Old Hickory
88 posts
Jun 23, 2019
7:39 PM
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It’s been quite awhile since I’ve contributed to the forum but I had an interesting conversation with Charlie McCoy at the Grand Ole Opry this past Friday night I thought I’d share. It started with him waiting in the wings to go onstage. I’ve had several conversations with him before but we usually don’t discuss harps. But he had about 10 minutes until his performance so I thought I’d ask a few questions that I’ve always wondered about. First off I asked if all his harps were tuned to “Country Tuning” and he said they were. When I enquired as to the origin of him using that tuning he told me it came about when some guy asked him how he played “Danny Boy”. At that time Charlie used 2 regular tuned harps and switched back and forth during the song. The guy thought Charlie was playing it on one harp but couldn’t figure out how he was getting all the notes. The guy said he took a scraper to the 5 draw to raise it a half step and said to Charlie...”that’s what you’re doing...right?” Charlie replied “no but that’s what I’ll be doing from now on.”
He said he took the idea to Hohner and they made him a complete set tuned that way. I believe he said this was around 1971 so I think he was playing Marine Bands at that time but he now strictly plays Special 20’s. Charlie said it was the greatest thing to happen to his playing in all these years. I asked him if he ever blew out reeds and he said very rarely. He said usually one will just get dull sounding or out of tune. As far as I know they’re all stock harps with no customization although I’m sure Hohner takes extra special care in the ones they send to him. He said he keeps a total of 30 harps on hand at any one time and still carries a set in that old cheap plastic divider case I believe he bought at Walmart.
We also talked about tongue blocking vs lip pursing. I always thought he was a strict lip purser but he said he occasionally tongue blocks if the situation calls for it. I told him I was just beginning to learn tongue blocking but was having a hard time bending the 4 draw. He said “I can’t bend it either” and then proceeded to try and surprised himself by making the bend. I think like a lot of players he uses tongue blocking for textural, splits and rhythmic purposes and lip purses most of the bends and fast single note runs. It was funny because he said “I’ve been playing for 70 years and I really don’t know what I’m doing half the time because I don’t think about it.”
The last thing I asked him was about the temperament. I know the regular Special 20’s come with compromise tuning but I thought maybe since the majority of his playing was melodic single note passages that he might have his harps tuned to ET. So when I asked if his harps were tuned to compromise or ET he gave me a strange look and said...”I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Lol! A few seconds later the announcer gave his intro and Charlie said “I guess that’s me, gotta go” and he hit the stage and gave another flawless performance. Wonderful man, musician and performer who loves to talk about music. People like him make it a joy to go to work.
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dchurch
240 posts
Jun 23, 2019
9:29 PM
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Very cool, thanks for sharing!
I have not yet caught a live performance but Charlie is on my bucket list.
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It's about time I got around to this.
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Pickn5
34 posts
Jun 24, 2019
8:15 AM
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Great story, thanks for sharing. A few months back I ordered his Beginning Country Harp DVD from his website. When the DVD arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to find hand written thank you notes signed by him. One on a sticky note in the case and one on the tab booklet. That's customer service. I plan on ordering a couple of CDs soon. I've watched quite a few videos of him playing and interviews. He seems like a real nice guy. I really like his harp playing.
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Grey Owl
981 posts
Jun 24, 2019
9:53 AM
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Thanks for that. An interesting insight into Charlie's thoughts on harp playing. You asked good questions in the short time you had with him. As I have related before it was Charlie's playing of Stone Fox Chase that was the hook that snagged me and started me off on my Harp journey.
YouTube
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The Iceman
3875 posts
Jun 24, 2019
10:44 AM
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Charlie is much more than just a great harmonica player.
I produced a Country Show in Orlando and brought in Charlie and his hand picked "dogs that can hunt!" band. I then watched as he rehearsed with these guys that afternoon - how many of you knew that he was the Music Director on "Hee Haw" while the show was running?
He ran a tight professional ship and the musicians responded immediately.
Show that evening was astonishing! Too bad that the Orlando community did not come out and support it, making this my last produced show in that area.
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The Iceman
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Old Hickory
89 posts
Jun 24, 2019
12:03 PM
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@Pickn5 that doesn’t surprise me that he included those hand written notes. He’s always been very personable and accessible. I’ve been around him in a working environment for over 35 years and never once heard anyone say anything negative about him.
@The Iceman I worked on Hee Haw the last 10 years it was in production from 1984 to 1993 and that’s where I first met him. He was the perfect fit as musical director for that show. The musicians had nothing but the utmost respect for him as did the cast and crew. Professional through and through and always got the best out of the musicians that worked for him.
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snowman
468 posts
Jun 26, 2019
11:43 AM
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Great post--I've said this b4 and its still funny---The first Guy I tried to emulate was Charley Mccoy
I sold records then, opened his and said " I want to learn that". I had no idea how good he was or that 45 years later, I still can't play like that--not even close
Man was I naive!!! I thought buy and harp and learn that-Im not the shiniest apple that fell from the tree
Charlie Mccoy is fun to watch and listen to
His antics on stage are fun
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Old Hickory
91 posts
Jun 27, 2019
4:14 PM
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Snowman one of the things that impresses me most about Charlie is that at 78 yrs old he hasn’t slowed down or lost a single step in his playing. That style isn’t easy at any age but to pull it off at 78 with the precision and fluidity that he does is amazing. He makes it look so effortless....until you try it.
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Tuckster
1706 posts
Jun 28, 2019
8:00 AM
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Obscure Charlie factoid: He played the trumpet on Dylan's "Everybody Must Get Stoned" (Rainy Day Woman). He's a multi insrument musician,not just a harp player.
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The Iceman
3877 posts
Jun 28, 2019
9:15 AM
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I seem to remember reading somewhere that, on that Dylan tune mentioned above, Charlie was playing bass with one hand and the trumpet with the other at this session....
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The Iceman
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Old Hickory
92 posts
Jun 28, 2019
10:46 AM
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Tuckster I believe Charlie could probably play any instrument out there if given a few minutes to fool with it. He quit college and came to Nashville because a friend of his told him he needed a guitar player. When he got here the guy said he had already hired a guitar player but now needed a drummer. So Charlie took the job and went out and bought a set of drums even though he had never played drums before.
Iceman here’s a link to a great article that chronicles his early days in Nashville and references him playing the bass in one hand and the trumpet in the other.
https://www.theeastnashvillian.com/charlie-mccoy-and-the-escorts/
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