John95683
90 posts
Aug 06, 2013
12:07 PM
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Here are my top three favorite combination singer/harp players. Lots of great harp players who are marginal singers, but these guys can do both:
1. Paul Butterfield. IMHO, the best, without doubt.
2. Kim Wilson. Great player and terrific singer as front man for the Fabulous Thunderbirds.
3.Junior Wells. A little goofy at times, but still one of the best.
Wild card: Huey Lewis. Under-appreciated as a harp player, IMO
Who are your favs?
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JTThirty
220 posts
Aug 06, 2013
2:24 PM
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My favorite great singers who blow great harp are John Nemeth, Tad Robinson, Darrell Nulisch, and Kim.
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Ricky B
http://www.bushdogblues.blogspot.com
RIVER BOTTOM BLUES--crime novel for blues fans available at Amazon/B&N and my blog
THE DEVIL'S BLUES--ditto
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Rick Davis
2202 posts
Aug 06, 2013
2:40 PM
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Gary Primich, Paul deLay, Sonny Boy Williamson II, others...
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-Little Rick Davis
The Blues Harp Amps Blog
The Mile High Blues Society
Tip Jar
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groyster1
2327 posts
Aug 06, 2013
11:13 PM
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mitch kushmar is a great singer and harp player....
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geordiebluesman
759 posts
Aug 07, 2013
1:16 AM
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William Clarke, Nuff Said!
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dmitrysbor
88 posts
Aug 07, 2013
5:22 AM
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It's pity, but there is no really good singers among harpers.
Anybody have a clue why?
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Kingley
2993 posts
Aug 07, 2013
5:39 AM
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"It's pity, but there is no really good singers among harpers."
???? Sugar Ray Norcia, Tad Robinson, Curtis Salgado, John Nemeth, Mitch Kashmar, Gary Primich, Junior Wells, Paul deLay, Alex Paclin and Darrell Nulisch are just a few off the top of my head. There are plenty more to add to that list.
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dmitrysbor
91 posts
Aug 07, 2013
5:47 AM
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Just like I said.
Nobody heard about these singers outside harpers community ...
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Kingley
2994 posts
Aug 07, 2013
6:03 AM
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"Just like I said.
Nobody heard about these singers outside harpers community ..."
Well you didn't actually say that. That could be applied to any genre of music or any instrument though. There are plenty of guitarists, violinists, pianists, bass players, drummers, etc etc. That are never heard of outside the relatively small music community they are in.
If you want to talk about harp players in the mainstream who have good vocals too. Then what about people like Stevie Wonder? He's about as mainstream as they come and is a harp player, so is Neil Young, so is Huey Lewis, Paul Jones, Steven Tyler, John Popper, Robert Plant, Delbert McClinton and many more.
If of course you mean superb blues harp players that have great vocals, then they're aren't going to be known outside the community. Simply because the record industry mostly promotes image over talent. Which is why Joe public never knows much outside of the manufactured pop music they are spoon fed.
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fredcardoso
9 posts
Aug 07, 2013
6:53 AM
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R.J. Mischo
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Frank
2596 posts
Aug 07, 2013
6:54 AM
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Steve Guyger, Sugar Blue, Little walter, Rick Estrin, James Cotton in his day, James Harmon, SLim Harpo,Jimmy Reed :)
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SuperBee
1342 posts
Aug 07, 2013
6:54 AM
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Good call on SW, Kingley.
Howlin' Wolf could sing a bit, I'm a big fan of Jr Wells, lwalter was a great singer. I'm sure I'll think of more....
Ian collard is pretty good...
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Last Edited by SuperBee on Aug 07, 2013 6:55 AM
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dmitrysbor
92 posts
Aug 07, 2013
7:16 AM
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"That could be applied to any genre of music or any instrument though. There are plenty of guitarists, violinists, pianists, bass players, drummers, etc etc"
Plenty, but not all of them. I could give you a lot of examples of instrumentalist who can sing if you want
"Simply because the record industry mostly promotes image over talent."
Record labels just not invests in artists who can't earn money for them. They're mostly talanted artists. It's reality of post youtube market.
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Kingley
2995 posts
Aug 07, 2013
7:43 AM
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"Plenty, but not all of them. I could give you a lot of examples of instrumentalist who can sing if you want"
Exactly! We all can. that's the point. you seem to be complaining that they aren't known outside the harp community very well. This is also the case for thousands of musicians in ANY genre you care to mention. It's not exclusive to harmonica players by any means. I've given you examples of harp players who are also good singers who are known worldwide. There are always a few who make it through to the mainstream, but for the most part the real talent lies undiscovered by the general public in any musical genre you care to think of.
"Record labels just not invests in artists who can't earn money for them."
Exactly! The reality today is that most of that money is made for them by manufactured pop artists. This is why things like Pop idol and X Factor are pushed so heavily by the industry. They want you to buy into the hype of the next big thing. Most of the other musical genres get heavily sidelined. Simply because the music industry doesn't see them as financially viable. It's got nothing to do with YouTube at all. it's got more to do with the fact that big business took over the music industry and created standardised formulas to create money. Then they bought the airwaves and force fed this stuff to the masses. Thankfully YouTube is now beginning to change that and due to modern technology, more artists than ever before are starting to get worldwide appreciation. This is why the record industry is panicking. It can see that real talent will always find a way through and it's beginning to lose out financially. Now that artists can sell their music direct via downloads to their fans and cut out the money grabbing corporate businessmen. The record companies are becoming obsolete for a lot of artists. This is down to YouTube, the internet in general, CD Baby, iTunes, etc, etc.
Last Edited by Kingley on Aug 07, 2013 7:49 AM
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Rgsccr
191 posts
Aug 07, 2013
10:04 AM
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Little Walter, Big Walter, Paul deLay, Slim Harpo, Howlin Wolf, Sonny Boy II, Junior Wells, Paul Butterfield, Alan Wilson (maybe not a great singer but so cool!).
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timeistight
1315 posts
Aug 07, 2013
11:03 AM
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I'm a huge fan of Big Walter's harp playing, but he was an awful singer in my opinion.
Wolf, on the other hand, was one of the best singers in blues and a unique and powerful (albeit limited) harp player.
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atty1chgo
677 posts
Aug 07, 2013
12:17 PM
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Ranked in order:
1. Carey Bell - nobody better IMHO
2. Junior Wells
3. Curtis Salgado
4. Kim Wilson
5. Sugar Blue
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MP
2886 posts
Aug 07, 2013
1:46 PM
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Forgot Stevie Wonder.:-)
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MP
affordable reed replacement and repairs.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
click user name [MP] for info-
repair videos on YouTube.
you can reach me via Facebook. Mark Prados
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barbequebob
2315 posts
Aug 08, 2013
9:39 AM
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I'm surprised not a single person mentions Junior Parker or George Harmonica Smith, both of whom were incredible vocalists in their own right.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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