Bad Acting Woman and Moonshine Blues.
BUT
"I Wanna Play a Little While", "Louise" and "People are Meddling in our affairs" are not LW songs, they are JB Lenoir.
I Done You Wrong and Low Down Sunnyland Train are Sunnyland Slim songs
Ok 'Bee,i see where you're coming from..hadn't thought of it from that aspect.. Way back in my early days i just used to put the record on and play along (in 2nd) on various harps 'til it sounded right. How hard is that? The best blues band i have ever been a member of had a (very good)singer who loved E and G so most songs were just transposed into those keys or their close relatives F and A.
You did better than me Indigo. I remember trying to play along and getting very frustrated. I knew nothing of keys or positions and just had a G harp and a Sonny Boy Williamson record and some bob Dylan records, and I couldn’t seem to get anything happening. I knew one person who claimed to play harp and I tried to get some info from him. I remember still the great advice he gave me: ‘its all about the way you breathe in and out”. He then borrowed all my Dylan records and scratched them to bits.
If I’d had ‘hoodoo man blues’ and a D harp it might have been so different
I expect Lance H was using the very method you described when he began to create these lists.
Last Edited by SuperBee on Oct 19, 2017 11:45 PM
I think it can’t be done. The info is widely available though. I must say that list is much easier to look up now that I digitised it.
It was quite a time consuming job, and as Indigo indicated, it is really just a matter of playing along ... but, a few years ago I was less educated about the sound of various positions and knew a lot less about harp layout generally; I found it was not always easy to work out the harps. Maybe that should be the entrance exam; if you can’t work it out from the record you don’t have the required aptitude?
When I first saw that list I was amazed someone could work it all out, but now I’ve done it so many times it’s seldom a problem. Kim Wilson had me going the other day though: I was struggling to find the key for Tigerman...there aren’t too many possibilities though, and once you eliminate A and G and realise they are 2nd position licks...where have I put that Ab?
Rogonzab, you could just bookmark it. I tried making a information page once but keep getting frustrated with my attempts. I can't get spreadsheets to post. I used my 'links' link for a while. We tried a wiki but that didn't work because we couldn't integrate it into the site. (Tried FB integration too, again, beyond my skills).
If you see a good spot we could put it let me know and I'll run it by Adam. Our navigation bar is already a bit of navigation nightmare.
SuperBee, thank you so much for your generosity in sharing that spreadsheet (it's amazing). I used to use the old Barrett list all the time before it was taken down.
I personally just like to play along at home with the original recordings and a few beers, so having a searchable list is super convenient.
Hi Blocker, its truly my pleasure to share that work. When i was putting it together, at times it seemed a lot of work but the thought i was making something which others may also find useful helped me get to the end.
The application you described is exactly how i envision it used.
i also like to use it for casual analysis to answer questions which occur to me from time to time, like when i wonder if Little Walter played 1st position more often than many of his contemporaries. i can just do a pivot table analysis and not have to comb through lists making a tally sheet. hmm, maybe other people don't do that. (i havent done that either, but i'm about to. anything to delay mending these steel reed harps taunting me from the bench...)
I'm sure it contains a few errors but its easy to correct when you find them, and to build upon; there are lots of records which could be added!
My Blues (Blue Collar Music, 1997) ~~~~~~~~ 01. Everything I Do Is Wrong - G, No Harp 02. Trying To Make A Living - C, No Harp 03. Five Long Years - D, C Chromatic Harp (3rd Position) 04. Gumbo Blues - A, No Harp 05. Things Ain't Right - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 06. Tell Me Why - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 07. Break It Up Baby - A, D Harp(2nd Position) 08. Hop, Skip and Jump - G, No Harp 09. Date Bait - G, No Harp 10. West Helena Woman - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Too Late Old Man - Bb, No Harp 12. Everything's Gonna Be Alright - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 13. Your Funeral and My Trial - C, Low F Harp (2nd Position) 14. Oh Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 15. My Blues [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position)
Lookin' For Trouble (M.C. Records, 2003) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Lookin' For Trouble II - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 02. Tortured - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position) 03. Hurt On Me - Bb, Ab Harp (3rd Position) 04. Money Marble & Chalk - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position) 05. Love My Baby - F, No Harp 06. Love Attack - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 07. F Fat [Inst.] - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position) 08. Hook Line & Sinker - Eb, No Harp 09. Hand To Mouth - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 10. Sometimes - C, No Harp 11. Tried To Ruin Me - A, A Harp (1st Position) 12. Lookin' For Trouble - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 13. Down With It - Ab, No Harp 14. Hightime - D, G Harp (2nd Position) 15. Jr.'s Jump [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position)
Luther Tucker - Sad Hours (Antones, 1994) ~~~~~~~~~ 01. You Got What You Wanted - E, No Harp 02. Playboy - F, No Harp 03. Mean Old World - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 04. Luther's Tribute to Elmore [Inst.] - D, No Harp 05. Can't Live Without It - C, No Harp 06. Person to Person - F, No Harp 07. Sweet Home Chicago - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 08. War Boy - Em, No Harp 09. Keep on Drinking - A, No Harp 10. Five Long Years - A, Chromatic 11. Canadian Sunset - F, No Harp * Kim Wilson on Harmonic * Track # 4 is flat
Kirk Fletcher - Shades Of Blue (Groove Productions, 2004) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Blues For Boo Boo [Inst.] - Bb, No Harp 02. Bad Boy - A, A Harp (1st Position) 03. Welfare Blues - C, No Harp 04. Don't Go No Further - G, No Harp 05. Club Zanzibar [Inst.] - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 06. That's Why I'm Cryin' - Ab, No Harp 07. Worried Man Blues - Db, No Harp 08. Country Girl - A, G Harp (3rd Position) 09. Down Home Woman - G, No Harp 10. Stranded In St. Louis - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) 11. Little By Little - Bb, No Harp 12. My Home Is A Prison - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 13. A River's Invitation - G, No Harp 14. Hip Hug Her [Inst.] - Bb, No Harp 15. You Don't Know - F, No Harp 16. Club Zanzibar - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 17. Don't Go No Further - G, No Harp * Kim Wilson on Harp
Lou Ann Barton - Read My Lips (Antone's Records, 1990) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Sugar Coated Love - C, No Harp 02. You'll Lose A Good Thing - F, No Harp 03. Sexy Ways - E, No Harp 04. Shake A Hand - F, No Harp 05. Good Lover - A, Intro, Fills & Outro: A Harp (1st Position), Solo: Verse 1: D Harp (2nd Position), Verses 2 & 3: A Harp (1st Position) 06. Mean, Mean Man - E, No Harp 07. Shake Your Hips - C, Bb Harp (3rd Position) 08. Te Ni Nee Ni Nu - E, No Harp 09. Can't Believe You Want To Leave - G, No Harp 10. You Can Have My Husband - G, No Harp 11. It's Raining - A, No Harp 12. Rocket In My Pocket - E, No Harp 13. I Wonder Why - D, No Harp 14. Let's Have A Party - F, No Harp 15. High Time We Went - E, No Harp * Kim Wilson On Harmonica
Rusty Zinn - Sittin' & Watinin' (Black Top, 1996) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Don't Let Daddy Slow Walk You Down - Ab. No Harp 02. Sittin' And Waitin' - E, No Harp 03. Stand By Me - Eb, No Harp 04. 30 Second Lover - D, No Harp 05. Moanin' For My Baby - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 06. Bad Boy - A, A Harp (1st Position) 07. Nothing Takes The Place Of You - Bb, No Harp 08. Pretty Thing - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 09. It Hurts Me - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 10. Crazy Little Woman - A, A Harp (1st Position) 11. It's Love, Baby, 24 Hours Of The Day - Bb, No Harp 12. Treat You Like A Queen - B, No Harp 13. Jr. Jives [Inst.] - G, No Harp 14. The Last Time - G, No Harp * Kim Wilson on Harmonica
Smokin' Joint (MC Records, 2001) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Ain't Gonna Do It - Bb, No Harp 02. Good Time Charlie - C, No Harp 03. Oh Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 04. Early In The Morning - A, Intro: D Harp (2nd Position), Solo: G Harp (3rd Position) & D Harp (2nd Position) 05. Got To Let You Go - Bb, Ab Harp (3rd Position) 06. Learn To Treat Me Right - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 07. Smokin' Joint [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 08. I Stay In The Mood - F, No Harp 09. Telephone Blues - Bb, Ab Harp (3rd Position) 10. High & Lonesome - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 11. I Can Tell - G, No Harp 12. Tomorrow Night - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 13. The Lighthouse Is Gone [Inst.] - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position)
Tigerman (Antones, 1993) ~~~~~~~~- 01. Tiger Man - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position) 02. Don't Touch Me - Bb, No Harp 03. Hustle Is On - Bb, No Harp 04. She Moves Me - F, No Harp 05. Hush Oh Hush - F#, No Harp 06. If I Should Lose You - C, No Harp 07. Hunch Rhythm - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position) 08. When the Lights Go Out - Eb, Chromatic 09. You Got Me - F, No Harp 10. Come Back Baby - B, A Harp (3rd Position) 11. Boogie All Night - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 12. Trust My Baby - Gm, G Harp (1st Position) 13. Reel Eleven, Take One - D, C Chromatic (3rd Position)
That's Life (Antones, 1994) ~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Baby Please Don't Lie to Me - Ab, No Harp 02. Time Is on My Side - G, No Harp 03. Don't Bite the Hand That Feeds You - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 04. She's My Baby - B, E Harp (2nd Position) 05. Ooh Baby (When You Squeeze Me) - A, No Harp 06. Humpin' to Please - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position) 07. I've Been Searchin' - G, No Harp 08. Pretty Baby - D, G Harp (2nd Position) 09. Teach Me (How to Love You) - F#, No Harp 10. Blues Leave Me Alone - F, Bb Harp (2nd Position) 11. Lowdown - Eb, Ab Harp (2nd Position)
Dave Myers - You Can't Do That (Black Top, 1997) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 01. Please Don't Leave Me - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 02. Dave's Boogie Guitar [Inst.] - E, No Harp 03. You Can't Do That - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 04. Elevate Me Mama - A, A Harp (1st Position) 05. Reconsider Baby - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 06. Ting-A-Ling - F, No Harp 07. Oh Baby - A, D Harp (2nd Position) 08. Legs Up [Inst.] - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 09. Going Home Tomorrow - E, A Harp (2nd Position) 10. Chattanoogie Shoe Shine Boy - A, No Harp 11. You Can't Love Me That Way - F, No Harp 12. Love By The Pound - G, C Harp (2nd Position) 13. Stone Cold Fox - Bb, No Harp 14. Blues In Mexico - F, No Harp * Kim Wilson on Harmonica
i can't get the formatting to hang together for posting on the board but i did a pivot table from all the KW stuff (its all in the excel spreadsheet ive linked to above) and i can see that of the 211 tracks listed, Kim has shown a strong preference for an A harp. He has used an A harp on 93 of them.
Kim has used D harps relatively infrequently: he has used a D harp exclusively on only 16 of those numbers, although he has used a D in conjunction with another harp on 3 more, and also a LowD on 1.
you could see this as a dislike of higher harps generally as he has only used an F and an E on 1 cut each. he has not used an Eb, Db, F# on any of those recordings, but he has used an Ab on 10 of them.
the practical application of that analysis might be that if a person wanted to play along with Kim Wilson stuff they need to be prepared with a good A harp or 2, a C harp and a Bflat. An Ab would be handy too. Those 4 harps will cover 152 of the 211 tracks listed. of course Kim has recorded many other tracks besides those but i would expect the trend is generally indicative.
If you did a similar pivot on Jr Wells, youd quickly see that of the 146 tracks you'd get the most playalong value from a D harp (53 tracks exclusively), an A harp (29) and an F harp (24)... those 3 keys will cover 107 of the 146 numbers which have harp. you wont get a lot of value from a C Harp if you want to play along with the Jr Wells numbers; he uses a C harp exclusively on only 5 of the listed tracks.
As the topic of the thread is Little Walter i'll wrap up the post with some LW stats:
There are 246 tracks listed which have harp. There are many which are listed multiple times If you eliminate the multiple listings there are just 163 unique recordings in the list.
116 of them use either a Bb (44) C or A harp (36 respectively)
so you get a lot of Little Walter play along value from a Bb harp
of the remainder you'll get a further 21 songs with a D harp
which leaves just 26 tracks and for most of those you'll need a C Chromatic
you won't get a lot of value from your F harp (1 track) and G harp (6 tracks). an E harp will give you 6 more, according to this data.
