Were there any major pre-1960s rhythm and blues bands - other than Little Walter's - that included the harmonica? The Wikipedia article on rhythm and blues - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues - doesn't include either the word "harmonica" or the name "Little Walter." I say "pre-1960s" to avoid discussion rock bands that played rhythm and blues songs after 1960.
Could ask a similar question for soul music artists other than Stevie Wonder.
The category "Rhythm and Blues" has been redefined repeatedly over time. It used to be a very inclusive term for a wider range of music and is now more restricted in meaning. I have no idea what definition is approved/used by Wikipedia, but I wouldn't let omissions there determine anything with regard to the use of harmonica.
As to harmonica being in "Soul" songs, probably rarely. Harmonica was seen as a rural old-timey thing until it got electrified, and when the music continued to evolve beyond that it was left behind by many who wanted a different sound with new music. That does not mean it could not be effectively used in that music, just that it generally was not used.
My personal belief is that harmonica can work well in a wide range of genre's of music, but the sound and the playing style/techniques have to fit the music in a way that supports the intent of the music. That may mean using effects and techniques to alter the harmonica sound and texture as well as using note choices that suit the music. Lee Oskar did this with War.
You cannot play standard blues licks and chugging over anything but old school blues. However, harmonica is capable of a lot more than just that style. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Apr 02, 2018 10:52 AM
I meant "rhythm and blues" in the restricted sense, beginning with Louis Jordan (who essentially defined the term "rhythm and blues" in the late 1940s), followed in the 1950s by such artists as Johnny Otis, Ruth Brown, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry. Then we come to Little Walter, who I think was on the dividing line between R&B and blues, because of the rhythm and the saxophone-inspired sound he created with the harmonica. When you get to Muddy Waters and Howling Wolf, you are firmly in the blues realm. If want to call their music rhythm and blues, that's fine - but you have abandoned any attempt to distinguish between R&B and straight blues, so you might as well not even use different terms for them. But if you choose to make the distinction, the harmonica is almost entirely a blues instrument, rather than an R&B instrument, such as the saxophone.
Last Edited by FastFourier on Apr 02, 2018 10:17 PM
There's a long explanation I won't bother providing (I used to teach this on a university level). Start with this article - https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-randb-music-2851217.
Realize that pop music sales & play ($$) - white, race, jazz - was tabulated by Billboard Magazine. When the term "race music" was found offensive, it was replaced by the term "rhythm & blues". So the former Race charts (showing sales of secular music by "Negro" artists), became R&B charts. While blues artists might place on the "R&B charts" they usually sold or were on juke boxes locally or regionally, so sales were limited. The jazz crossover artists, vocalists and swing or jump combos of the 40's got wider play ($$) - Louis Jordan, T-Bone Walker, Roy Milton, Roy Brown, Wynonne Harris, etc., which is probably why their instrumentation was included in the Wiki article.
Since the Rhythm & Blues charts at Billboard were about numbers - what was being played, purchased, etc. the previously mentioned artists along with "new kids" like Little Richard, Fats Domino, various vocal groups, etc., dominated the charts and dollars. While blues artists like Muddy, Wolf, Tampa Red, Little Walter, Goree Carter, and B.B. were able to place on the "R&B" charts, just as Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson I, had all been on the earlier "Race" charts, urban blues was a small part of R&B, i.e., secular music performed by Black artists.
I don't imagine Walter, Muddy, or Wolf would have identified themselves as R&B artists, even if Billboard recorded their sales as such. Nor would they care about how Wikipedia defined R&B instruments. ---------- BnT
Last Edited by BnT on Apr 02, 2018 11:47 PM
Many of the R´n´B artists had a swing influence, and were already equipped with horns: instruments traditionally deemed more suited for that kind of material. The harmonica´s popularity outside of blues of the "Chicago" and "country" variety appeared to be waning rather quickly among black audiences in the 1960´s, the major targets for R´n´B. An "Oncle Tom´s instrument" perhaps, and not very cool. It made a singnificant instep the "folk" genre at about the same time, but that´s another story.
