Before picking up the harmonica a few years ago, I never especially noticed it in the mix of general (non-blues) songs. Since then I've enjoyed a little treat 'discovering' it in songs I've played for years. Ah ha! moments.
So there were the more obvious ones I vaguely understood had harp in like Led Zep's When the Levee Breaks and Doobie Brothers' Slow Train Running. And ones I'm not so keen on like Karma Chameleon - no offense, I think it's a perfectly constructed pop song, just not my cup of tea. I looked at the video a while ago and they show the bass player (I think) playing a chromatic. I subsequently read it was a proper harp player who sessioned on it.
More recently I finally clocked it was on Bowie's A New Career in a New Town from Low. Low is my all-time fav album of all time, so I'd heard that song a million times, maybe more.
Today, Roxy Music's Let's Stick Together. Who would have thought. Did I ever consider anyone in Roxy Music playing a harp? Eno?
Interestingly it seems to be mostly acoustic harp. I'm struggling to find many that had the amp'd harp sound. Eurythmics' Missionary Man. INXS Suicide Blonde.
---------- mtg - Blaring like a mad farm goose.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 21, 2016 7:02 AM
You're very right. Since I started playing I've picked up harp in loads of songs that I wouldn't have noticed before. It is mostly acoustic, for whatever reason I think amplified isn't the sound people are looking for when they mix in harp to non-blues tracks. I guess it would muddle with guitar quite easily.
When I was a kid I think I mistook harp for saxophone countless times, which probably lead me to want to learn sax, only to find that I didn't really enjoy it.
I was listening to roxy music last might in the car... Ill have to listen again.
The first songs I can remember being aware of having harp in them were Khe Sanh by Cold Chisel and Dumb Things by Paul Kelly.
Interestingly, there's a KFC ad on TV in Australia at the moment that has some nice harp in it. That was an "ah huh" moment for me. I didn't expect any harp to pop up during watching the cricket.
GHF - I don't know either of those! Just had a listen, that's a pretty wild harp sound on dumb things. I definitely wouldn't have even heard that as a harmonica in the old days.
Yes ads and such. It's often in incidental music. I used to watch Myth Busters with the boys when they were little. Watching one again I realise there's a harmonica wailing away almost all the time in the background!
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 22, 2016 12:21 AM
wow I don't recognize any of the music mentioned. I know Charlie McCoy's stuff has been played as background music many times. Other than that I thought you were thinking of old cowboy movies...perhaps I'm older than I thought.
course the Beatles had some harp, think maybe the Rolling Stones
Ha! Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it! By 'old' I was meaning 'any songs I knew before I started playing harmonica myself'. Hope that helps :)
So actually, GHF's songs are in my 'New' category even thought they are 'Old' if you see what I mean! I've started a thread for those...
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 22, 2016 5:18 AM
The David Bowie song you mentioned is new to me too. The only one of his I knew had harp was Jean Genie. This thread and the new songs one are great for discovering harp songs.
I'm on a little quest now to rediscover Bowie's songs with harmonica on. Without googling for it if possible. The old-fashioned way. Cracked Actor from Aladin Sane has some.
Last Edited by MindTheGap on Jan 23, 2016 3:10 AM
